devotional post # 2249

Numbers 2:14-17

Num 2:14  Then the tribe of Gad, the general from the sons of Gad being Elyasaph the son of Deuel,
Num 2:15  his company as listed being 45,650.
Num 2:16  All those mustered from the camp of Reuben, by their companies, were 151,450. They will set out second.
Num 2:17  “Then the conference tent will set out, with the camp of the Levites in the middle of the camps; as they camp, so they will set out, each in position, standard by standard.

knowledge of God

I had been looking at the names of the generals in chapter 1, and here in chapter 2 I am concentrating on the names of their fathers. Each name is significant in that it points out a motivating factor in the commitment of the nation to follow God all the way to the promised land. Although the Hebrew in 2:14 lists Elyasaph’s father as Reuel, earlier and later references (1:14; 7:42,47; 10:20) clarify that it was actually Deuel. (The Hebrew letter dalet looks very much like the letter resh).

Deuel means knowledge of God. The reason the Israelites moved out in commitment to God and his plan is that they knew God. He had revealed himself to them, first in the stories passed on to them, then in his miraculous deliverance from Egypt. Since our commitment to God is proportional to what we know about him. we should all be getting deeply into his word!

LORD, immerse us in the knowledge of you, so that we can follow your path, and be like you.