Long-term Camping

Not long ago, I was reading in Acts 16, where Paul tries to go preach in Asia, but the Holy Spirit prevented him. Then he tried to go to Bithynia, but the same thing happened again. Finally, he had a dream of a man from Macedonia begging him to come, and so Paul concluded this was God's leading and made immediate plans to travel to Macedonia. As I read this passage, my heart said, "God, where are we going?" God's immediate response was,

"Camp here a while longer."

Um, okay? Camping sounds so-- temporary-- so tentative. I thought immediately of the Israelites to being led by the cloud over the tabernacle, described in Numbers 9, verses 15-23 (NIV):

On the day the tabernacle, the Tent of Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it. From the evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire. That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire. Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; whenever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. At the LORD's command, the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the LORD's order and did not set out. Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle a few days; at the LORD's command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out. Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out. At the LORD?'s command they encamped, and at the LORD's command they set out. They obeyed the LORD's order, in accordance with his command through Moses.

Several things jump out at me in this passage. First of all, notice all the repetition? It makes me think of a four year old trying to tell a story at bedtime, and of a scene from the Monty Python movie "The Search for the Holy Grail" (modeled on this very passage in Numbers?)

"... And the Lord spake, saying, 'First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe, who, being naughty in My sight, shall snuff it.' "

These monologues also remind me of one of my favorite T-shirt slogans. "This meeting could have been an email." If I had been the writer of Numbers, I probably would have said "When the cloud moved, they moved, and when the cloud stayed, they stayed. Next item of business..." But no, the author LABORED the point. In English, we use words like "very" to provide emphasis, but in the Hebrew language this was originally written in (and all through the Bible) they used repetition instead. A great example of repetition in the Bible is found in Revelation 4:8 (NIV):

Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night, they never stopped saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."

(The book of Revelation was actually written in Greek, but since many of the early believers were native Hebrew speakers, repetition was still used for emphasis.) In this passage in the book of Numbers, the author labored the point of their obedience in the middle of uncertainty regarding the timing. Notice that God never told them in advance how long they would be camping in a given place. It might be a month, a year, or just overnight. They didn't know. They didn't need to know. They just had to be obedient to stay in a situation (even if they didn't like it) and they had to be ready to leave it at a moment's notice.

(When camping in a tent, the process of leaving is called "breaking camp." You have to put the fire out, pack up your stuff, take down and fold up the tent, pick up the trash, etc. Work is involved. It's a hassle for sure, but it has to be done. Sometimes it has to be done in the rain, or in a hurry. Also, it is a messy process...)

In my own life, God has been telling me for the last two years that my current situation was temporary, saying things like "New Doorways," "New Pathways," and "New Directions."

Then He started showing me roadblock signs and lane changes ahead. Telling me "camp here a while longer" a few days ago emphasized that change for me is coming. I am long-term camping at the moment, but the order to break camp is pending and so I am to get ready. A few days later, God showed me my car on a rural road. It was freshly paved, indicating God was paving the way to this new place. But I also noticed that it was a one-lane road. There was no room for me to turn around. I was committed. So, what will that look like for me-- a new job? A new geographic location? A new ministry to be involved in? I really don't know-- only that change for me is coming. I am to be flexible in heart, ready to move when directed. But meanwhile, I camp right here.

So, how good are you at camping-- at considering your life and situation temporary? Maybe you are going to be in your current situation for years to come, but perhaps not.

Be ready to break camp.

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