Word of Salvation - March 2010

 

Numbers 2 - IT’S NOT JUST A MAP - by John Westendorp

(Sermon 2 in a series on Numbers)

 Scripture Reading: Numbers 2

Singing: Book of Worship 505 / 91 / 34a / 96 & ‘Oh the mercy of God’

 

Introd: An older colleague of mine was visited for the first time by his grandson from interstate.

When he came into his granddad’s study he was awestruck by the shelves and shelves of books.

He said: Opa, what a lot of books you have. Have your read them all?
My colleague laughed and replied that there were many books he had not read.
The little lad looked really sad and my friend asked him what the problem was.
He said: Opa you’ve got so many books and you’re already old.
You might die before you are able to read all those books.

 

That young lad didn’t realise that there are lots of useful books that we refer to... but don’t read.
A telephone book is a very useful book but would you take it along for holiday reading...?
Okay... it’s got some great characters in it... but the plot is pathetic.
You often need a dictionary... but would you curl up on the couch with your Oxford dictionary?

 

Another publication in that category is an atlas... or a map.
You’re not likely to take a map to bed with you for bedtime reading.
Maps are important when you’re lost... or when you need to know where to go.
But they don’t excite you or enthuse you... you won’t see them made into a movie.

 

In Numbers 1 last time we had a list... but it wasn’t just a list.
In Numbers 2 we now have a map... a layout of the camp of the Israelites in the wilderness.
But it’s not just a map.

 

A] THE MAP WHERE WORSHIP OF GOD IS CENTRAL.

 

1. This first thing that is immediately obvious about this map is what is at the centre.

In our maps of our city the CBD is at the centre. That’s the hub of who we are as a community.
The CBD with its shops and offices... and the council chambers.
The heart of the city is the various services such as the police station and the law courts.

 

But what’s at the centre of this map in Number 2? The opening verses spell it out right away.
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: The Israelites are to camp around the tent of meeting.
The map in Numbers 2 shows how Israel was arranged around the Tabernacle.

 

Last time I mentioned how sociologists distinguish two kinds of groups in society.
There are edge-bound groups... groups where it’s very clear who is in and who is out.
These people may have little in common except that they belong to that group.
The family is an edge-bound group.
There are also centre-bound groups... groups where it’s not very clear who belongs.
But the people in the group all have a common interest that binds them together.
Wallaby fans are a centre-bound group.

 

The church is one of the few groups in society that is both edge-bound and centre-bound.
In Numbers 1 the OT church is pictured as an edge-bound group.
A census is taken to see who is in and who is not.
In Numbers 2 the OT church is now shown as a centre-bound group with a common interest.
And that common interest is God, God who is present in the Tabernacle.

 

This is not just a map. This is a reminder that God is at the heart of ordinary daily life.
This is not just a map... this is a powerful picture that life is all about God.
That now becomes visibly evident in the arrangement of Israel around the Tabernacle.

 

2. The point is that it wasn’t good enough simply to be included in the census in Numbers 1.

It’s not good enough to be counted as in... to be regarded as belonging.
We also need to ask whether we share in that common interest.
Are God and the things of God at the heart and centre of our life?

 

Please remember that the tabernacle was the place where God was especially present.
In the inner sanctuary... in the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant.
On the lid of that Ark – the mercy seat – were two cherubim... two angels.
Between those cherubim was God’s earthly throne... the place where His glory was present.

 

But that Tabernacle was also called the Tent of Meeting... it was the place of worship.
It’s where people came with their sacrifices and offerings.
And this place of worship now forms the heart and centre of the Israelite camp.
It is the focal point of the map in Numbers 2.

And then not only when they camp... also as they travel.
As they continue their journey half the tribes go in front of the packed-away Tabernacle.
The other half follow along behind.
In other words, this place of worship is always central to their communal life.

 

So the issue is not just whether we’ve been counted as being in... whether we belong to a church.
Although Numbers 1 reminds us of the importance of being counted as belonging.
But the issue is especially whether God and the worship of Him are at the centre of our life.
Some people think as long as they made their profession of faith they’re okay.
Or perhaps they came forward at some evangelistic rally...
Or maybe some counsellor led them to pray a sinner’s prayer....
It’s not enough. The question is whether you are centred on the worship of God.

 

Let me take that even one step further... so often when it comes to God our focus is God’s blessing.
We want Him to bless us and make us happy... we want Him to hear our prayers.
Here it’s not even first of all about God’s blessings.
And the blessings were great: manna in the wilderness; the Promised Land lay ahead.
But no! The issue here is God Himself... His presence... the worship of Him.
Is that really the thing that is most important to you in your life?

 

3. One other thing needs to be said about the Tabernacle at the centre of the camp.

The previous chapter ended by saying that the tribe of Levi was to camp around the Tabernacle.
The next chapter will give us the details.
It shows which of the families of the Levites camped on which side of the Tabernacle.
But the point is that they are camped between the Tabernacle and the people.

 

That teaches us something else this morning.
It is a scary thing to have the Creator God of the Universe living in your midst.
To encounter Him is a fearsome thing. Repeatedly in Scripture people fall down as if dead.
This God is a holy God who cannot condone sin in any shape or form.
And Israel is a rebellious people who repeatedly kick over the traces.
So we have instance after instance where God’s anger breaks out against Israel.

 

And so what God does is that He appoints a special tribe to mediate between Him and the nation:
The tribe of Levi.
So there is another way in which we see that this isn’t just a map.
It is a reminder that a go-between is needed between this holy God and His sinful people.
So we have the Levites (and the sacrificial system) located between Tabernacle and people.
And the wonderful thing is that sacrificial system of the Levites is now fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
He is the Mediator who is – as it were – camped between God and us. Our Go-between.

 

B] A MAP THAT SHOWS GOD’S JUDGEMENT ON SIN.

 

1. Numbers 2 has some other lessons to teach us.

The chapter begins by stressing that God is central to the camp of the Israelites.

But it only devotes a couple of opening lines to this idea that life is about God.

 

The next 32 verses tell us how Israel was arranged around the Tabernacle.
It wasn’t a case of reaching their next stop and everyone scrambling for the best spots.
No! There is a certain order and design in the way in which the tribes are to camp.
That’s where Numbers 2 begins to look very much like a map.
It sets out the four points of the compass and then tells each tribe where to camp.

 

It is immediately obvious that the arrangement is not one of strict equality.
Some of you will be familiar with the legend of King Arthur.
Do you remember the shape of the table around which King Arthur’s knights deliberated?
It was a round table. Why? So that there would be no debate about who was most important.
At a round table no one sits at the head. That is a setting designed for equality.
But in this map in Numbers 2 Israel are not camped in a circle of equality.

 

There is a very deliberate hierarchy... an order of importance... there is an inbuilt slant on privilege.
The Eastern side – the side of the rising sun is prime real estate.
That’s also the side of the opening of the Tabernacle... its opening faced East.
The order of importance then rotates clockwise around the Tabernacle...
with the least important position being to the north of the tabernacle.

 

The degree of privilege is based on their tribal relationship to the twelve sons of Jacob.
But it is not a position that is based on seniority – from youngest to oldest.
The descendants of Jacob’s wife Leah are camped to the East.
With the exception of Reuben and Simeon who are to south.
Together with Gad – a tribe descended from Leah’s maidservant.
To the West we have the children of Rachel and to the north more children of maidservants.

 

2. It’s tempting to say: Big deal! Some sort of order was needed and this was as good as any.

No! God has arranged this order and there are some very deliberate placements here.
Again... this is not just a map... this is map that has a story to tell.
And it tells first of all a story of God’s judgment on human sinfulness.

 

Why, for example, does Judah take the place of prominence?
Judah was not the oldest son of Jacob... Reuben was.
But Reuben is given an inferior place to the south of the Tabernacle...
while his younger brother Judah takes the place of seniority. Why?

It is because of Reuben’s sexual sin. He had slept with his father’s concubine
And at the end of his life when Jacob blessed his sons Reuben missed out.
Because of his sin he lost the privileged position of being the firstborn.
Instead Judah was given that privilege.

 

Similarly Simeon, Jacob’s second son, is pushed down the pecking order and also put to the South.
And again – if we ask, ‘Why?’ – it is because of God’s judgment on human sinfulness.
There was a terrible atrocity that Simeon and Levi together committed.

When a Canaanite prince wanted to marry their sister, Dinah, they dealt deceptively with him.
Simeon and Levi eventually slaughtered him and all his people.
Again Jacob held that against them as he blessed his sons on his deathbed.
And now Simeon too is removed from a position of honour that he might have had.

 

3. There is a lesson in that for us today. Sin has consequences. It always does.

But sin not only has consequences for us ourselves.
It so often also has consequences for our children... sometimes for generations to come.

 

There is a classic example of that in the Bible... from the life of King David.
David committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband Uriah.
But in those sins he left an example for his kids and they imitated dad with a vengeance.
Amnon raped his own half-sister Tamar... for which Tamar’s brother later killed him.
Absalom tried to kill his own father and fornicated with his father’s concubines.
Sin has consequences... but not just for us... very often also for our descendants.

 

There are some advantages to being in ministry for more than three decades (John W).
One of them is that you get to see some long-term perspectives on human problems.
I once knew a man who wasn’t very good at getting along with his siblings.
He had a run-in with one of them so he left town and moved elsewhere.
But he had another sibling in that town with whom he eventually also came to blows.
So once again... instead of dealing with it he moved on elsewhere.
Years later when his children grew up some of them adopted the same approach.
Relational problems were solved by running away from them.
The sin of a failure to be reconciled had effects into the next generation.

 

Numbers 2 is not just a map... it’s a reminder to us of the nature of sin.
So often when we sin we think that it’s just a private matter between us and God.
Or – at worst – between us and God and the particular person we sin against.
But often it has consequences for the following generations.
Here some tribes suffered the consequences of their ancestors’ wrong choices 400 years later.

 

Okay... I want to make one important distinction here.
There is a difference between the forgiveness of sin and the consequences of sin.
Remember: Israel is camped around the Tabernacle
And the Tabernacle is the place of sacrifice... the place where sin is atoned for.

For us today we find forgiveness by coming to Jesus with our sins.
And He fully pardons all our sins on the basis of His death on the cross.
But God doesn’t always take away the consequences of our sin.
He’ll forgive you for a pregnancy from a one-night stand but he won’t take away the baby.

Numbers 2 reminds us that your sin can affect your children and your grandchildren.
And we still see that so very vividly at times... for example in divorce.

 

C] A MAP SHOWING THE OUTWORKING OF GRACE.

 

1. There is one other way in which Numbers 2 is not just a map.

And that is that grace is very evident in this chapter too... in a number of ways.

 

For starters we notice that there is still a place for Reuben and Simeon in that camp.
Yes... in the order of priorities they are relegated to a place of lesser honour.
But they are not banished from the camp.
Despite the sin of their ancestors they still have a place around that Tabernacle.
They are still part of the people of God... they still belong.
They are part of that community that has worship of God as its priority.

 

Grace is a wonderful thing. Grace is receiving what we haven’t deserved.
But grace also has the power to transform.
It can even change the curse of Jacob and Reuben into a blessing for posterity.
These tribes too will make their contribution to the welfare of the nation.

 

2. Perhaps the case of Judah’s prominence demonstrates grace even more clearly.

Judah had not exactly been a paragon of virtue either.

When we read the story of Judah we come across the name of Tamar.
She was the daughter-in-law of Judah.
But sadly Judah ended up having a son by his own daughter-in-law.
Read that story and we say: Well he certainly didn’t deserve number one spot either!

 

This is not just a map. It’s a picture of grace.
That so often we get what we do not deserve... what we do not have a right to.
It’s not Judah’s outstanding qualities that led to his tribe having the position of honour.
It was God’s grace to Judah.
And Numbers 2 highlights that grace as Judah is promoted to choicest part of the camp.

 

Perhaps we should add that grace was evident in Judah’s life much earlier.
Judah learnt some lessons as the years went by.
And he demonstrated a changed life on a very notable occasion.
When Joseph was in Egypt he demanded that they bring his brother Benjamin.
Joseph then had Benjamin arrested to test his brothers.
On that occasion Judah defended Benjamin and asked to take his place.

Grace is God’s undeserved favour but that grace always transforms.
And it did change Judah’s life and equipped him as suitable ancestor
for the tribe that not only took number one spot in the camp of Israel
but was also the tribe from which the Lord Jesus would one day be born.

 

3. Perhaps grace is most clearly seen in what happened to the tribe of Levi.

Levi – together with Simeon – had massacred the people of Shechem after the affair with Dinah.
Their cruelty was notorious in the family of Jacob.
And for that reason Jacob predicted their dispersion in Israel.
They would lack the unity and cohesion of the other tribes.

 

But again God is gracious and His grace transforms.
Yes... Levi is dispersed in Israel... but they are dispersed for the spiritual blessing of the nation.
They become the people who tend to the things of the tabernacle.
They become the people from whom the Priests are selected.
They become the people who wander through Israel teaching the law of God.

 

This is not just a map... it’s a picture of what God is doing.
It’s reminder of His wonderful grace.
That he takes a tribe like that of Levi and uses it for building up His OT church.
Dispersed... but dispersed to be a spiritual blessing to the people.

 

By the time we get to the NT there are many tribes about which we no longer hear anything.
But in the NT we do still hear of Levites.
God’s grace is always greater than all our sins.
And nothing reminds us of that more clearly than He who fulfilled all that the Levites worked for.
Jesus. The one who fulfils the sacrificial system of the Tabernacle.
And the One who is now at the centre of our lives and the centre of our worship.

 

Numbers 2 is not just a map. Ultimately – like the rest of the Bible – it wants to bring us to Jesus.

To the One whose death and victory we remember and celebrate.
But then just as Israel centred its life around the Tabernacle
we need to make sure that our lives centre on Him to the praise of His glorious grace.

Amen