"5 And these are the names of the men who shall assist you." God calls by name the specific man from each tribe who is to assist Moses and Aaron in taking a census of all the men able to go to war. Think about that for a moment. It's a pretty mundane task, counting heads of all those fighting men within your clan. Anyone probably could have done it. But God not only chose certain men for the task, He had their names recorded so that even today we know who they were (even if we can't pronounce them all!)
That brought to mind when Jesus was gathering His disciples. I always pictured Him walking along the Sea of Galilee calling out to people, "Come, follow Me! I will make you fishers of men," and thought the disciples were simply the ones who took Him up on the His offer.
But this passage led me to reconsider that. Jesus called them by name. Each one had an assignment and no matter whether it was huge like Peter's or relatively unknown to us like Simon the Zealot, Jesus knew their ability and their heart and called these men specifically. Even Judas Iscariot. Jesus knew his heart and everything he had ever done or would do, and still chose him by name.
In fact, He has chosen each of us by name. He has given each one an assignment. It might be counting heads or it might be preaching to the lost. It might be serving those in need, or maybe fighting in a battle. The assignment may change over the course of our life, from shepherding children's hearts to writing His love story. But God is faithful to complete through us all that He has assigned to us, and not one mission we complete will be forgotten. Just as these men's names are recorded in the book of Numbers, our assignments are etched in eternity. And as they are read, God says, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
Have you asked Him what your assignment is?
That brought to mind when Jesus was gathering His disciples. I always pictured Him walking along the Sea of Galilee calling out to people, "Come, follow Me! I will make you fishers of men," and thought the disciples were simply the ones who took Him up on the His offer.
But this passage led me to reconsider that. Jesus called them by name. Each one had an assignment and no matter whether it was huge like Peter's or relatively unknown to us like Simon the Zealot, Jesus knew their ability and their heart and called these men specifically. Even Judas Iscariot. Jesus knew his heart and everything he had ever done or would do, and still chose him by name.
In fact, He has chosen each of us by name. He has given each one an assignment. It might be counting heads or it might be preaching to the lost. It might be serving those in need, or maybe fighting in a battle. The assignment may change over the course of our life, from shepherding children's hearts to writing His love story. But God is faithful to complete through us all that He has assigned to us, and not one mission we complete will be forgotten. Just as these men's names are recorded in the book of Numbers, our assignments are etched in eternity. And as they are read, God says, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
Have you asked Him what your assignment is?
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