“The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: the Israelites are to camp around the tent of meeting some distance from it, each of them under their standard and holding banners for their family.” (Numbers 2:1-2 NIV)
I was preaching on the tabernacle yesterday when it tumbled out: how the entirety of the Israelite camp was organized around the tabernacle. I had spent so many hours submerged in research that suddenly I was there, picking my way through the wilderness camp with God’s people. It was easy to orient myself among the masses with their tribal banners and company crests. But more than that, the great white tent stood at the center of all the camp activity. If I could have missed it’s stark walls rising in bright contrast against the varying shades of dust, I could not overlook the cloud of Glory hovering above it or the intoxicating incense that pulled me closer.
I realized in that moment, mid-message, how the whole of Jewish culture was oriented around that sacred space. The arrangement of the tribes and clans was set out like spokes on a wheel and God’s temporary habitat was the center hub. It seemed as though the people guarded the Tent of Meeting, but really, their proximity to Him was what kept them alive.
I imagined being a servant, perhaps the lowliest household member in a far-flung family. My small tent would have stood at the very edge of this enormous encampment (2 million souls or more) and still I could have seen the the presence of God hovering over my people. Even the least significant member of this mobile society could know the nearness of the living God.
“So the Israelites did everything the Lord commanded Moses: that is the way they encamped under the standards, and the way they set out, each of them with their clan or family.” (Numbers 2:24 NIV)
The Israelites complied and camped accordingly. Their lives were oriented around God’s presence and in return they received His provision, protection and peace.
Today’s pandemic has provided an opportunity to identify and examine our own hub of existence. When the world went still with the plague, what was left and was it enough? There are so many lesser entities we can orient our lives around, we settle for so much below what we were created for. Are our lives fixated on the Living God who never fails, or have we hung them up on lesser supports, faulty fasteners that give way the moment any real weight is laid upon them?
We are still asked to orient our lives around Him, much the way the Israelites set up their camp with God at the center. I believe He longs for us to live within reach of His presence, continually aware of His sovereignty over our situation. I think Sabbath still applies and the path between our place and His place should remain well-worn. I hope that we can live in close enough communion to appreciate His glory in any given moment.
“From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth, and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lans so the they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far off from any one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:26-28 NIV)
Lord, we want to live with You in sight, as the Israelites did. Today we invite You to take up residence in the very center of our camp. May our lives revolve around You: Your presence, Your Word, Your plans for Your people. Keep us from leaning into lesser things that will wash away with time. Be our center, Lord, You are enough. Amen.