Numbers 1:46 - all those listed were 603,550.

When God called Abraham, he was one man:

Genesis 12:1–3 - Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you… and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

His nephew, Lot, gets in a tight spot and we see his household’s count:

Genesis 14:14 - When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.

After Abraham rescues Lot, God speaks to Abraham again:

Genesis 15:5 - And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

Abraham’s household was 318 during the time of Lot. In Numbers, under Moses’ leading, his descendants number 603,550 men 20 years of age and older. A huge growth but still within numbering.

In the promise of Genesis 15, Abraham’s faith was rewarded by God:

Genesis 15:6 - And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

And we are all now his descendants:

Galatians 3:7 - Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.

Followers of The Way are now an incredible number of hundreds of millions - people all over the world. Just as God promised Abraham - uncountable!

The 603,550 in Numbers was a pit stop along the way. May he help us gather more into his family so that “all the families of the earth shall be blessed!”