The
sons of Tola:
Uzzi,
Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam and Samuel—heads of their families. During the
reign of David, the descendants of Tola listed as fighting men in their
genealogy numbered 22,600. 1 Chronicles 7:2
All these were descendants of Asher—heads
of families, choice men, brave warriors and outstanding leaders. The number of
men ready for battle, as listed in their genealogy, was 26,000. 1 Chronicles 7:7
The
sons of Bela:
Ezbon,
Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth and Iri, heads of families—five in all. Their
genealogical record listed 22,034 fighting men. 1
Chronicles 7:40
Keeping
genealogical records back then were to record the family lines for inheritance
reasons and property rights. For the
line of Judah, they needed to know who the next king was and for the line of
Levi, which men served as priests in the temple.
Another
reason they counted the men was to keep track of the number of reserves on hand
in case of war, which happened pretty frequently back then. Each of the tribes had their people they
could call up in times of threat.
So
this number was for security and safety.
Recording those numbers and making them public would deter outsiders from attacking.
David got in trouble for counting the fighting men for the wrong reasons. He wanted to know his power and he trusted in the numbers instead. We must examine ourselves and why we count numbers too. Do we trust God more than we trust the numbers?