"When they [sons of Aaron] blow both of them, all the congregation shall gather before you at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. But if they blow only one, then the leaders, the heads of the divisions of Israel, shall gather to you. (Numbers 10:3-4)
Previously, the Lord God had used the sound of the trumpet the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai. ... Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. ... When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain.”(Exodus 19:1, 10-13)
Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. (Exous 19:16-19) Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it,they trembled and stood afar off. (Exodus 20:18)
The Lord God also used the sound of the trumpet for the feast of Trumpets, which represented the future rapture of Christ's church. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord.’" (Leviticus 23:23-25)
And, the trumpet was sounded at the beginning of the year of the Jubilee, which represented our restoration to a right relationship with God. " ‘And you shall count seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years; and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years. Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenthday of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land. And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family.'" (Leviticus 25:8-10)
In future studies, we will learn even more about the use of the trumpet as a call to do what the Lord God commanded. But for now, the trumpets were used for calling the congregation and for directing the movement of the camps. "When you sound the advance, the camps that lie on the east side shall then begin their journey. When you sound the advance the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall begin their journey; they shall sound the call for them to begin their journeys. And when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow, but not sound the advance. The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets; and these shall be to you as an ordinance forever throughout your generations. (Numbers 10:5-8)
“When you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God, and you will be saved from your enemies. Also in the day of your gladness, in your appointed feasts, and at the beginning of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be a memorial for you before your God: I am the Lord your God.” (Numbers 10:9-10)
As stated previously, the trumpet would also be sounded at the beginning of their appointed feasts, but now it's also commanded to be blown at the beginning of your months, over the sacrifices of your peace offerings, almost like the sounding of an alarm, so that the children of Israel would know what time it was for which event or activity. They had so many feasts and days of offerings to remember, they needed an alarm from the Lord God through Moses, Aaron and the priests, in order to not forget any of them.
Finally, after two years and two months at Mount Sinai, the Lord God would have the children of Israel break camp and start going toward the promised land. Now it came to pass on the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, that the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle of the Testimony. And the children of Israel set out from the Wilderness of Sinai on their journeys; then the cloud settled down in the Wilderness of Paran. So they started out for the first time according to the command of the Lord by the hand of Moses. (Numbers 10:11-13)
The standard of the camp of the children of Judah set out first according to their armies; over their army was Nahshon the son of Amminadab. Over the army of the tribe of the children of Issachar was Nethanel the son of Zuar. And over the army of the tribe of the children of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon. (Numbers 10:14-16)
Then the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari set out, carrying the tabernacle. (Numbers 10:17)
And the standard of the camp of Reuben set out according to their armies; over their army was Elizur the son of Shedeur. Over the army of the tribe of the children of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. And over the army of the tribe of the children of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel. (Numbers 10:18-20)
Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy things. (The tabernacle would be prepared for their arrival.) (Numbers 10:21)
And the standard of the camp of the children of Ephraim set out according to their armies; over their army was Elishama the son of Ammihud. Over the army of the tribe of the children of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. And over the army of the tribe of the children of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni. (Nummbers 10:22-24)
Then the standard of the camp of the children of Dan (the rear guard of all the camps) set out according to their armies; over their army was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. Over the army of the tribe of the children of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ocran. And over the army of the tribe of the children of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan. (Numbers 10:25-27)
Thus was the order of march of the children of Israel, according to their armies, when they began their journey. (Numbers 10:28) God is a God of order! He had arranged the camps a specific way, in order that they would move in a specific way, the protect His sanctuary (the tabernacle), and His his sacred articles (the holy things).
Now Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the Lord said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will treat you well; for the Lord has promised good things to Israel.” And he said to him, “I will not go, but I will depart to my own land and to my relatives.” So Moses said, “Please do not leave, inasmuch as you know how we are to camp in the wilderness, and you can be our eyes. And it shall be, if you go with us—indeed it shall be—that whatever good the Lord will do to us, the same we will do to you.” (Numbers 10:29-32)
Moses father-in-law, Jethro was a Midianite, and when Moses and the children of Israel had first arrived in the wilderness, Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people—that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back, with her two sons, of whom the name of one was Gershom (for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land”) and the name of the other was Eliezer (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”); and Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness, where he was encamped at the mountain of God. Now he had said to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.” (Exodus 18:1-6)
After staying for a while and giving Moses good advise regarding how he should set up the judicial system among the children of Israel, Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went his way to his own land. (Exodus 18:27) But apparently, some other relatives of Moses' wife came and stayed. Now we are introduced to Moses' brother-in-law, Hobab. The Lord God was very clear of how the children of Israel was to treat a stranger or foreigner who chose to stay with them. “You shall neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt." (Exodus 22:21) Moses also acknowledged the Hobab would be a great help to them as the journeyed towards the promised land because he could be their eyes in the wilderness also, since he knew the land.
So they departed from the mountain of the Lord on a journey of three days; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them for the three days’ journey, to search out a resting place for them. And the cloud of the Lord was above them by day when they went out from the camp. So it was, whenever the ark set out, that Moses said: “Rise up, O Lord! Let Your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate You flee before You.” And when it rested, he said: “Return, O Lord, to the many thousands of Israel.” (Numbers 10:33-36)
Even though the tabernacle and the holy things were protected within the camps as the children of Israel moved, the Word of God (ark of the covenant) went before the camps. Let that be a lesson to us today, that no matter what we do, where we go, we are to take the Word of God with us. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105) Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your tabernacle. (Psalm 43:3) AMEN!
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