Facing the Tent of Meeting

The people of Israel shall encamp facing the tent of meeting on every side. (Numbers 2:2)

Num. 2 13:6, 14:25; Ps. 37:5, 95:10-11; James 4:1-4

What Is God Saying?

The Book of Numbers, as the name implies, was intended to record a census and establish order for what could have been a short but perilous journey through the wilderness. The purpose of the numbering was to list all men eligible for military service. The short journey turned into long wandering because of the extensive and continual complaining and a lack of faith. Only two people out of more than 600,000 were allowed to enter the Promised Land. Even Moses failed the test and was denied entrance. Caleb and Joshua had a different spirit.

The logistics of such a massive Exodus are staggering. That it happened at all is a miracle. That it happened without their total cooperation is a miracle compounded. If it called for nothing else, it called for order, discipline, and the highest possible morale. All the tribes, each in its place and each with its standard, encamped around the tent of meeting. They faced the dwelling place of the Lord. That was the focal point. That was to keep them for each other and with each other. That was to give them community and to keep them mindful of their common enemy. They belonged to God and each other. It did not work perfectly, but it worked. That was a miracle.

How Does This Apply To Us?

This ancient truth gives us guidelines for living as individuals, as families, as churches, and as groups of churches. We are moving through a world which, for all its potential beauty and abundance, is a barren and hostile wilderness, full of greed and unrest, hatred, and war. Our enemies are determined and numerous. We are passing through a world that is at enmity with God. James reminds us that "whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." (Jas. 4:4). We need to keep God at the center, as did the children of Israel. We find our unity and our united front against all the enemies of faith and righteousness by keeping God central. Facing the tent of meeting, we know God is with us, with all of us, through the wilderness until we all come to the place prepared for us by our loving Savior.

Pray With Me

O Lord, You are the cause of all being. You are the center of my being. Like the people of Israel, I am moving through a wilderness and toward a Promised Land. Yet even that wilderness can be a paradise when aware of Your presence.

• I will not be lonely or disheartened when listening to Your voice.

• I will not be bewildered and wandering when obedient to Your will.

• I will not be weary when sustained by a living hope.

• I will not grow faint when nourished by the truth of Your all-conquering love.

Give me grace, Lord, never to settle down in any attitude or relationship that will keep me from facing the tent of meeting. Just as the Israelites set up their camp in a way that kept the symbol of Your presence always before them, let no side of my being remain turned away from that which, for my welfare and peace, must always remain central. Then, I shall leave the past without regret or guilt. Then, I shall live in the presence of friendship. Then, I shall move into the unknown with confidence.

Yes, the brighter, better tomorrow, the land that flows with milk and honey, the peace that guards all the borders of life, will never be an empty dream, so long as I determine that on every side, with every part of my being, in every day and every hour of my life, I shall camp facing the tent of meeting, the place of Your presence.

Through Jesus Christ, whose love faces me on every side. Amen.

Moving On In The Life of Prayer

Prayer is the way we keep facing the tent of meeting. Things always happen when we are in one accord in one place. (Acts 1:14, 2:1, 2:46, 4:24, etc.) Then, when we must fly solo through the storms of life, we stay on the beam of God's presence, power, and love. Having faced the tent of meeting in prayer, we can face the wilderness, the world, and the enemy and be more than conquerors through Him who loves us.