Hello my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends,
I wonder how often you’ve moved in your life. I mean packed up everything you own and moved to a new town? It’s a complex process isn’t it? No matter whether it’s only you moving or a large family moving. And do you remember how you packed your most precious possessions very, very carefully, while some other things you just threw in a box? If you moved as a family, do you remember the challenges of helping children prepare to move or even the careful attention to elderly members of your family? Yesterday and today we’ve begun looking at one of the most remarkable migrations of people in all of human history and what important lessons God wants us to learn.
Yesterday we eavesdropped in on a conversation between Almighty God and Moses and Aaron found in Numbers 2 in the Bible. God was describing the vision He had for how these more than 1 million people, who had escaped from Egyptian slavery, were going to now live in some organized city fashion, and more importantly, how they would move, as a huge caravan, from one place to another, with all their belongings! God was describing a mobile city, with everyone living near their families, and with God at the center!
God had said “The Israelites are to camp AROUND the Tent of Meeting some distance from it, each man under his standard with the banners of his family.” (Numbers 2:1) Yesterday we saw how God explained the people of the tribes of Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Reuben, Simeon and Gad were to pitch their tents fanning out next to each other, according to families, clans and tribes. Three to the east, and three to the south of the “Tent of Meeting”. Oh and did I mention how many people this was? Yesterday we saw that only the men of army service age, probably about age 20-60, numbered 337,950 in these six tribes! So when we add all the other men, younger and older, plus all the women and young children.. well we can see it may have been nearly 1 million just in these six tribes, and that’s only about 1/2 the entire group of people who followed Moses out of Egypt!
As Moses and Aaron are meeting with God, hearing this remarkable plan, I wonder if they were thinking… “But, what about the “Tent of Meeting” and our families? Where do we fit in this city plan and in the parade when it’s time to move?” Do you sometimes ask that question… “God, where do I fit?” Listen to what God said to them: “Then the Tent of Meeting and the camp of the Levites will set out in the middle of the camps. They will set out in the same order as they encamp, each in his own place under his standard.” (Numbers 2:17) WOW… what a genius plan! History has shown us that when people are moving, especially on foot in a caravan with their animals and belongings, they normally move quite slowly and therefore they are an easy target for thieves, marauders, pirates and others who would do them harm. The “Tent of Meeting” and it’s precious Ark of the Covenant and Golden Lampstand and Altar of Incense and other remarkable artifacts, were all very precious to God and in time would become very precious to the Hebrew people. Travelling in the MIDDLE of this great parade procession would give adequate protection for the “Tent of Meeting” and all the precious worship artifacts!
God had designed the “Tent of Meeting” as a portable, mobile place of worship! So naturally Moses and Aaron wondered, WHO would be responsible for dismantling, transporting and re-assembling this “Tent of Meeting” each time the cloud lifted from above the “Tent” and led the people to move to a new place? And how long would that process take? And what exactly would be the process so as to treat the “Tent” and all the worship artifacts with the holy respect they deserve, and of course keep these precious artifacts safe from any damage as they moved from one place to another?
God had answers for all those questions, as He always does. Numbers chapter 2 gives us the logistical relocation plan for the entire nation of the Hebrew people, well over 1 million people, and exactly where each tribe should encamp around the “Tent of Meeting”, and in what order they should travel in the huge parade. Numbers 3 & 4 give us the details of the tribe of Levi. This tribe was chosen specifically by God to be the men who would care for the “Tent of Meeting,” including its dismantling, transport and re-assembly, whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tabernacle and God led His people to move from one place to another. As you read through these two chapters you’ll see God even gave very specific instructions regarding HOW all the sacred worship objects were to be prepared for transport, even down to what wrappings were to be used. Seems to me God was making it very clear that everything related to worship of Almighty, Holy God was important, and to be done with precision and profound respect.
WHY you might ask? Perhaps because we have a natural tendency to minimize respect for authority don’t we? You see it in schools, in business, in politics, in law and order, in the family, and even in the spiritual aspects of life. In fact, has there ever been a time in recent history where authority, leadership, even older age, traditions and wisdom was less respected then now? So I ask you my friends, with what level of awe and respect do you engage in every aspect of your spiritual life… prayer, worship, reading God’s Word the Bible?
Moses and Aaron were both of this tribe of Levi. In fact there were three large clans in the Levite tribe: the Kohathites, the Gershonites and the Merarites, each named after their patriarch, the three sons of Levi, Gershon, Kohath and Merari. (Numbers 3:17) Numbers 3 & 4 describes that the Levite tribe was to camp closest to the “Tent of Meeting”, with Moses and Aaron and their families to the east, and each of these three clans of the Levite tribe to the south, west and north. Can you envision this huge city of more than 1 million Hebrews all living in well arranged sections by families, clans and tribes, with the “Tent of Meeting”. representing the very Presence of God. in the center of this city?
How long it took for these people to re-arrange themselves according to God’s city plan I don’t know, but I do know, according to Number 9:1-5, God invited the people to celebrate their second Passover, right on schedule, here at Mount Sinai on the anniversary of their departure from Egyptian slavery! Can we imagine what that was like my friends? Oh so much had happened in this first year after that Passover night of escape and their deliverance through the Red Sea! As they sat around their campfires that night, roasting their Passover Lamb they were in clusters of families all able to see the pillar of fire above the “Tent of Meeting” at the center of their tent city, and the silhouette of Mount Sinai where God had proclaimed His 10 Commandments to these His people. Moses had 8 times gone up that mountain to meet with God, and brought God’s instructions back to these people.
Let’s pause right here my friends. I invite you to roam through this huge Hebrew city, from campfire to campfire. Listen to the older folks recount their God stories to their children and grandchildren, often pointing to the pillar of fire above the “Tent of Meeting”. No other people on planet earth have such stories of God’s miraculous work among them. In fact 40 years later, near the end of his life, Moses said this to those people: “Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created mankind on earth. Has anything so great as this ever happened? Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire as you have, and lived?
Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation by testings, by miraculous signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the LORD your God did for you…? You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides Him there is no other…“ (Deuteronomy 4:32-35)
Oh let’s thank God we have the record of all He did for Moses and these people, and we have the personal opportunity to live in a privileged relationship with this God through Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Lord! Take a moment my friends, and write in your journal how grateful you are to God today. And here’s a song to help us express our awe, our thankfulness to our great God!
Today’s Scripture is Numbers 2, 3, 4.
Choose below to read or listen.
Numbers 2
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Numbers 3
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Numbers 4
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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