Camping in the Wilderness

Camping in the Wilderness

Preview

The Book of Numbers begins with God giving Moses the criteria under which a census of the tribes of Israel would be conducted. Moses was to count all the men of fighting age, over the age of twenty, according to each tribe. God also identified the men He had chosen and matured to be the elders, and hence leaders, of the respective tribes. They were designated to assist in taking the census and ultimately lead their respective tribes. The census itself occurred in the second year after the Israelites had left Egypt and were headed toward the Promised Land.

Moving into the second chapter and reading it from, shall we say, an aerial view, we see some curious facts. Few of these appear to be of real interest or significance by themselves outside of the obvious. They include the arrangement of the encampment, including where each tribe camped and with whom, the identification of the leaders of these tribes, and the results of the census. None of this data is what could be deemed edifying, or spiritually uplifting, on the surface. However, as we begin to dig deeper into the relationships and underlying truths, our understanding and appreciation of these verses grows.

As our helicopter begins to hover in, the first thing we notice is the arrangement of the tribes. We note that there are three tribes grouped together at the four points of the compass: east, south, west, and north, with the tribe of Levi and the tabernacle in the center.

While this is descriptive information and of some interest, it does not appear to tell us anything really significant—or does it? At this point, the questions start to surface. Some of these include the following:

Why was Judah designated as the first tribe in the east?

Why are the tribes grouped as they are?

Is there a special significance to the groupings?

Why are the tribes who are designated as leaders so designated?

Why identify the tribal leaders?

Why are they arranged in this pattern?

What are the standards or banners mentioned?

Are they significant?

What is the reason for including the census numbers?

Why was the tribe of Levi in the center of the camp?

Is there something special about the marching order?

These questions serve as the launch pad for our analysis of this passage. Answering them leads to additional questions as we dig through each level of these verses. These are the pickax, hammer, and chisel for our scripture mining of this chapter. As each question gets answered, the truth that continues to surface is the divine design God built into this camping arrangement.