Spiritual Significations of the Census in the Wilderness of Sinai (Nm 1)

Abstract

Divine books, and Scriptures, are special, as they have a very clear place and purpose. The word of God, in the form of a letter, reveals itself to our hearts, speaking of His plan to save the human race. The fourth book of the Pentateuch, Numbers, owes its title to the two censuses reported and to the abundance of numerical information scattered throughout the book. The events took place when the Israelites were about to embark on their journey from Mount Sinai to the Promised Land, which explains the need to arrange them in a precise order, like a marching army. Although the historical aspect should not be questioned, if it were only a matter of censuses, the presence of these numerators in the Scripture would not be justified. Therefore, it is wrong to consider that the events mentioned here are simple segments of Israelite history; instead, we must understand that they are very important precisely because they are addressed to Christians, who must learn from these experiences. Thus, for Christians, the theme of the book may be spiritual progress, for in it we can identify many applications to the experiences of the Christians living in the modern era, showing how much we resemble the ancient Israelites, but, if we understand properly the message of the sacred text, we will not have to repeat the wanderings of the Israelites in our own spiritual itinerary.