Numbers 2:9 “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. Once again I am reminded of how detailed God’s love for us and knowledge of us is. Here He gives instructions for how the people of Israel were to live and how they were to break camp. Can you imagine the chaos of about a million people (well over 600,000 fighting men… so add to that at least the same number of women, plus children, plus elderly, plus any servants…) all trying to pack and leave an area at the same time? That would be nuts! But God’s got a solution to make things orderly, safe, and simple. It’s a good reminder that God’s got instructions for how I should live my life (the Torah and His Word), and His plan has an order and purpose to it. He doesn’t ignore the details of my life. If He had a plan to make moving easier, I’m sure He has a plan for all those other little details in my life. Of course, I have to learn to hear Him as He instructs. That’s the tricky bit. But, even though I have weaknesses, that doesn’t mean that He doesn’t have a plan for everything. It’s kind of like the way that God knows every hair on my head (and at the rate I shed hair, that’s saying something). Nothing is too small for His notice. What a blessing that is!
Leviticus 11:2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘These are the animals which you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth: I think it’s fascinating that God would be so specific in His instructions, even down to what animals, birds, reptiles, etc. could and could not be eaten! That shows love and care! And the instructions aren’t random either. The ones that are excluded as being unclean are all excluded for good reason – some eat garbage and scraps, some are scavengers and eat dead animals, others eat animals that eat garbage or dead animals. For obvious reasons, eating these animals could be unhealthy! I’m also all for the regulation on not eating bugs (yuck!!). The guidelines weren’t restrictive and to keep the Israelites from eating yummy stuff (most of it sounds disgusting anyway). It was to keep them from getting sick or from eating things that could make them unhealthy (think about the fat content of pork…). A God who cares about even these details cares greatly about His children. If He looks after these details, won’t He also be looking after the other, seemingly bigger and more important, details?