Based on Numbers 2:1-32 (New King James Version)
“And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: “Everyone of the children of Israel shall camp by his own standard, beside the emblems of his father’s house; they shall camp some distance from the tabernacle of meeting. On the east side, toward the rising of the sun, those of the standard of the forces with Judah shall camp according to their armies; and Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall be the leader of the children of Judah.” And his army was numbered at seventy-four thousand six hundred. “Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar, and Nethanel the son of Zuar shall be the leader of the children of Issachar.” And his army was numbered at fifty-four thousand four hundred. “Then comes the tribe of Zebulun, and Eliab the son of Helon shall be the leader of the children of Zebulun.” And his army was numbered at fifty-seven thousand four hundred. “All who were numbered according to their armies of the forces with Judah, one hundred and eighty-six thousand four hundred—these shall break camp first. “On the south side shall be the standard of the forces with Reuben according to their armies, and the leader of the children of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur.” And his army was numbered at forty-six thousand five hundred. “Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Simeon, and the leader of the children of Simeon shall be Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.” And his army was numbered at fifty-nine thousand three hundred. “Then comes the tribe of Gad, and the leader of the children of Gad shall be Eliasaph the son of Reuel.” And his army was numbered at forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty. “All who were numbered according to their armies of the forces with Reuben, one hundred and fifty-one thousand four hundred and fifty—they shall be the second to break camp. “And the tabernacle of meeting shall move out with the camp of the Levites in the middle of the camps; as they camp, so they shall move out, everyone in his place, by their standards. “On the west side shall be the standard of the forces with Ephraim according to their armies, and the leader of the children of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammihud.” And his army was numbered at forty thousand five hundred. “Next to him comes the tribe of Manasseh, and the leader of the children of Manasseh shall be Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.” And his army was numbered at thirty-two thousand two hundred. “Then comes the tribe of Benjamin, and the leader of the children of Benjamin shall be Abidan the son of Gideoni.” And his army was numbered at thirty-five thousand four hundred. “All who were numbered according to their armies of the forces with Ephraim, one hundred and eight thousand one hundred—they shall be the third to break camp. “The standard of the forces with Dan shall be on the north side according to their armies, and the leader of the children of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammi-shaddai.” And his army was numbered at sixty-two thousand seven hundred. “Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher, and the leader of the children of Asher shall be Pagiel the son of Ocran.” And his army was numbered at forty-one thousand five hundred. “Then comes the tribe of Naphtali, and the leader of the children of Naphtali shall be Ahira the son of Enan.” And his army was num-bered at fifty-three thousand four hundred. “All who were numbered of the forces with Dan, one hundred and fifty-seven thousand six hundred—they shall break camp last, with their standards.” These are the ones who were numbered of the children of Israel by their fathers’ houses. All who were numbered according to their armies of the forces were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty.”
War is inevitable in this world. Unfortunately, this issue of war has existed and will exist until God deals with sin definitively, because sin is what produces war in the world, in one way or another. In ancient Israel’s time, God taught His people that there would be certain people that should be ready for war, as it is written: “From twenty years old and above—all who are able to go to war in Israel. You and Aaron shall number them by their armies.” Numbers 1:3. So then, everyone who had the physical ability to go to war and twenty years old and above were candidates for the army. But God structured His people in such a way that they should not have a professional army like many nations have today, but rather, as a militia which is composed of men that had their normal lives like jobs, their families, etc., but for them to be ready for war for whenever needed.
Now then, the most important war that exists now and that will be on going until God deals with sin once and for all is the spiritual war we have today. And what are being disputed are the souls of men. This war started when Satan (before known as Lucifer) rebelled against the Lord. The Bible teaches us that this started in the following manner: “How you are fallen from heaven, o Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit.” Isaiah 14:12-15. This is the problem that started all of the evil that exists today and the reason for why we have this spiritual war. This spiritual war is the most important one because it defines a person’s eternal destination. As we have commented before, this temporary world is precisely that: temporary and passing. The spiritual world, or rather, man’s soul is something eternal. It is the most important likeness we have with the Most High, the ability to either live forever or die forever. That’s why this issue is so important. There is nothing more important than eternity.
What can we glean from this passage and apply to our daily lives? A lot! First, we need to obey God’s instruction. God spoke to Moses and Aaron, and He told them how things needed to be. He gave them His order. And if Israel wanted God’s blessing, they needed to do just as they were being taught. There was no conference, or vote, or a community meeting to question God’s instructions. In conjunction, we must trust in the Lord and why He says the things He says to do. No one knows more than Him. Secondly, we are unavoidably at war, and your soul and the souls of others are in play. This is something that must be understood clearly, including our enemy. All of the large things in this world are already structured, and there is nothing or no one that can change that, but each person’s story is being written as it is happening, and so, everyone’s outcome depends on what they do. And it is necessary to understand the enemy we have, what he is capable of, and that he is incessant. There is no such thing as a clean fight, as getting a break or a vacation, etc. We have an enemy that is all evil, and capable of all evil, practically without any limits, with a large army that is under his complete control. This is what the Word says: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12. This is our reality, and if your life is not completely subjected to the One that has overcome, to the Lord, you will not be able to overcome. Do not be confused with fables or erroneous beliefs. Christ has overcome all, but your story is currently being written. And so, you have not overcome yet. This is what the Word says: “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.” Revelation 21:7. So then, are you a part of God’s militia, under the Lordship of Jesus, or are you still your sin’s miserable slave, subject to Satan? Lord bless! John