There is a spiritual gravitational pull in my life from whatever I place at its center. Is it Christ?
So far, so good. Numbers 1 concludes: “Thus the children of Israel did; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so they did” (v 54). The phrase “the Lord commanded Moses” occurs 21 times in the book. This is one of the simplest, yet most profound, ideas in the Bible. The path of obedience is the path of blessing. The more one-to-one correspondence between what God says and what I do, the happier I am. Or as John H. Sammis put it, “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way To be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.” Chapter 2 underlines this by placing the tabernacle not only in the midst when they were camped but also when they traveled. Judah, along with Issachar and Zebulun, was “on the east side, toward the rising of the sun” (v 3; see vv 3-9). On the south side of the tabernacle was Reuben, joined by Simeon and Gad (vv 10-16). Now, with half the tribes accounted for, there is a pause in the encampment layout, and the Holy Spirit injects these words: “And the tabernacle of meeting shall move out with the camp of the Levites in the middle of the camps; as they camp, so they shall move out, everyone in his place, by their standards” (v 17). Then the rest of the tribes are located: Ephraim on the west, with Manasseh and Benjamin (vv 18-24), and Dan on the north, with Asher and Naphtali (vv 25-31). Once again the truth is driven home. If God has His rightful place, everything is in order. It’s good for us to pause and ask: Does the Lord have His proper place at the center of my life? Of my family and marriage? Is He central to my business and finances? What about my church life and service for Him? It is sadly possible to give the Lord a place but not the place. Let’s check our encampment, too!