Numbers 2:34
Thus did the people of Israel. According to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so they camped by their standards, and so they set out, each one in his clan, according to his fathers' house.
Tag: God is a God of Order
This section of Numbers is all about numbering the nation and structuring the nation. In the above passage we have a summary of the instructions of how they are to camp and to move, when God instructed them to break-camp and move out, following the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. The key thought here is, order. Here is a link to a picture of how they were to camp:
The thought is that God is a God about order and structure. Note what Paul tells the Corinthian believers, who were NOT following order and structure in their worship:
1 Corinthians 14:40
But all things should be done decently and in order.
This instruction is that the church is to be a place of order as opposed to chaos and happenstance. God did not have them move out and camp at their own will. The Tabernacle was in the middle of the camp to show its prominence and to keep them focused on God, who is to be at the center of their lives. When they moved out it was clockwise in motion, starting with the tribes (lead by Judah) to the East. God is a God of order. I recently passed a two week rock concert that is along the expressway, Thousands and thousands of party goers were camped, aimlessly in the field. It looked liked chaos. This would be the opposite of what we see in Numbers. God is a God of structure and our lives out to reflect that structure, order and stability.
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