Setting out with God (Numbers 10:11-36)

“Jesus said,””And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.””” (Matthew 28:20b)

A key moment in the life of Israel.

Setting Out with God (Numbers 10:11-36)

New Year’s Resolutions – Life Tweak or Reset?

As we start a New Year, one of the big questions around is, “What’s your New Year’s Resolution?” People will give all kinds of answers, eat less, drink less, give up smoking, exercise more, read more.

But there are also some more outlandish suggestions that I found on the internet:

• Learn how to communicate with plants…
• Only eat food that matches your outfit…
• Memorise the entire dictionary…
• Adopt a new accent every month…

Generally, though most New Year’s Resolutions amount to life tweaks, changing small habits in order to improve life a bit. They do not amount to a complete life reset.

Yet, Christianity invites us into the Kingdom of God. This is not a tweak, it’s a complete life reset. It sets God as our King, sets God at the centre of our lives and commits to setting out with God on an exciting journey.

And a complete reset is what has been happening to Israel in the last couple of years.

Israel’s Year of Reset –

Our passage in Numbers 10, may feel fairly obscure and full of weird names, but it comes at a key moment in the life of Israel.

The date at the beginning is crucial. It tells us that it was the twentieth day of the second month of the second year. In other words, it is only just over a year since Israel’s calendar began. I am sure you are fed up with recaps of 2025, but here is a quick recap of what has happened to Israel in the previous couple of years.

Israel had been oppressed slaves living in Israel.

The God sent Moses to lead the Israelites and demand that Pharaoh, the king of Israel let the people go.

Pharaoh refused, so God sent a series of ten plagues, each one worse than the previous one, until Pharaoh finally agreed and Israel as a left Egypt, slavery and oppression behind. They were free.

That event marked the start of their calendar. It was a big reset in itself, but it was only the start of the story.

Those events are retold in the first third of the book of Exodus,

but having escaped Egypt, Israel travelled through the wilderness to Mount Sinai, where they met with God.

What happened in the following 11 months and nineteen days is retold in the second two thirds of the book of Exodus, the whole of Leviticus and the first third of the book of Numbers. Under a year in Israel’s history takes 59 chapters of the Bible. It is arguably the longest year in Israel’s history!

So, what happened in that year? God through Moses was setting Israel up for the future. He gave them rules to live by, a tent called the Tabernacle to show his presence with them, and a sacrificial system and priesthood to help them relate to him in the right way. Then in the first third of Numbers, he prepares them to set out on the journey to the Promised land he was going to bless them with.

After nearly a year at Sinai, going through a complete reset as a nation, Israel are now setting off on the journey to the Promised Land or at least to the Desert of Paran, which was on the edge of the Promised Land.

The middle part of Numbers tells us about the journey. Lots goes wrong and it turns out to be a lot longer than planned, but we will look at that in the coming weeks. The last part of Numbers, then tells us about the next generation of Israelites preparing to enter the Promised land.

So, now they are setting out, what can we learn from the way that they do it?

Setting out with God

On New Year’s Eve, I took part in Ramsgate’s Lantern Parade. The large number of people with their different lanterns gathered at St. George’s ready to set off on the short march through town to the Ramsgate Tunnels. Whilst we were waiting to set off, it all felt fairly chaotic, but there was a plan pinned to the door of the church, telling us in what order the parade was to march out. So, we all got into our respective places and left. For me it was easy – I was at the back!

Our reading in Numbers gives us the marching order for Israel as they travelled through the wilderness. The Twelve tribes are split into four groups of three and each group has its position, Judah’s group at the start, then Reuben’s group, Ephraim’s group and at the back Dan’s group.

But at the end we are told something remarkable. The whole procession is led by the ark of the covenant, the golden box that is meant to represent God’s throne and so his presence.

In other words, Israel are not setting out alone, they are setting out with God, and more than that God is going ahead of them to guide them and show them the way.

Whilst at Sinai, Moses had made it clear to God, that he was not prepared to go on the journey with Israel unless God was with them.

Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.”” (Exodus 33:15)

But, God agreed to go with them. So, Moses could be confident that the journey would ultimately be successful. Israel’s enemies would be defeated and Israel would come into the Promised Land, the place of rest.

• In the New Testament, Jesus similarly promises that he will go with us. At the end of Matthew’s gospel as he sends the disciples off on their mission to convert the world, the resurrected Christ says,

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20b)

As we enter 2026 as individuals and as a church, we do not know what will come, but the more we know that God is with us, the more confident we can be that he will bring us through to his ultimate rest.

Setting God at the Centre

But, we need to take not of Israel’s reset. Not only does God promise to be with them, so they can be confident on the journey, he also wants them to make sure that he remains at the centre of their life and community.

Did you notice that as well as the tribes, the parade order mentions the Tabernacle and the Holy Things. Remember the Tabernacle was the tent where God was meant to dwell. There was another tribe the Levites, who were split into three clans. The Levites as a whole were set apart to make sure the worship of God could happen at the centre of the nation and each of the clans had a role to play. The Gershonites and Merarites were responsible for carrying the tents and poles that made up the Tabernacle, whilst the Korahites, were responsible for transporting the Holy Things, the altars, the lamps and so on.

All of this, shows what a priority the reset for Israel had placed on the Tabernacle, the place where Israel were to meet with God. But, there is more. If you go back to chapter 2 of Numbers we are told how the camp was meant to be set up when Israel were not marching.

The groups of three tribes were to be around the edge, Judah’s group to the East, Reuben’s to the South, Ephraim’s to the West and Dan’s to the North. In the centre was to be the Tabernacle with the Levites camped around it. The point was God’s tent was to be in the centre of all the other Israelite tents. The whole thing was set up to make sure Israel kept God at the centre of their community and life.

• For us as Christians, we too are called to put God at the centre of our lives? Jesus tells us,

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,

and all these things will be given to you as well.”

(Matthew 6:23)

‘All these things’ means all the things that people run after in life, like food, clothes, shelter and so on. We are to put God first and trust him that these other things will be provided.

So, what does it mean to put God centre of your life in 2026?

A helpful thing to consider is our time and resources. Does God feature in our diaries? Do we invest our resources in him?

He can feature in our diaries, by committing to spend time with him each day, in prayer and personal Bible reading and committing to spend time with him and his people each week at church services and by joining small groups. If God never features in your day or week can you really say he is centre of your life?

And what about our resources? Are we giving generously to God’s work? The Israelites had to give generously to build the Tabernacle in the first place and they had to commit to supporting the Priesthood and the Levites, so they could maintain God at the centre of their nation. Are you using your finances to help support God’s work today? Or are you content to see it dwindle for lack of funds? And are you willing to give time to serve others as God calls us to, both in his church and as representatives of the church?

What will it mean for you to have God at the centre of your life in 2026? Do you need to make some tweaks or a complete reset?

Setting God as King

As well as setting out with God and keeping God at the centre, we need to also set God as our King. This is the point of the way the Tabernacle was set up.

Interestingly, they have discovered a diagram from the 13th century BC around about the same time as the Exodus of an Egyptian military camp. At the centre of the camp is a tent, with a large  outer room and smaller inner room. In the smaller inner room is the symbol for the Egyptian king, flanked by two heavenly beings.

This is exactly the same as the Tabernacle, which was also at the centre of the camp, had a larger outer room and a smaller inner room, where the ark of the covenant with two golden cherubim on top was placed. This was the throne room of God, where he was meant to dwell. This is where you met with him.

The point is that the Tabernacle showed that God was the king of Israel. Although, Moses was the human leader, we are not told anything about his tent. The tent that is special and elaborately decorated, where people went to find out what to do, was the Tabernacle. Moses was God’s spokesperson, God was the king.

• And so, we as Christians are called to set up Jesus Christ as king or Lord of our lives.

In his first letter, Peter writes:

“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.” ( 1 Peter 3:15a)

The Tabernacle was set apart in the heart of the nation, to show who was king. We need to set God apart as special and ruler in our hearts, too.

All kinds of things will want to hold sway over our hearts, some are important things, like family, career, relationships, others are more frivolous, such as TV programmes we want to watch, holidays to go on. They all take up space in the encampment of our hearts, but we need to set God up in the royal tent, the one that has the ultimate say over how we should live our lives.

This is the ultimate reset we all need.

Inviting others to Join in

Setting out with God, is an exciting prospect. It can give us confidence as we travel through the ups and downs of life. But, we need to ensure God is central to our lives and we need to set him apart in our hearts as king.

Setting out with God, also brings us to the ultimate place of blessing and rest. It may not be an easy journey, but it is a good one to go on.

Moses turned to his brother in law, who was not and Israelite and invited him to join with them and help them on the journey. Your life may already be set on travelling with God, why not like Moses, invite others to join the journey in 2026?