God in the Center

God in the Center  

Numbers Chapter 2 begins with God giving Moses directions on how the Israelites should camp.  The nation is living in tents in the desert, following God's direction as communicated verbally by Moses and symbolically by the cloud lifting.  To avoid chaos and confusion, quarreling and jockeying for position, God tells them how He wants them to arrange themselves around the Tabernacle in the center of their encampment.  Nobody will take the place of honor for themselves or push someone else out of place because God is giving the design to them.  Our God is a God of order. "For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people" (1 Corinthians 14:33).  When you see God's people behaving "out of order" they are also out of the will of God.  Nobody is perfect, but we need to be close to the Lord through His Word and prayer so we can sense that check in our spirit, conviction of doing things our own way contrary to holiness.

The brothers may have experienced conflict trying to decide on an arrangement for the camp.  God knew this and warded off any potential problems by setting up a system.  When my children were young, we tried to have a rotation of who gets to sit up front with me when we drove places.  Having a system avoided fights over that seat whenever we went somewhere in the car.  Siblings can be that way; very competitive.  It is often in our nature to want to be first.  Jesus tells us we should put others first.  (Read Philippians 2:3-4) This is not easy. Ask yourself: When was the last time I died to myself and put others first?

The tribes are situated in triplets at each of the compass points.  Judah is listed first.  Judah is now the tribe of honor, though he is fourth in birth order, because Reuben, Simeon and Levi disqualified themselves.  Reuben, the oldest, lost the rights of the firstborn because he slept with his father’s concubine (See Genesis 35:22, 49:3-4).  Simeon and Levi were Jacob’s second and third sons, but they had slain all the Shechemites for violating their sister Dinah, so they were destined to be scattered in the land (See Genesis 34, 49:5-7).  Levi redeemed himself fighting for the Lord's honor, but his father's prophesy of being scattered is a facet of the priesthood (living in cities of refuge, which we will learn about much later in Numbers 35).  Judah rose to the prominent position in the tribes of Israel as the fourth-born son of Jacob.  From Judah, Jesus the Messiah would be born (as foretold by Jacob in Genesis 49:10). Not only is Judah listed first, but he and the two tribes in his camp were given the desirable location of East of the Tabernacle.  

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LEGACY

Judah’s placement on the east is very significant.  The east is the place of the rising sun, a source of hope and sustenance.  “For Israel, the place of pride was on the east.” (Expositor’s Commentary, p. 715) Judah is in a place of honor.  King David and the King of kings would come from the line of Judah.  What about your ancestry?  Is there anyone you are proud of in your family line? If there is no one famous, is there someone godly?  What do you remember about a beloved relative?

My dad's mother was a very godly woman.  I can remember how she prayed a lot and how people watched what they said around her.  She was quiet, loving and kind. Her children and grandchildren reaped the benefit of her legacy.  I love spending time with them all.

If you are the first one to know Christ in your family, you are the one they will look back to and be thankful for.  Praise God!  What kind of legacy do you want to leave? Be purposeful to fulfill God’s calling for you as the pioneer Christian in your family line.  What an honor and privilege!  It is also very difficult.  Pray for wisdom, strength, boldness when needed and humility at all times.  Love the ungodly and don’t judge them.  Stand firm to your convictions and inject the word of God into your conversations.  Offer to pray WITH unbelievers and see God change their life. 

GET SET

God also tells them their marching order when they are on the move.  He tells them who should set out first and what order the tribes and camps should follow.  Verse 17 tells us that the Levites will set out in the middle, protected by the other camps who carry arms.  In subsequent chapters we will learn more about the Levites, their duties, their position in the camp and how they set out among the tribes.  As far as encampment, the diagram below presents all we know so far.