“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.”
~ Numbers 2:34
Hi James and Ellen,
Do you like having everything meticulously organized or haphazardly topsy-turvy? Do you like having your bedroom looking fastidiously neat or chaotically untidy? Do you think that God has created on planet Earth order or disorder? Your grandpaa believes that God only knows order. Guys, gals and kids who have lived, are living and will live on planet Earth all were, are and will be born with sin DNA. Sin DNA is being passed from generation to generation beginning with the very first guy and gal – who were Adam and Eve, who lived, are living and will live on planet Earth. Disorder is a component or an element of sin. Your grandpaa believes that God has – at this very moment, the absolute power to totally eradicate sin but . . . God’s infinite, universal creation is an ordered ever unfolding, preprogrammed live act that He designed for an immeasurable timeframe and around a macro cosmic context. Your unfolding disordered and messy lives that your grandpaa believes are being choreographed precisely the way that God in His sovereignty preordained them to be before He created planet Earth for you to live for a finite tenure and within a micro earthbound context. Your grandpaa believes that God is irrevocably immune to the influence of sin while your lives have been inestimably contaminated by sin. Do you think that there is a way that the disorder and messiness that is in your lives can ever be reconciled with God’s absolute and purposeful order?
Before God – as God the Son, came to planet Earth where He would die while tied and nailed to a cross so that through His death eternal order can be claimed by guys, gals and kids who internalize and with intention believe as an absolute the reason and purpose why God – as God the Son – Jesus, had to be crucified on a cross, a people group was used by God – as God the Father, as a case model to illustrate the continual frustrations of having to live under laws and rules that ultimately fomented external disorder. The Israelite people group of guys and gals were specially chosen by God – as God the Father, to be His case model. The Israelite people group of guys and gals have a history that dates back 4000 years to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and to a land area called Palestine or Canaan that was home to these three Israelite people group patriarchs. Abraham’s extended family experienced rapid growth after one of his great grandsons – Joseph, got himself crosswise with his bros to a point where some of them first dumped him into a dry well before selling him to Midianite merchants who were passing by in a camel caravan who then took him to Egypt where he ultimately became a Pharaoh’s right hand guy. Because Joseph knew that a pending famine would affect the land areas of Egypt and Canaan – Canaan being where his dad and bros were still living, Joseph was given the okay to store up huge amounts of grain before the famine hit. Joseph’s bros in order to survive had to make the long trek from Canaan to Egypt to get foodstuff. In the course of doing this – and because it was in God’s foreordained, ordered plan to take place the exact way that it took place, Joseph’s dad and his eleven bros and their families relocated in Goshen, Egypt. The Israelite people group of guys and gals over the next 400 or so years grew to over two million guys, gals and kids. Two million guys, gals and kids would be like adding up all the guys, gals and kids who are living in the state where you are living – which is Delaware, and the state where your grandpaa and your Aunt Lynn were born – which was South Dakota, and still come up over 400,000 guys, gals and kids short.
God over 3450 years ago had His specially chosen guys, gals and kids on an exodus back to the land where their Israelite people group’s forefathers – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, had called home. God’s marching orders for His specially chosen guys and gals are found in Numbers 2. Because the Israelite people group guys, gals and kids witnessed God’s power in Egypt – where God used ten plagues to convince the Pharaoh to let His people group of guys, gals and kids go, and then at the Red Sea – where after God opened up a path through the sea’s waters for His specially chosen guys, gals and kids to pass through and then closing the path to drown the Pharaoh and his army, God’s specially chosen guys and gals were very ready to do what God wanted them to do. Verse 34 says, “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.” Picture dividing up all the guys, gals and kids who are living in Delaware and in South Dakota – with another 400,000 or so guys, gals and kids added to the number, into thirteen tribal clans. Picture in the middle of this mass of guys, gals and kids a beautifully designed worship center called the Tent of Meetings. One of the tribal clans – the Levi tribal clan, had the responsibility of dismantling the Tent of Meetings, carrying the tabernacle, and then putting back together the Tent of Meetings. The Levi tribal clan was positioned around the Tent of Meetings. Picture the other twelve tribal clans on a long trek with the Levi tribal clan carrying the tabernacle that was in the Tent of Meetings. Picture each tribal clan with their own flag that they always put in front of their assigned campsite. The Judah, Issachar and Zebulun tribal clans were always to camp to the east of the tabernacle and the Tent of Meetings. The Reuben, Simeon and Gad tribal clans were always to camp to the south of the tabernacle and the Tent of Meetings. The Ephraim, Manasseh – who were Joseph’s sons, and Benjamin tribal clans were always to camp to the west of the tabernacle and the Tent of Meetings. The Naphtali, Asher and Dan tribal clans were to always to camp to the north of the tabernacle and the Tent of Meetings. How long do you think that the Israelite people groups twelve tribal clans obeyed the laws and rules that God gave them.
Numbers 2 (719)