QT 13 Apr 12, Blessings are a principle of life not a promise

Num 26:1-4 (NIV) After the plague the Lord said to Moses and Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, 2 "Take a census of the whole Israelite community by families — all those twenty years old or more who are able to serve in the army of Israel." 3 So on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them and said, 4 "Take a census of the men twenty years old or more, as the Lord commanded Moses."

NOTE: Below is a list of the percent changes in size of each tribe during the previous 38 years.

Tribe	Beginning	End	Change	Remark
Reuben	46,500	43,730	-6%	Part of Korah rebellion
Simeon	59,300	22,200	-63%	Balaam strategy
Gad	45,650	40,500	-11%	Near Simeon
Judah	74,600	76,500	+3%
Issachar	54,400	64,300	+18%
Zebulun	57,400	60,500	+5%
Ephraim	40,500	32,500	-20%	?
Manasseh	32,200	52,700	+64%
Benjamin	35,400	45,600	+29%
Dan	62,700	64,400	+3%
Asher	41,500	53,400	+29%
Naphtali	53,400	45,400	-15%	?

Surprisingly, there is a lot of variation in the numbers. The first three are easily understood by the Korah rebellion and their Southern flank setting that exposed them to Midian's temptations (Balaam's counsel of sexual perversion and worship perversion). It is not clear what Ephraim or Naphtali did, but given the evidence above, they were obviously more involved in the grumblings over the last 38 years than were some other groups. On the other side of the coin, Manasseh, Benjamin, Asher, and Issachar show large increases in their population, with Manasseh almost doubling in size. While some might contend that this supports the "Health and Wealth" gospel, I would argue that it supports statements in Proverbs, which are general principles and not promises. One of the general principles of life is that God does bless the obedient, but that is not a promise, especially in the New Covenant. We do have a promise of a future inheritance, but we do not have any right to a healthy and wealthy lifestyle on earth.