What role does obedience play in experiencing God's blessings, as seen in Numbers 26:22?

Setting the Scene

• Numbers 26 records Israel’s second wilderness census.

• Verse 22 concludes Judah’s tally:

“These were the clans of Judah, and their registration numbered 76,500.”

• Forty years earlier Judah counted 74,600 (Numbers 1:27). In spite of deaths during the wanderings, Judah grows by 1,900. That increase is not random; it testifies to God’s covenant faithfulness and to the tribe’s distinct posture of obedience.

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Judah’s Increase and the Obedience-Blessing Link

• God had promised Abraham a multiplying people (Genesis 22:17) and decreed that covenant obedience would unlock that promise (Genesis 17:1-2).

• Judah respected the leadership role prophesied in Genesis 49:8-10 and upheld Moses’ directives in camp order, marching, and worship.

• The result: numerical growth—a tangible blessing—while neighboring tribes such as Simeon shrank drastically (Numbers 26:14). Scripture ties that decline to rebellion at Peor (Numbers 25:1-9), emphasizing the contrast: obedience preserves, disobedience depletes.

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What Obedience Looks Like Today

• Hearing and doing God’s Word (James 1:22-25).

• Walking in covenant loyalty rather than convenience (John 15:10).

• Aligning daily choices with God’s revealed standards instead of cultural trends (Psalm 119:1-4).

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Blessings That Flow From Obedience

• Fruitfulness and growth—whether numerical, spiritual, or generational (Psalm 1:3).

• Security and protection (Deuteronomy 28:1-7).

• Enduring legacy that outlives the wilderness seasons of life (Proverbs 20:7).

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Warning From the Wilderness

• Israel’s history shows God’s blessings are not automatic; they are covenantal.

• Disobedience forfeits what obedience would have secured (Deuteronomy 28:15-20).

• Judah’s census gain stands as living proof that obedience invites God’s sustaining hand even in barren places.

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Key Takeaways

• Obedience positions God’s people to experience, not just expect, His promised favor.

• God counts—literally and figuratively—the faithful. Being numbered among the obedient is the pathway to being numbered among the blessed.

• Like Judah, believers who cling to God’s commands can flourish in wilderness seasons, confident that every act of obedience is recorded before the Lord and rewarded in His time.