The Book of Numbers and Counting

I woke up this morning thinking about my Old Testament Studies class from yesterday. We have been studying the Torah (first 5 books of the Bible), for as long as I have been in school, and reached the book of Numbers yesterday. As we looked at this book that describes the rebellion of Israel against their faithful God, I was struck by something I was not expecting.

According to the book of Numbers, there were approximately 2.5 million Jews (the Bible records the census was of men 20 years and older who could go to war (Numbers 1:1 - 46) - considering most men were married with kids, a conservative estimate is 2.5 million total population) who were brought out of Egypt around 1445 B.C., traveling to the land that God promised to them. Consider that number! Two and a half million people - that's approximately the population of the city of Houston, Texas. Imagine the entire city of Houston wandering around Texas for forty years, like the people of Israel did (though not in Texas). What would it take to support that many people? In addition to their own need, Israel had cattle and flocks that needed food and water. And remember, they were not wandering Texas with flat plains and water - they were wandering the wilderness (= uninhabitable).

The question came up in class: How could 2.5 million people survive in the wilderness for 40 years? It makes no logistical sense. Because of this, many Bible scholars have dismissed the numbers and proposed other interpretations of the text, saying it was corrupted, or inflated to display military might, or the numbers are merely symbolic. And this is what became striking to me - on what grounds are people able to propose alternative meanings to the population of Israel recorded in the book of Numbers? Is it legitimate to reason that the wilderness is not capable of supporting that many people and therefore the numbers in the Bible must not be literally correct?

This question will come up over and over again in different settings in the Bible. Did Jesus really feed the five thousand from a few loaves? Did Jesus really walk on water? Did Jesus really heal the sick? Did Jesus really rise from the dead?

So, maybe the population of Israel in 1445 B.C. does not seem like a big deal to most - but Jesus rising from the dead is a huge deal ("And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain...[and] your faith is futile and you are still in your sins." -1 Corinthians 15:14,17). There is no natural explanation for a man dead three days to be alive and well after his death...but there is a supernatural one.

How we view God and His words will alter how we view details like the population of Israel, and more importantly, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If we affirm God created the Universe out of absolutely nothing, then sustaining a few million people in a wilderness with bread from heaven will seem but a small display of the magnificence of His power, might, and care.