CENTERED (Numbers 2:1-2)

Texts

Numbers 2:1–2 NLT

1 Then the Lord gave these instructions to Moses and Aaron: 2 “When the Israelites set up camp, each tribe will be assigned its own area. The tribal divisions will camp beneath their family banners on all four sides of the Tabernacle, but at some distance from it.

Numbers 1:50–53 NLT

50 Put the Levites in charge of the Tabernacle of the Covenant, along with all its furnishings and equipment. They must carry the Tabernacle and all its furnishings as you travel, and they must take care of it and camp around it. 51 Whenever it is time for the Tabernacle to move, the Levites will take it down. And when it is time to stop, they will set it up again. But any unauthorized person who goes too near the Tabernacle must be put to death. 52 Each tribe of Israel will camp in a designated area with its own family banner. 53 But the Levites will camp around the Tabernacle of the Covenant to protect the community of Israel from the Lord’s anger. The Levites are responsible to stand guard around the Tabernacle.”

VISUALS

BACKGROUND INFO

According to Numbers 1, the instructions given to Moses were given at Mount Sinai at the beginning of the 2nd year after teh events of Exodus

Numbers 1:1 NLT

1 A year after Israel’s departure from Egypt, the Lord spoke to Moses in the Tabernacle in the wilderness of Sinai. On the first day of the second month of that year he said,

Numbers 1:1 NIV

1 The Lord spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting in the Desert of Sinai on the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites came out of Egypt. He said:

It was about 13 Months AFTER the Exodus from Egypt...

That means that the people have camped at Sinai for just shy of 13 months (given how long the journey from Egypt to Sinai was - tradition says about 50 days).

The events from Exodus 19 THROUGH Leviticus, and all the way until Numbers 10 take place at Sinai...

What is detailed at the beginning of Numbers are instructions for marching from Sinai, setting up camp, and marching into the Promise Land (although, we will see in our reading why the people did not get to go into the promised land and had to wait another 40 years).

Centered Around God

The people were to set up their camp, AND their marching to display that they were centered around God’s presence among them.

Numbers 2:2 NLT

2 “When the Israelites set up camp, each tribe will be assigned its own area. The tribal divisions will camp beneath their family banners on all four sides of the Tabernacle, but at some distance from it.

Numbers 2:17 NLT

17 “Then the Tabernacle, carried by the Levites, will set out from the middle of the camp. All the tribes are to travel in the same order that they camp, each in position under the appropriate family banner.

At the center of EVERYTHING was the tabernacle which was the visual reminder of God’s presence among the people. In fact, God had said that he would meet with the people at the Ark of the Covenant, which was in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle.

Compare/Contrast to Egyptian Battle Camp

This arrangement of the camp around God’s dwelling place is SIMILAR to the way the Egyptians camped around their Pharoah.

Ramasses 2nd (which SOME argue could have been the Pharoah under the Exodus) would have his armies set up camp where his tent was in the center.

It was a reminder of who their king was. Pharaoh believed himself to be god, or at least the next being to god, so it was a reminder of who they worshipped and served not only politically, but religiously.

But, for the Israelites the story was different.

They were set free to worship and serve God.

There encampment around God made a religious statement, no doubt. This God, YHWH, who we are encamped around, and who meets us in that tent, is the ONLY GOD we worship!

BUT DO NOT MISS THE POLITICAL STATEMENT!!!

This is NOT just an arrangement of religious reasons, NO, THIS GOD, YHWH, IS OUR KING!!

PS, this is what God had desired all along!

Genesis 1:26 NLT

26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”

Saddam Hussein statue being toppled...

March 20, 2003 we invade Iraq...

On April 9, 2003, during the U.S. invasion of Iraq, a large statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad's Firdos Square was destroyed by Iraqi civilians and United States Marines. The event received global media coverage, wherein it came to symbolize the end of Saddam's rule in Iraq

When the image fell, the king was thought to be deposed

Saddam was captured LATER in December (December 13, 2003)

Think that idea through and compare it to our rebellion into sinfulness…

BUT, God is still King we just refused to IMAGE him

Reflect in a relational way his character (like magistrates/ambassadors...)

Everything in life INCLUDING politics and religion was CENTERED around YHWH who had set the people free so they could worship/serve Him!!

Protected in the Wilderness

And the people were protected, aided in life, and aided in battle because of God’s presence among them.

What is YOUR center?

There has been talk in recent years about “finding our center”

Some people turn to mysticism to find the center of their being

Some chant

Some go on long journeys

Men have midlife crises

I am sure women have something similar

Approaching retirement shows what has been the center for many people -The thought of not having that job identify them. People become angry and question who they are. They dig for control of others trying to find SOMETHING to plant their lives upon…

They cheat on their spouses at public concerts and get caught...

They talk about feng shuie in the room to keep life balanced

ETC

And the idea seems to be, that if you look deep inside you you will find God centered in you. But, you have to journey and work to find Him.

But, this is NOT the picture we get in Numbers. It is NOT that you look inside YOU to find God… it is that God has made himself present in the MIDST of the COMMUNITY. That God is a REAL presence, and even a REAL force that the COMMUNITY is centered around - and therefore, that the individuals in the community are centered around.

IN other words, God is an OBJECTIVE reality that WE center our LIVES - Corporately and Individually around. He is NOT a SUBJECTIVE reality that is dependent upon my feelings and thoughts.

Stated even more clearly, hopefully, God is not something that we find in our being… God is SOMEONE who we adjust our life around. WE MUST make the move to center our life around God BECAUSE, due to SIN, God is NOT naturally going to BE IN THE CENTER OF OUR LIVES. WE HAVE TO MAKE THE ADJUSTMENT!

Yet, this has been God’s desire

God’s desire has been to dwell amidst the people

Think of the story of the Garden of Eden - God was with the people (until they rejected his leadership)

And, eventually, at the end God will be among the people

Revelation 21:3 NLT

3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.

BUT, we also have Jesus Jesus With Us NOW!!

John 1:14 NIV

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14 MSG

14 The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.

THE WORD “Made his dwelling” is ἐσκήνωσεν (eskenosen) from the root skenow

It means to set up a tent!

Christ came to TABERNACLE with us

HE came to us to bring God’s presence in our midst

That which God did in Numbers and the wilderness through the tabernacle, God DID AGAIN in the person of Jesus Christ (who is God incarnate).

When we failed to acknowledge God’s presence, God moved it into our neighborhood anyway!!

And the question is… WHAT/ WHO is your life centered around?

What has greatest meaning for you

A 401k

A Retirement package

A house

A new car/motorcycle

A wife

Control

Prestige

The Job promotion

Bigger church, stepping stone, greater influence, etc...

When the Israelites kept God at the center, not just in the camp, but as they organized their personal lives around God, they were protected. They had their needs met. They were taken care of. But, when they removed God from the place of center, then they complained and grumbled and argued and said life was better back then. Then they couldn’t find satisfaction that God was present with them and they forgot about ALL that God had done to redeem them.

WE ARE NO DIFFERENT!

We get distracted by other ideas, dreams, hopes and we take our life away from being centered around God’s presence made known among us - Jesus Christ!

Churches, we do this. We go to leadership seminars that discuss organizational structure, or goal implementation. Trust me, I get it (My Doctorate of Ministry is in Innovative LEADERSHIP in Changing Cultures - there is a leadership aspect to my doctorate… I get it) BUT, often those ideas distract us from WHO is really to be the CENTER and FOCUS of it all!!!

BUT Jesus Reminds us...

Matthew 6:33 NLT

33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

What is it we recite EVERY WEEK

Psalm 37:4 NLT

4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.

Call this a quarterly check-up...

SO… the question is...

Is Jesus Center in our life/world? Does EVERYTHING revolve around Him?

YOU MUST INVITE/ALLOW HIS PRESENCE IN...

Ephesians 3:16–17 NLT

16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.

We confess, “Jesus Christ is Lord!”

Is that TRUE!?

To say that is to say that NO ONE or NOTHING else take that place in your life

To say that is to say that EVERY decision you make is ROOTED in that statement

This is BEYOND saying you have said a prayer and asked for forgiveness - yes, that is a GOOD START. BUT what God has wanted ALL ALONG is to be KING of the WORLD - which means KING OF YOUR LIFE!

IS IT TRUE?

I think for MANY of us, the answer is NO...

Lust for Power

Lust for Prestige

Lust for Control

Lust for Grand Champion Ribbons

Lust for Straight As

Lust for No Failure

Those desires show us that Jesus TRULY is not Lord

You cannot declare Jesus is Lord and Center your life around something else!

How are YOU with that?

Prayer of St. Patrick

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit, Christ when I stand, Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.

If it is TRUE, then we are the TABERNACLE of GOD’s PRESENCE NOW!

Yet, we are the light of the world

Matthew 5:14–16 NLT

14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

But, it’s not simply that we cast God’s light and shadow everything else… WE ARE GOD’S PRESENCE (CORPORATELY!)

1 Corinthians 3:16 NLT

16 Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?

Ephesians 2:21–22 NLT

21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. 22 Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.

We TOGETHER are the tabernacle (temple) now - the place where God dwells by His spirit

WE TOGETHER are the place where God’s Spirit is PRESENT in our WORLD. In order to do that, we as INDIVIDUALS and as a CORPORATE UNITY must again allow God to reclaim His Leadership role in our lives!!!

But, there is also a public dimension to this, I believe.

That we recognize that God’s desire is NOT to be on the outskirts of society, but to be enmeshed (INCARNATE) in the middle of it. That God models for us what it means to be INCARNATE (in the flesh) in our world. That God wanted to be in the center of everything, so God placed himself there.

But, now, God has us, who are resurrected to NEW LIFE by HIS SPIRIT so that God can be in the middle of our communities IN US AND THROUGH US.

WE ARE NOT TO BE A HOLY CLUB THAT GATHERS ON SUNDAY! We are to be God’s living, reigning, transforming, challenging and convicting presence in our world.

WE, who have made God the CENTER of our lives, ARE CHALLENGED AND EQUIPPED to take God to our world in INCARNATIONAL (in the flesh, in the midst of it) ways to BRING GOD’S PRESENCE WITH US INTO OUR WORLD. We CANNOT do that from the sidelines - we MUST enter in...

How do we put Jesus in the CENTER of it all?

It can’t be through legislated morality, but through us bearing him into the world.

It can’t be through us demanding that everyone change and become like us. But, it CAN be by us rubbing shoulders and rubbing off on others.

What are places that operate as the center of our community?

School? Job? Coffee Shops?

HOW CAN YOU bring Jesus to that center?

Oh, and remember, this isn’t a ONE TIME thing… The MORE present you are, the MORE God is able to be seen and known!!

You CANNOT bring God/Christ to our world, if you are unwilling to ENGAGE in the world!!!

BENEDICTION

Ephesians 3:16–21 NLT

16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. 20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.