God Ordered an Army [Numbers 1]

2"Take a census
   of all the congregation of the sons of Israel,
       by their families,
       by their fathers' households,
           according to the number of names,
               every male,
                   head by head

3from twenty years old and upward,
   whoever is able to go out to war in Israel,
       you and Aaron
           shall number them by their armies.

4"With you, moreover,
   there shall be a man of each tribe,
       each one head of his father's household.

God knew that the people were going to have to fight enemies along the way. Therefore, He gave instructions on how to prepare the army with the appropriate leadership. There were 12 men who led their tribes and the thousands of fighting age men in their tribes. God was going to go before them and prepare for their victory, but He expected them to participate in the battle for their land. He only allowed the men to be part of the army and the leadership of the community and he expected every capable man to fight. The Levites were exempted from the army. Their job was to take care of the tabernacle and all that was involved in the spiritual aspect of the community. At this point, the people listened to God and obeyed Him.

⁵⁴Thus the sons of Israel did; according to all which the LORD had commanded Moses, so they did.

As I consider God's careful ordering and guidance of the lives of the people throughout these Old Testament readings, it occurs to me that the Israelites had a dependency on God for every aspect of their lives. He provided for their personal needs, their community needs and for their future needs as they made their way towards the promised land. All they had to do was to listen and obey and do "all which the LORD had commanded Moses." As long as the people did what God said, things ran pretty smoothly.

In the long run, many of the people reverted to following their own way, disturbing the plans and order God provided which brought devastation on the community. Dependency on God through external rules and regs were simply the stage and props for the play that was to premier years later. It was just the background for the drama to come.

In the Old Testament, the stage and seating were carefully built. Then, finally, after the background, props and lights were are in place and the people were in their seats, the play began with the coming of Jesus as a baby into this world. Then, those who were prepared watched the play unfold and recognized that Jesus was "the way, the truth and the life." He would provide them with a new heart that only and always wants to obey God, something that rules and regs could not do.

What God seemed to impress upon my heart this morning is God's picture in the Old Testament of total dependency on God's order and guidance for every aspect of life. I don't have to look to Moses or the Law for that, although they are a foundation for my life and stir up His Spirit in me as I read. What I have is "everything I need for life and godliness." I have something so much better than just the Law and my heart is stirred by His Word this morning to want to be dependent on Him every waking moment as I clearly see how He ordered every aspect of the lives of His people so they would be healthy, protected and abundantly blessed.

Thank you Father for displaying Your care and love for every aspect of the lives of Your people... to bless them and protect them as they depended upon Your instructions. I praise You that You want to bless us and protect us, too, through a dependency upon Your Spirit through Jesus. Cause us to believe that as we keep on surrendering our selves and desires to You in exchange for Your guidance and love, You will fill us with peace, joy and all that we need to live today well. We can't, but You can!

Beth Warlick, 7/6/2010

Feedback:

	Sonya M (Guest)	07/10/2010 17:12
This just reminds me of a verse in Hebrews about how God would write his law on our hearts and how we would know Him! The Israelites tried on and off to follow the letter of the law, but now we have Christ in us and we can follow from the inside/heart, not from the outside. Love it!
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