Numbers 2:17
Then the tabernacle of the congregation shall set forward with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camp: as they encamp, so shall they set forward, every man in his place by their standards. Then the tabernacle of the congregation shall set forward with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camp: as they encamp, so shall they set forward, every man in his place by their standards.
The tabernacle set forward with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camp of Israel, and as the tribes encamped so they set forward, every man in his assigned place by his standard. The order of encamping was the order of marching, with each person keeping his place and each tribe moving in its own place under its own standard. The journeys followed an ordered plan in which leaders of each company directed its movements.
Each tribe carried and pitched under its own standard bearing the distinguishing sign of its father's house. Every tribe pitched by its own standard around the tabernacle at a distance from it in exactly the position commanded. The tabernacle was built so that it could be taken to pieces and carried with the people on their journeyings. The ark of the covenant was borne before the tribes, carried ahead by the Kohathites to search out a resting place.
Moses had been specially fitted by his training in Egypt as a mighty warrior and general to stand at the head of the armies of Israel. Moses and Aaron went just in front of the ark, with the sons of Aaron close behind them, each bearing a trumpet. Directions were received from Moses and relayed to the people by special understood trumpet sounds, while priests used the trumpets to communicate directions. Very soon after leaving Egypt Israel was placed under thorough discipline, and perfect order was required in all encamping and journeying.
God Himself signified when for the good of the people and for His glory they should pitch in a certain place and when they should journey again. When He would have them encamp, the pillar of cloud rested low directly over the tabernacle until time to move, and when He would have them move, the cloud of glory was lifted high above it. The tabernacle and sacred ark were not left to be carried indiscriminately by whatever tribe chose, but by a special family of the Levites designated by God. Each person had a specified task to perform faithfully, with defined roles in carrying and moving the sanctuary.
That order was set by God for the benefit of Israel and was not left to individual choice. The arrangement of the camp and everything connected with the tabernacle displayed God's care for order and His government. It taught Israel concerning His majesty and holiness and the purity He requires of those who serve Him. By its order and harmony it was meant to reveal His character and expectations and the elevated character of His work to the surrounding nations.
God values order and does not approve confusion in His work. He has not changed from a God of order but is the same in the present dispensation as in the former, and is as particular now as then, so the same principles apply to arrangements in His work. The order instituted in the days of Moses is to teach lessons of order and organization now. Israel's arrangement around the sacred center is a pattern for the church to stand with God among His people.
Disobeying those directions brought death. The faithful record of Israel's travels, deliverance, organization, murmuring, rebellion, and punishment, with carcasses strewn in the wilderness because of unwillingness to submit to God's wise arrangements, stands hung up as a warning lest disobedience be followed and the same fall occur.