Feb 10: Numbers 1:42 –
3:32
After
reading how many men of fighting age were among the Israelites in yesterday’s
text, I started wondering how much land it would take to house all these
people! Of course I ran down a fascinating bunny trail, but thought maybe you
would be interested too.
So
there were 603,550 non-Levites who were 20 years or older AND were able to
serve in the Army. So a very conservative estimate would be three times that
many people were in the camp. Then you add 22,300 Levite males of all ages
(let’s presume that’s half the Levite population), we get an estimated
1,855,250 people in the camp!
In
today’s standards, a refugee camp states that 45 square meters per person is
the desired space, but 35 square meters is acceptable in a pinch. Using that
smaller amount, the campers would take up approximately 25 square miles! Not to
mention the sheep, goats, and cattle.
That
really helped me understand how critical it was for God to establish guidance
for the camp. Some days these folks had to relocate after a few hours, others
times they stayed in place for months. What crazy confusion there would be if
everyone started fighting over the ‘best’ place to raise their tents!
As
a total aside, I learned that most refugees end up living an average of 12
years in a refugee camp. Can you imagine? Look around you – what items do you
have that you would definitely carry if you had to evacuate! How would you
manage for 12 years without the amenities you have in your home?
TOMORROW’S TEXT: Numbers 3:33 – 5:22
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