Numbers 2:7-11: a reflection

7“The tribe of Zebulun: the prince of the children of Zebulun shall be Eliab the son of Helon. 8His division, and those who were counted of it, were fifty-seven thousand four hundred. 9“All who were counted of the camp of Judah were one hundred eighty-six thousand four hundred, according to their divisions. They shall set out first. 10“On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben according to their divisions. The prince of the children of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur. 11His division, and those who were counted of it, were forty-six thousand five hundred.

As the tribes of Israel camp in the wilderness, God gives them a specific arrangement: each tribe in its appointed place, in ordered array, camped around the tabernacle, with God's dwelling at the very center of the camp. Judah on one side, Reuben on another, each in its assigned position, all arranged around the tent of meeting in the middle. The whole camp was ordered around God's presence at the center.

Notice the arrangement: God's dwelling at the center, and everything ordered around it. The tribes did not camp randomly, nor was the tabernacle off to one side; God's presence was placed at the very center, and the whole people were arranged around it. The center of the camp, the heart of the community, was God's dwelling; everything was oriented around his presence in the middle.

That is a picture of how a life and a community are meant to be ordered: with God at the center. It is easy for God to be pushed to the edge of our lives, one concern among many, off to the side, while other things occupy the center, our work, our relationships, our ambitions. But God's design is to be at the center, the heart around which everything else is arranged and oriented. Order your life around God at the center. Do not let him be pushed to the edge while other things occupy the center; make his presence the heart of your life, around which everything else is arranged. A life ordered rightly, like the camp of Israel, has God at the center, and everything else oriented around him.

Lord, in the wilderness you had your people camp around the tabernacle, with your dwelling at the very center of the camp, everything ordered around your presence in the middle. Teach me to order my life that way, with you at the center. It is easy for me to push you to the edge of my life, one concern among many, while other things, my work, my relationships, my ambitions, occupy the center. But your design is to be at the center, the heart around which everything else is arranged. Help me order my life around you, not letting you be pushed to the edge, but making your presence the heart of everything. Let my life, like the camp of Israel, have you at the center, and everything else oriented around you. Be the center of my life, Lord.