David woke up angry every morning. It was waiting for him before he even opened his eyes, sitting heavy on his chest. He drank his coffee black while standing at the counter, staring at the bare wall where his ex-wife’s calendar used to hang. Seven years had passed since she left, and the anger had only grown quieter and more constant.
At work, he drove a delivery truck and spoke as little as possible. The younger guys in the warehouse had learned to leave him alone. Once, when one of them made a joke about his mood, David had simply stared at him until the laughter died. After that, they kept their distance.
David hadn’t called his daughter in over a year. His son had texted him on his birthday back in March. David had read the message three times before deleting it. He told himself it was better this way. The truth was that talking to them only made the anger louder.
One afternoon, he was backing into a tight alley when a car pulled in behind him and stopped. The driver, a man in his early twenties, got out and started talking on his phone, completely blocking the truck. David honked once. The kid didn’t even turn around. He honked again, longer this time. The young man finally looked over, pulled out one earbud, and shrugged like it wasn’t his problem.
David put the truck in park and got out. He walked straight up to the kid and hit him. The punch landed hard. The boy stumbled backward and fell, blood already running from his split lip. For a few seconds, the rage inside David felt clean and satisfying.
David stood over him, breathing hard, and felt something shift. The anger didn’t disappear. It simply settled deeper, colder, and heavier than before.
Anger is very powerful. It can cause us to do very bad things. The 26th chapter of Numbers contains the results of a census which illustrates the long-term consequences of giving in to anger.
Right before Jacob died, he summoned his sons and told them what would befall them in the days to come (see Genesis 49). Regarding Simeon and Levi, he condemned the anger and wrath they exhibited against the men of Shechem (see Genesis 34 and 49:5-7). In fact, he cursed their anger. The consequence of their anger was that they would be scattered in Israel.
The 26th chapter of Numbers contains a census that was conducted right before Israel entered the Promised Land to possess it. The results of the census show us that the first step of scattering Levi and Simeon was to make them less numerous than all the other tribes.
Simeon numbered 22,200 men, which was the smallest of all the tribes. Every other tribe had at least 32,000 men. Some had twice as many men as Simeon. Some tribes had three times as many men as Simeon.
Num. 26:52 ¶ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Num. 26:53 “Among these the land shall be divided for an inheritance according to the number of names.
Num. 26:54 To the larger group you shall increase their inheritance, and to the smaller group you shall diminish their inheritance; each shall be given their inheritance according to those who were numbered of them.
The land was divided according to population. Since Simeon was less numerous, they would receive much less land, making it easier to eventually scatter them in Israel.
Num. 26:55 But the land shall be divided by lot. They shall receive their inheritance according to the names of the tribes of their fathers.
Num. 26:56 According to the selection by lot, their inheritance shall be divided between the larger and the smaller groups.”
Num. 26:57 ¶ And these are those who were numbered of the Levites according to their families:
of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites;
of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites;
of Merari, the family of the Merarites.
Num. 26:58 These are the families of Levi:
the family of the Libnites,
the family of the Hebronites,
the family of the Mahlites,
the family of the Mushites,
the family of the Korahites. Kohath became the father of Amram.
Num. 26:59 And the name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and she bore to Amram: Aaron and Moses and their sister Miriam.
Num. 26:60 And to Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
Num. 26:61 But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered strange fire before Yahweh.
Num. 26:62 And those who were numbered of them were 23,000, every male from a month old and upward, for they were not numbered among the sons of Israel since no inheritance was given to them among the sons of Israel.
Notice the number of Levites. There were only 23,000 of them. Other than Simeon, every other tribe had at least 32,000 men.
Notice the phrase “every male from a month old and upward”. The census of all the other tribes only included males age twenty and up. Even when counting all males a month old or older, Levi was still very small compared to the other tribes.
Num. 26:63 ¶ These are those who were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the sons of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
Num. 26:64 But among these there was not a man of those who were numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest, who numbered the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai.
Num. 26:65 For Yahweh had said of them, “They shall surely die in the wilderness.” And not a man was left of them, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.
Num. 27:1 ¶ Then the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph, came near; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah and Hoglah and Milcah and Tirzah.
Num. 27:2 And they stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest and before the leaders and all the congregation, at the doorway of the tent of meeting, saying,
Num. 27:3 “Our father died in the wilderness, yet he was not among the congregation of those who gathered themselves together against Yahweh in the congregation of Korah; but he died in his own sin, and he had no sons.
Num. 27:4 Why should the name of our father be withdrawn from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession among our father’s brothers.”
Num. 27:5 So Moses brought their case near before Yahweh.
Just as Simeon and Levi gave in to their anger and suffered long-term consequences, so too we may suffer consequences for giving in to anger. Paul commanded us to put away all anger (see Ephesians 4:31). James wrote that anger does not achieve the righteousness of God (see James 1:20).
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”