seated. Please open with me now in God's word to the book of Numbers. Yet again, we make our way through the book of Numbers, the fourth book in your Old Testament. We come today to a rather large section of scripture. We're going to read from chapter one, verse 47. down through the end of chapter two. Numbers one in verse 47, down through the end of chapter two. You'll remember that the first chapter of Numbers began with a census of all the fighting men of Israel as they made preparations to enter into the promised land. We're now going to come in chapter 1 verse 47 to a mention of one of the tribes that was not counted, and that is the tribe of the Levites. So, let's now hear God's holy word. But the Levites were not listed along with them by their ancestral tribe, for the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Only the tribe of Levi you shall not list and you shall not take a census of them among the people of Israel, but appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony and over all its furnishings and over all that belongs to it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings and they shall take care of it and shall camp around the tabernacle. When the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down When the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. And if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death. The people of Israel shall pitch their tents by their companies, each man in his own camp, and each man by his own standard. But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the people of Israel. And the Levites shall keep guard over the tabernacle of the testimony. Thus did the people of Israel. They did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses. The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, the people of Israel shall camp, each by his own standard, with the banners of their father's houses. They shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side. Those to camp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the standard of the camp of Judah by their companies. The chief of the people of Judah being Nashon, the son of Amminadab. The company as listed being 74,600. Those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar. The chief of the people of Issachar being Nathanael, the son of Zuar. This company is listed being 54,400. Then the tribe of Zebulun, the chief of the people of Zebulun being Eliab the son of Helan, his company is listed being 57,400. All those listed of the camp of Judah by their companies were 186,400. They shall set out first on the march. On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben by their companies, the chief of the people of Reuben being Eleazar, the son of Shadur, in company as listed being 46,500. And those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Simeon, the chief of the people of Simeon, being Chelumel, the son of Zereshaddai. His company is listed being 59,300. Then the tribe of Gad, the chief of the people of Gad, being Eliasaph, the son of Reuel, his company is listed being 45,650. All those listed of the camp of Reuben by their companies were 151,450, and they shall set out second. Then the tent of meeting shall set out with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps. As they camp, so they shall set out, each in position, standard by standard. On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim by their companies, the chief of the people of Ephraim being Elishamah, the son of Amahud. His company is listed being 40,500. And next to him shall be the tribe of Manasseh, the chief of the people of Manasseh being Gamaliel, the son of Padazer. His company is listed being 32,200. Then the tribe of Benjamin, the chief of the people of Benjamin being Abaddon, the son of Gideoni, his company is listed being 35,400. All those listed of the camp of Ephraim by their companies were 108,100. They shall set out third on the march. On the north side shall be the standard of the camp of Dan by their companies, the chief of the people of Dan being Ahasuer, the son of Amishadai, his company is listed being 62,700. And those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher, the chief of the people of Asher, being Pagiel, the son of Okran. His company is listed being 41,500. And then the tribe of Naphtali, the chief of the people of Naphtali, being Ahira, the son of Enan. His company is listed being 53,400. All those listed of the camp of Dan were 157,600. They shall set out last, standard by standard. These are the people of Israel, as listed by their father's houses. All those listed in the camp by their companies were 603,550. But the Levites were not listed among the people of Israel as the Lord commanded Moses. Thus did the people of Israel, according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so they camped by their standards, and so they set out, each one in his clan, according to his father's houses. This ends this reading in God's word. Let's now seek the Lord together in prayer. Lord, our God and gracious heavenly Father, glorious King, we worship and we adore you. We thank you for your holy word and we pray now, oh Lord, that you would speak to us through your word. Even through this section of scripture might which might seem more obscure, more difficult. Even here, you have treasures that are laid up for us. And we long, Lord, to receive some of that treasure, even today. Bless us as we hear your word preached. Give us ears to hear what the Spirit says to the churches. And we pray these things in Jesus' name, amen. Will everyone take your place? There are words that you might hear at the beginning, perhaps, of a stage play, if you were one of the actors or actresses, or perhaps at a sporting event, as you were getting ready for the game to begin, or maybe even at a surprise birthday party, right? Hide. Take your place. Okay? With that language, everyone take your place. It's a good call for the Church of Jesus Christ as well. you're a Christian, the Lord has called you to take his place, take your place among his people. But it is a people with God himself in our very midst. And there are lessons that we can learn from what we have described for us in Numbers, because what we have in Numbers is really everyone taking their place among the people of Israel, both as they camped and then as they went to march in doing the Lord's will. So with really that as our theme today, I want us to draw out three different things that we can learn from this particular section of scripture about the place that we take within the people of God. The first is this. It is that we should marvel that the holy God dwells among his people. We should marvel that the holy God dwells among his people. Secondly, We should commit ourselves to living God-centered lives. We should commit ourselves to living God-centered lives. And then the third and final thing is this. We should willingly take our distinct place among the people of God. We should willingly take our distinct place among the people of God. Let's look at these in turn. The first thing that we learn as everyone takes their place is this, that we should marvel that the holy God dwells among his people. Last week, when we considered the census that was taken in chapter one, we read about 12 different tribes and the fighting men in 12 different tribes. Nonetheless, there was one tribe that was left out and not counted. I wonder if you noticed that last week when we went through the list. That tribe was the tribe of Levi. And the reason for that is this. In all the other tribes, the men were to fight. They were in the Lord's army. They were ready for conquest in the land of promise. The census we saw last week was a census of the fighting men. but not so the tribe of Levi. The tribe of Levi was not to fight, but instead they had a special role. They were to function as guardians and maintenance personnel and transporters of the tabernacle. Actually, in the next two chapters of the book of Numbers, chapters 3 and 4, we are going to return to the Levites. their duties are going to be seen in expansive detail in the next two chapters. But for now, at the end of chapter 1, a short description is given. There we see that when the Israelites were moving through the wilderness, the Levites are the ones responsible for disassembling the tabernacle transporting it piece by piece to the next place, moving not ahead or behind the people of Israel, but with them. And when the Israelites stopped and set up camp, the Levites were responsible for assembling the tabernacle in the very center of the Israelite camp. The Levites alone were to minister at the tabernacle and they were to around the tabernacle, completely surrounding it, guarding it, lest anyone else from any of the other tribes or any of the enemies of God's people should come and should touch it. And that's what we read of in verses 48 through 51. The Lord spoke to Moses, only the tribe of Levi you shall not list, you shall not take a census of them among the people of Israel, but appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings, and over all that belongs to it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it, and shall camp around the tabernacle. And when the tabernacle is to set out, the Levite shall take it down, and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. So there it describes the Levites and their responsibilities with the tabernacle. Now, that word tabernacle, the tabernacle refers to God's place of dwelling among his people. In the book of Exodus, God had revealed to Moses how to construct the tabernacle with all of its furnishings. This tabernacle represented God's holy presence among his people. It was a place where the priests could come and offer sacrifice on behalf of the people that they might be reconciled to God. And the tabernacle here is called the Tabernacle of Testimony. This tabernacle testified to God's mighty work of salvation on behalf of Israel, to his gracious covenant with them. and to his law, which governs their life together. And in fact, the Ark of the Covenant, which was in the very center of the tabernacle in the Holy of Holies, it housed the Ten Commandments, those 10 words which God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai when he met with him face to face. And so this tabernacle was the special place of God's dwelling among his people. And it was to be guarded by the Levites. In fact we read of that beginning at the end of verse 51. That if any outsider comes near, referring to even the other people of Israel who were not Levites, if they come near he shall be put to death. The people of Israel. shall pitch their tents by their companies, each man in his own camp, each man by his own standard, but the Levite shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the people of Israel." Do you get the picture here? The idea is that there was this camp of Israelites and they made up the 12 tribes, kind of an outer ring around the sides, and then in the very center was the tabernacle, and surrounding the tabernacle was kind of an inner ring of Levites. They worked as a kind of buffer, a guardian of the tabernacle, lest anyone else approach, and in approaching, should be put to death. The Lord takes this seriously. In fact, in the book of Leviticus, we read of two people, Nadab and Abihu, who themselves were Appropriate people to draw near to the tabernacle nonetheless were put to death when they treated it as a common thing, when they approached the tabernacle in the wrong way. So this is a description of the Levite's job in the tabernacle. Now there are two different words that theologians sometimes use to describe God. One of the words is the word imminent. And that word, when they say God is imminent, it refers to the nearness of God. That he is close. He's among his people. That he can be approached. There's another word. The word transcendent. The second word is that God is transcendent. And that means that God is separate. That he's above and outside his creation. That he's utterly holy. that he cannot be approached by sinners. And so the question that I have for you is, which of these two words, imminent or transcendent, describe who our God is? Is he imminent? Is he transcendent? Heard the answer. The answer is that he is both. That he is both. And isn't that clearly seen, even in this description of the tabernacle? God is imminent. He is with his people. He's in the very middle of their camp. Wherever Israel goes, God goes. God appointed one whole tribe who was responsible to make sure that this symbol of God's presence would go with the Israelites wherever they were. And so any given Israelite, as it were, could know that that tabernacle was in their midst and say, yes, God Himself is with us. He is near us. But, This One who was imminently among His people was also the One who is transcendently holy. Even though God dwelt in the midst of the people of Israel, they could not regard Him as commonplace or ordinary. They couldn't approach Him like they would approach another person. But rather, He is a God of splendid holiness, of infinite majesty. of dreadful wrath. They were reminded of that every time they saw those Levites carefully handle the tabernacle according to God's word and then camp around it wherever it was. God is both imminent and he is transcendent. And do you know that that is still true of our God today? God remains both imminent and transcendent. even today, and in fact, the truth of the tabernacle points ahead and gives depth, especially to the, gives depth of meaning to the incarnation of the son of God. You think about it for a moment, but the tabernacle points forward even to that greatest act of dwelling among his people, which is the word become flesh. John 1 14, the word became flesh and literally tabernacled among us. that the infinite and holy God came nearer, even then in a tabernacle. He took our bodies and our minds, our nature. He became one of us. So that even John could write these almost scandalous words in his opening words of 1 John 1, verses 1 and 2, these words, when he said, that which was from the beginning which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life, the Life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal Life, that it was the One who Himself was from the beginning, the One who is the Word, and has life in Himself who came so near to us and among us that actually those who lived during His earthly ministry not only saw Him and heard Him, but even touched Him in His holiness." Wow, what an extraordinary thing this was. So imminent, so near us, and yet not losing any of His holiness. He was still the Holy One and the Righteous One who walked among us. But you might say, well, that would have been interesting to live in the presence of Christ during his earthly ministry. But what about us? Is he still immanent with us? And the answer is absolutely he is. In fact, so much so that the Bible describes those who are Christians as being in Christ and Christ even being in us. And the Bible describing That when we become Christians, Christ is given His Holy Spirit who dwells in us. The Holy Spirit who is God, dwelling in His people. What an extraordinary truth this is that God is so near to us. We have this extraordinary bond of fellowship with God. God not being simply in the midst of our camp, but actually united to each one of us. And yet the God who is, is not commonplace or ordinary. It's not that God, as it were, is brought down to our level, but that by uniting us to Himself, He, as it were, lifts us up so that we now are set apart and sanctified and holy in Him. We have now been made inhabitants, fit inhabitants of the living God, prepared for an eternity with Him, increasingly. And that's one of the reasons that we are to live holy lives. Because it is the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, even now. The transcendent, glorious God, imminent among His people. You know, it would have been pretty cool to live with these wandering Israelites, to have a tabernacle, a sign of God's presence in our very camp. Well, friends, you and I have so much more than that. Living God in us, the transcendent holy, might we regard him as holy and never cease to wonder and to marvel at this extraordinary fact. This truth ought to fill us with astonishment and ought to impact our lives, we are indwelt by the transcendent, holy God. So that's the first thing that we see as everyone takes their place. We see that it is God himself, the holy God, who takes his place among his people. Secondly, the second thing that we can see out of this passage is this, that we should commit ourselves then to living God-centered lives. We should commit ourselves to living God-centered lives. We've seen already how the Levites in the Israelite camp formed kind of the inner ring around the tabernacle. But then in chapter 2, we read about the rest of the Israelite camp that formed that outer ring. The description begins in the east. The east was the direction of the rising sun. It was the entrance of the tabernacle of God was to the east. And it lists three tribes first who are listed in the east of the camp. And then moving clockwise, so east from my perspective, east on your perspective here. Then moving clockwise around the camp, we come next to the south with three more tribes. And then to the west with three more. And then finally to the north with three more. So 12 tribes, each taking their place. in this camp. And then, whenever Israel took up camp and moved, they were to do so in an orderly fashion. First, the three tribes from the east were to go. Then, the three tribes from the south were to follow them. Kind of a single, you know, single file line, so to speak, as the tribes that led by tribe, at least. And then, after them was to be the the tabernacle and the Levites were to follow them. And then the tribes from the west and the tribes from the north were to follow. But what you notice is that when Israel was in the camp, the tabernacle was in the very center. All the tribes facing that. When the Israelites took up camp and moved, there were six tribes in the front and then the tabernacle representing God's presence and then six tribes in the back. You get the picture. Who was it who was at the very center of Israel's life? It was God himself. Their lives, as they marched through the wilderness, were to be lives that were oriented around God. He was not peripheral. He was the most important thing in their lives. And I think there's a tremendous lesson for that as we walk through this pilgrim life. That we also are to live God-centered lives. Our lives are not to be oriented, first of all, around our jobs, or our families, or sports, or traveling, or possessions. but rather our lives are to be oriented around God himself. He is to be at our center. Now, what does this mean practically? How can I know if I'm living a God-centered life? Well, let me ask you a series of diagnostic questions that can help us with this. The first is this. When disappointment or trial comes into your life, where do you turn first? or encouragement or support? You turn first to friends? Or do you turn to life circumstances and try to say, well, things aren't that bad after all. So you find comfort from, well, things could be worse. Or do you instead, as you ought, turn to God first, praying to him, looking to God's promises, trusting in him in difficult days. Another question, when you make a decision about what to do, what governs that decision? Is it what you think would make you happiest or what might make you acceptable to the people around you? Or do you instead say, Lord, I want to do what is pleasing to you. I want to do what honors and glorifies you as you tell us in your word. It's that latter option. That's a God-centered life. Let me give another diagnostic question. What do you love the most? What brings you the most happiness and joy and contentment? Is it success? Is it acceptance with others? Is it money or possessions? Or is it, as it should be in a God-centered life, knowing God and cultivating a relationship with Him? That should be our greatest desire. Listen to the Apostle Paul for a moment, out of Philippians chapter 3, beginning at verse 10. He says, What is my goal? That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, if by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. And then he goes on in verse 12 of Philippians 3 to say, not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I, what, I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own, but one thing I do. Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. That is the description of a God-centered life. Pursuing Him above all other things. Now these are the indicators of a God-centered life. Religion is not to be segmented to one part of your life. But rather, God takes the center of it. He is the one that I am living for. He gives me purpose and meaning and hope and direction and comfort and joy. The truth about His saving character. and His saving work in Jesus Christ are what is life to my soul. It's not mere detached doctrine, not mere head knowledge, but it rather governs the way that I think and feel and the things that I do. So, as it says in the Bible, that whether I eat or drink or whatever I do, I do it all to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10.31, a God-centered life. One of the other marks of a God-centered life, brothers and sisters, is that worship, the worship of God has the central place in that life. The one who truly lives with God delights to worship him. Let me just give you an illustration of this. If you're in a marriage, one of the things that you do in a marriage is you do life together, right? Lots of things, lots of activities, and you kind of do them side-by-side, sharing those experiences. And it's one of the joys of marriage, right? But is it a good marriage if all you ever do is kind of life side-by-side, and you never actually, as it were, turn to one another and talk to one another, and get to know the other person, and spend time, a life of intimacy with your spouse? That's a sign of a good marriage. And so it is even in our relationship with God that we're called to keep God at the center of everything that we do. It is true. But if we are to live a God-centered life, it means that the chief thing that we do, that we delight to do, is to turn towards Him and worship Him, sing His praise, and have Him talk to us as well. That's part