For most people, it’s easy to be counted. Fill out a census form. Mail it back, or return it online. But the U.S. Census Bureau sends walking workers out to find people in hard-to-count areas.

United States officials take a census every 10 years. The Constitution says they have to—and for good reason. When people respond to the census, they’re helping their community get everything from hospitals to roads. Business owners also look at census information. They may build factories or stores in areas where a lot of people live. That means more jobs. Local governments use census data to make sure their towns and cities have what they need for emergencies.

But censuses are much older than the U.S. Constitution. Read about the very first census in the Old Testament book of Numbers. This census was taken to figure out who was old enough to serve in the military. Forty years later, the Israelites were counted again. That census (Numbers 26) counted the people and divided up lands. (That happens in the United States too. Census numbers are used to divide states fairly. Government leaders are chosen to represent each area.)

David takes a census in 2 Samuel 24. Solomon takes one in 2 Chronicles 2. Ezra 2 lists the names and numbers of the people of Israel when they returned to Jerusalem. And if you read about these counts, you’ll run into long lists of hard-to-pronounce names. But each name has value. In the Old Testament, lists of names remind us of God’s faithfulness to Israel. In the New Testament, recorded names connect the Old Testament promises to Jesus Christ.

A census shows care for every single person. As the Israelites wandered, God counted them. He counted them to prepare for battle. When they returned from exile, He counted again. And the most famous census of all was taken the year of Jesus’ birth. (Luke 2:1) But census takers didn’t come to Mary and Joseph. They had to travel a long distance to be counted. Their trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem was 90 miles long!