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When the Israelites rested in
their camp, waiting for the cloud to move, every one had his own place;
and each tribe was to keep by itself. The tribes were placed in the
form of a square; in the middle was the tabernacle and the court; to the
East, near the tabernacle, were the tents of Moses, Aaron, and the
priests; and the other Levites, the Kohathites, the Gershonites, and the
Merarites, pitched their on the South, West, and North. They were
near the tabernacle, because it was their business to take care of it; to
take it down when the camps moved, and to put it up again when they
rested. The other tribes pitched their tents farther off. On
the East, Issachar, Judah, and Zebulun; on the South, Simeon, Reuben, and
Gad; on the West, Manasseh, Ephraim, and Benjamin; and on the North,
Napthali, Dan, and Asher. When the cloud rested, the people rested
too; but when the cloud moved, they were all to be ready for their
journey. They had lived nearly a year at Mount Sinai; and now the
cloud was taken up, and they all began to move. But there was no
hurry nor confusion in the camps. All was orderly; every one knew
what he had to do. First, the trumpets were sounded, and then the
three tribes of the camp of Judah began to march. The tabernacle was
taken down by the Levites; the Gershonites carried the curtains, and the
Merarites carried the heavy boards and bars, and put them safely into
wagons. Then the three tribes of Reuben's camp marched on; the
Kohathites followed, carrying the holy vessels of the tabernacle.
Next came Ephraim's camp; and, last of all, the camp of Dan, and all the
sick and weak people who were unable to go fast. They journeyed
wherever the cloud led them; and when they began to move, Moses prayed God
to go with them; and when they rested, he prayed God to stay with
them. They were always under His kind care and keeping, and
therefore safe wherever they went. When
we journey, we should ask God to go with us too; and if we stay quietly at
home, we should ask Him to be with us there. While we live in this
world, we have to move often from place to place; it is not our rest; it
is not our home: it is like the wilderness where the Israelites
wandered so many years. But there is a home above; Heaven is like
the pleasant land of Canaan which God promised to give His people.
Wherever we are, we ought to seek to have God with us; and always to live
in His love, that He may smile upon us in everything we do. Then we
shall be happy; He will keep us and comfort us, and bless us, while we
live; and, when we die, take us to the happy home He has prepared for all
who truly love and serve Him.
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