At the bottom of my page in Numbers 2 is a neat diagram of the Tabernacle in the center with the tribes of the people shown as they would have camped with the Lord. Have you ever gone camping? Preparation is a good thing! Now the people are being instructed in where their individual tents within their individual tribes will be . The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: “The Israelites are to camp around the tent of meeting some distance from it, each of them under their standard and holding the banner of their family.” v. 1.

I often joke getting our grandkids and kids together for an outing is like herding kittens! Our daughters are skilled at packing needed snacks, water, extra clothes. I’ve only been camping twice in my life and enjoyed those experiences immensely. The first time it helped that my brother-in-law was experienced…I didn’t have a clue!

Imagine God’s experience. As I’m looking at the diagram, so neatly delineated, it’s easy to forget just how many people were in each section. In the notes below: This must have been one of the biggest campsites the world has ever seen! It would have taken about 12 square miles to set up tents for just the 600,000 fighting men – not to mention the women and children.

God knew the organization that would enable none to be lost and for the whole camp to move without chaos when God directed them. There were also animals! Can you imagine? Can you imagine what it must have been like for the nations surrounding them? They knew how big this camp of people was!

I kept thinking about how wonderful it would have been for the people to have God’s Presence with them above the tent of meeting. A comforting cloud by day, a reassuring fire from the cloud by night. This morning in prayer I asked Him how can we love you in this time, in 2022? How I long for that closeness. He told me to be still. In the quiet together I felt the peace of His Presence. His Presence, His peace is my strength. He told me to remember this day His Presence.

I am not special. You can know His Presence. Spend time with Him. Talk with Him about everything. Share your heart, your thoughts. Before long, you will begin to long for Him. Listen. You will hear His thoughts guiding you and reassuring you of His love. His love is powerful and so peaceful. It fills you and displaces the distractions. Oh how we need that!

He reminded me that my heart longing for Him binds me with all the hearts that came before longing for Him. We are family. I’m at a point in my life where I know that the years before me are much less than the years behind. Maybe that’s why I long for Him so. Like a weary traveler, I long for home. Can you imagine? I don’t have to imagine His love. That I know!