Worship At The Center of Life

Numbers 2.1-34

The LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt. Over 400 years before the Exodus there were 70 of Jacob and his descendants (Genesis 46.27). Now there were over 600,000 men over the age of 20.

They had received the law and the instructions for building the Tabernacle, Tent of Meeting on Mount Sinai. They had completed the work on it (Exodus 39.42-43). God was getting them ready to move on in conquest and bring them into the Promised Land.

These were Israel's formative years- from a family to a nation. You can learn a lot from any entity from studying its formative years. Theirs showed the place God wanted Him to have in their lives: At the center. The formative years of Israel show the priorities and how all of life is to be the LORD's.

Numbers began with a census of the nation of Israel so it could form an army. The way God had this done was unique. We can see from the arrangements of the tribes around the tabernacle that we are to:

1. Set Up Your Home Close to the LORD. -vs.1-2

The camp, the clan, the family are all part of the plan of God in organizing Israel to move into the fulfillment of is Promises.

Camp around the Tent of Meeting
The center of their lives was to be the Tabernacle where worship took place and where sacrifices were offered and where God's Presence dwelt.

They were to camp, set up their temporary homes (tents) around this structure.

Each man counted in the census was to be under his standard with the banners of his family. The family was to be built around worship of the LORD. Fighting for a nation and for his family was to be on his heart. We need men to do that today in America.

The clans were the extended family.

The tribes were the particular ancestors which traced their lineage back to Jacob. The tribes showed these 600,000 plus men that they were descendants of, sons of Israel. The promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were for them. The story of Genesis was their story, God's Story, His Story. History.

Our homes ought to reflect Christ. The Ten Commandments should be honored and obeyed, talked about and written on the hearts of all who live there. We are seeing how the family is the building block of the nation under God.

Worship at the center of life...

2. Make Your Leaders, Those At The Center of Your Life, Spiritual Men. -v.17

Be careful of those with carnal charisma, those who are handsome and wow you with their charm. Some of these are evil men.

The Levites were the tenders of the tabernacle. They were involved in the physical labor around the Tent and Courtyard. Get close to those who take care of the church building. That is how I learned about intercessory prayer, firsthand. Charles Newton was the church janitor. Later, after his death, I learned that his great great grandfather was John, John Newton, the writer of the hymn, Amazing Grace! Brother Newton cleaned the church each Tuesday morning and hosted a prayer meeting at noon. I worked down the street and rode my bicycle to meet him on Tuesdays and pray. Most of the time it was just the two of us. He would get down on his knees and moan before the LORD for people in the community.

Learn from the caretakers. Jay Bergers was the caretaker of Camp Taconic. I am still learning from him after all these years. We keep in touch regularly. He loves the LORD.

You will learn the lessons of faithfulness, hard work, the power of the routine (sadly missing today) from those who tend to the building.

3. Obedience is a Sign Of True Worship Centered on the LORD. - v.34

May this be said of us that we did everything the LORD had commanded for the glory of God!

We have a great deal of confusion today over what true worship is. It is not a performance or high tech innovations. It is when God is glorified and the people do everything He has commanded.

May this passion be at the center of our lives always.