September 16 These are those which were numbered of the children of Israel by the house of their fathers: all those that were numbered of the camps throughout their hosts were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty. But the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses. And the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses: so they pitched by their standards, and so they set forward, every one after their families, according to the house of their fathers. Numbers 2:32–34 The significance of the camping assignments for the twelve tribes seen in Numbers 2 becomes evident twenty chapters later, for in Numbers 22, we see the children of Israel, en route to the Promised Land, camped in the plain of Moab. This caused consternation in the heart of Balak, the king of Moab, for he had heard of the Israelites’ victory over the Ammonites. So, in addition to forming an alliance with the Midianites, Balak persuaded Balaam, a prophet of the Lord, to curse the Israelites. Accompanied by Balak to the top of a mountain from which he could see the entire Israelite camp, Balaam looked down to see the Tabernacle in the midst with a contingent of 108,100 to the west; 186,400 to the east; 157,600 to the north; and 151,450 to the south. In other words, he would have seen the configuration of a cross. No wonder he was unable to curse the Israelites. You see, Balaam thought the Israelites were to be cursed because they were a bunch of complainers and idolaters. God, however, saw no iniquity in them because they were encamped in the Cross. And the same is true for us. Because we’re encamped in the Cross, because we’re in Christ, we can go boldly before the throne of God today and receive what we need (Hebrews 4:16). For whatever battle you’re fighting, or whatever issue you’re facing, the solution is found at the throne of grace simply because you’re encamped in, cleansed by, and forgiven through the Cross of Calvary.
Posted on: Tue, 17 Sep 2013 01:17:32 +0000
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