A Place to Live

Numbers 2:1-3…and 33-34 -  The LORD said to Moses and Aaron:  "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."  On the east, toward the sunrise, the divisions of the camp of Judah are to encamp under their standard. The leader of the people of Judah is Nahshon son of Amminadab. ………………….The Levites, however, were not counted along with the other Israelites, as the LORD commanded Moses.  So the Israelites did everything the LORD commanded Moses; that is the way they encamped under their standards, and that is the way they set out, each with his clan and family.

 

God laid out a certain place for each tribe to camp around the sacred tabernacle. The tabernacle would be surrounded by the tribe of Levite…so that they could protect and care for it….be nearby the work God had given them to do. They were also placed next to the tabernacle as a hedge of protection for the people….to protect them from the wrath of God. Then God told Moses the exact spot he wanted the families he had just organized to live….under the tribal standard they had made. They would live in this configuration…and travel in this order….for as long as they remained in God’s care.

 

It would have been a huge camp….needing a plot of land more than 12 miles square to follow this configuration….about 7,680 acres. Since the Israelites had grown to such a large nation…this grouping made it easier for Moses to lead such an enormous group of people.  It would also help them set up divisions of land once they got to the promised land.  Organized this way….they could be more effective in their daily lives and follow the rules God gave them at the base of Mount Sinai. Organized this way…they kept God at the center of their camp….the Levites and the tabernacle in the middle when they traveled.

 

God has prepared all of us a place to live on this earth too. He wants us to be organized and connected to families and churches so that we can be his hands and feet here. He still wants to be at the center of our lives….and be in the middle of all that we do. He wants us to be ordered and organized…like the very world he created for us to live in. So ….I can’t help but wonder...just what God thinks when he looks down on our world today.  Does he see the order he asked for from these Israelites …or does he see the disorder Satan has created by tricking us with our selfishness and greed. Does God see us taking care of each other in love…circling round his presence….or fending for ourselves as we walk through the daily chores of life…living where we think we can look out for ourselves with the most possible gain. 

 

I have to admit…when he looks down on me… he sees a mixture of the two…for I know for sure that some  days I am right smack dab where he wants me…serving him and enjoying his sweet peace when I get it right.  But other days…probably most….I wake up to so many tricks of Satan that I fail miserably….and I walk around in Satan’s fog of confusion instead of God’s plan for my day. Oh how I need God to help me organize myself around his believers and gain strength from them each day.

 

Father….I am so sorry that I allow life and Satan’s tricks to keep me from my appointments with you. Help me Lord to reorganize my life around your tabernacle in my heart…and listen more carefully for the plans you set apart just for me. Help me to recognize Satan’s tricks and turn to you for guidance and help...to use your holy word to send Satan far away from me…so I can stay centered on the task you gave me to do…and share your truth with all that need to hear it.  Amen.