In Numbers 2, we see that God is a God of order. We are not sure how the people of Israel organized themselves before Numbers 2, but it was likely that the individual tribes were left to organize themselves on their own. After God has established the tabernacle (Exodus) and His commandments (Leviticus), here in Numbers, God began the works of organizing the people of Israel in an orderly fashion.

The entire people of Israel were organized into four camps in the four cardinal directions. The four camps were the camp of Judah which included the tribes of Judah, Issachar and Zebulun, the camp of Reuben which included the tribes of Reuben, Simeon and Gad, the camp of Ephraim, which included the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin, and finally the camp of Dan which included the tribes of Dan, Asher and Naphtali.

It was so well organized that even Balaam, the enemy of the Israelites proclaimed its beauty and order when he saw the camp setup. He said in Numbers 24:4-5, “How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel! Like palm groves that stretch afar, like gardens beside a river, like aloes that the Lord has planted, like cedar trees beside the waters.”

At the center of all the camps, there resided the tent of meeting. The twelve tribes were positioned around and facing the tent of meeting from every side. The tent of meeting was the place where God’s presence resided and His pillar of cloud which hovered over the center of the camp by the day and ablaze with fire at night. From the tents of the various tribes, they could see the mighty presence of God through the magnificent sight of the cloud. Whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent, the people of Israel would set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped. (Numbers 9:17) The tent of meeting was where they worshipped God and offered sacrifices to Him. The people of Israel lived and worshipped God as center of their lives.

Just as how God had designed the camps around the tent of meeting, His desire is that we live our lives centered around His will and commandment. For our lives to be centered around Jesus, it means that He is in control. We no longer plan our lives independently from God, but you surrender your entire self wholly to Jesus and follow His lead. In contrary to what William Ernest Henley famously wrote in his poem, “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul,” for those who follow Jesus, we need Christ to be the master of our fate and the captain of our souls. We need him to take lordship over our lives.

Dear brothers and sisters, as we look inwardly, what is an area of our lives that we have not surrendered to Christ? Is it the struggle to trust God with our finances? Our work over our Sunday worship? Or maybe God is calling us to a completely new area of ministry which we are afraid to take up because we do not feel up to it? Or could it be a relationship which requires you to take active steps to renew or restore? What is an area of our lives which we need to shake out of our anxiety and fear and surrender it to God?

Proverbs 3:5-6 calls us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” The biblical way of surrender is to acknowledge Him in all our ways and even when it sounds ridiculous to follow Him through His Word, we do so because He is our Lord.

Pray: Dear God, please help us to live our lives in trust and obedience to You, and constantly strive to walk in the center of your will. In Jesus name we pray, amen.