We are in Numbers chapter two with our word for today. נָסַע tear out, uproot, cause to break away, pull out, set out. It is used 146 times in the Old Testament, 7 times in our chapter. Our word is used in the sense to uproot. Judges 16:3 But Samson lay till midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts, וַיִּסָּעֵם֙ and pulled them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron. Job19:10 He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone, and my hope וַיַּסַּ֥עhas he pulled up like a tree. Psalm 80:8 תַּסִּ֑יעַ You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. We find our word used in the sense to be pulled, to be removed, usually by force or effort. Job 4:21 Is not their tent-cord נִסַּ֣עplucked up within them, do they not die, and that without wisdom? Isaiah 38:12 My dwelling נִסַּ֧עis plucked up and removed from me like a shepherd's tent. Most of the uses of our word are in the sense to set out, to leave, as on a trip or journey. This is how our word is used 7 times in our chapter. Numbers 2:9, 16-17, 24, 31, 34 All those listed of the camp of Judah, by their companies, were 186,400. יִסָּֽעוּ They shall set out first on the march … All those listed of the camp of Reuben, by their companies, were 151,450. יִסָּֽעוּ They shall set out second. “Then the tent of meeting וְנָסַ֧ע shall set out, with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps; as they camp, so יִסָּ֔עוּ shall they set out, each in position, standard by standard … All those listed of the camp of Ephraim, by their companies, were 108,100. יִסָּֽעוּ They shall set out third on the march … All those listed of the camp of Dan were 157,600. יִסְע֖וּ They shall set out last, standard by standard. Thus did the people of Israel. According to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so they camped by their standards, and so נָסָ֔עוּ they set out, each one in his clan, according to his fathers' house. With the pillar of cloud hovering over the center of the camp by day and ablaze with fire at night, and the tents of the various tribes arranged in their assigned places, the camp of Israel must have been an awesome sight. When the Prophet Balaam looked at the camp from the mountain heights, he said Numbers 24:5-6 “How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel! Like valleys they spread out, like gardens beside a river, like aloes planted by the Lord, like cedars beside the waters”. Israel and the church are two different peoples, but you can’t help but see Israel’s camp as an illustration of what God’s church ought to be in this world: a pilgrim people following the Lord, with His glory at the heart of everything and His presence leading the way. Israel was one people, united in the Lord and to each other. Yet each separate company was recognized by God, displayed its own unique banner, occupied its own special place, and marched at the Lord’s command. I’ll close with these great words from Jesus. Matthew 5:14-16 You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
