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. Numbers 2:17 NKJV)
When I read through the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, I see there was divine order in everything. It wasn’t, “Wherever you want to sleep, sleep. Wherever you want to camp, camp.” It wasn’t that way at all! It was very much in order.
For example, there were detailed instructions on setting up the Tabernacle—the dwelling place of the Divine—which included it having only one door (see Exodus 26:36). Why is this important? What does it tell us about divine order? Well, Jesus Himself said, “I am the door…” (John 10:9a KJV). There is only one way to the Father, and that is through Jesus Christ!
God also had very specific instructions about the arrangement of the camps and how they moved together (see Numbers 1-2). As God prepared the Israelites for their journey to the Promised Land, He told Moses He wanted three tribes to the north, three tribes to the south, three tribes to the east, and three tribes to the west. And He named the tribes. So, these tribes came in by layers and camped. And they camped around the tabernacle. They formed a cross and made the tabernacle the center of their lives. What does this tell us? Jesus needs to be the center of our lives!
Reading about the design of the tabernacle, the regulations for sacrifices, and the order of the tribes may initially come across as boring and tedious, but not when you see that through the divine details, God is pointing us to the Cross!
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for caring about the details of our lives! Help us to maintain proper order – always keeping Jesus first!
