King James Version, with Nii Okai's journal notes · 5 notes
1And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps.
3And when they shall blow with them, all the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
4And if they blow but with one trumpet, then the princes, which are heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee.
5When ye blow an alarm, then the camps that lie on the east parts shall go forward.
6When ye blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm for their journeys.
7But when the congregation is to be gathered together, ye shall blow, but ye shall not sound an alarm.
8And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations.
9And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies.
Interesting ritual. So you see the children of Israel blowing the trumpet during war and you presume it is a war cry, or to charge the people, but little do you know that it is a call.
It is a call to their God. And now suddenly the battle turns in their favour.
This reminds me of our traditional priests who dance during their rituals, shake some cowries here and there. Only they know the exact code or mystery of the gods they are communicating with.
This makes me wonder: if another person follows the exact same routine after careful study but does not know what it means, would they yield the same results?
I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. Remember the gods are living, intelligent beings. Maybe they may choose to overlook the lack of knowledge and show up, or maybe, like any machine, once you follow the process and press any button it will respond as expected, even if you don't know what it was for. Once more, I don't know.
10Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD your God.
11And it came to pass on the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, that the cloud was taken up from off the tabernacle of the testimony.
This pillar of cloud 🌥, and of fire 🔥, was literal and physical.
Was that why the covering of the tent was not just of blue, scarlet 🧣 and fine linen, but also of badgers' and goats' skin? So it could physically hold the fire and the cloud 🌥 without being affected or marred.
God knew what he was going to do all along. That he would descend in literal fashion when all was said and done.
Little wonder his presence started affecting Moses. His entering the cloudy ⛅ and smoky mountain ⛰ and being in the presence of God changed him.
12And the children of Israel took their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran.
Hmm 🤔, so he determined when the cloud 🌥 lifts, and where it settles, and how long it stays where it settles.
Oh, I know there is a reason, though it's not stated. I'd love 😍 to know why.
13And they first took their journey according to the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses.
14In the first place went the standard of the camp of the children of Judah according to their armies: and over his host was Nahshon the son of Amminadab.
15And over the host of the tribe of the children of Issachar was Nethaneel the son of Zuar.
16And over the host of the tribe of the children of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon.
17And the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari set forward, bearing the tabernacle.
18And the standard of the camp of Reuben set forward according to their armies: and over his host was Elizur the son of Shedeur.
19And over the host of the tribe of the children of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.
20And over the host of the tribe of the children of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel.
21And the Kohathites set forward, bearing the sanctuary: and the other did set up the tabernacle against they came.
22And the standard of the camp of the children of Ephraim set forward according to their armies: and over his host was Elishama the son of Ammihud.
23And over the host of the tribe of the children of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.
24And over the host of the tribe of the children of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni.
25And the standard of the camp of the children of Dan set forward, which was the rereward of all the camps throughout their hosts: and over his host was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.
26And over the host of the tribe of the children of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ocran.
27And over the host of the tribe of the children of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan.
28Thus were the journeyings of the children of Israel according to their armies, when they set forward.
29And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Raguel the Midianite, Moses’ father in law, We are journeying unto the place of which the LORD said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good: for the LORD hath spoken good concerning Israel.
30And he said unto him, I will not go; but I will depart to mine own land, and to my kindred.
31And he said, Leave us not, I pray thee; forasmuch as thou knowest how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou mayest be to us instead of eyes.
32And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it shall be, that what goodness the LORD shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee.
33And they departed from the mount of the LORD three days’ journey: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them in the three days’ journey, to search out a resting place for them.
34And the cloud of the LORD was upon them by day, when they went out of the camp.
35And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee.
Who are they that hate thee... Is it not the workers 👷 of darkness and iniquity,
who will not serve the Lord?
Was this expression a mere chant and slogan, or was it a reflection of reality?
Who were the enemies of God at this time?
Israel had had no wars, no attempted taking over of any nation, for them to have enemies.
They had left Egypt 🇪🇬, who was their chief enemy. So now in the wilderness, who was their enemy, for Moses to say at the rising of the Lord that his enemies be scattered?
The question 🙋 actually is: what accounted for God moving when he did?
What was he seeing or foreseeing that made him cause all of Israel 🇮🇱 to change locations?
Knowing God for who he is, there was intelligence and wisdom and design behind his movements.
They were not erratic. God, I believe, moved to test Israel 🇮🇱, to try them, and to keep them safe from invading enemies or plans of the enemy to invade these wanderers with no place they could call home 🏡.
It is actually possible, and more likely, that God moved to both save Israel from enemy nations who had heard of Israel's goal of returning to their land and destroying all current occupants.
Of course no nation would sit aloof; some might attempt to invade them. Though 💭 the fear 😱 of God was upon the nations round about, so they mostly dared not attack.
Who attacks a nation in whom God is visibly present and who had wrecked the mighty Egypt?
Also, in God's moving he could be saving Israel from invaders and at the same time testing their loyalty with lack, or even making provision for them in a miraculous way.
Indeed the tests of God are actually not tests of lack but tests of his provisions.
What initially seems like lack was actually divine provision and abundance. Just that the process that led to the provision involves suffering some lack for a while.
36And when it rested, he said, Return, O LORD, unto the many thousands of Israel.