20250319 [새벽묵상] 성막을 중심으로 나아가는 사람들 | People Centered on the Tabernacle(민/Num 2:1~34)

2:1 여호와께서 모세와 아론에게 말씀하여 이르시되

2:2 이스라엘 자손은 각각 자기의 진영의 군기와 자기의 조상의 가문의 기호 곁에 진을 치되 회막을 향하여 사방으로 치라

1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 2 “The Israelites are to camp around the tent of meeting some distance from it, each of them under their standard and holding the banners of their family.”

2:3 동방 해 돋을 쪽에 진 칠 자는 그 진영별로 유다의 진영의 군기에 속한 자라 유다 자손의 지휘관은 암미나답의 아들 나손이요

2:4 그의 군대로 계수된 자가 칠만 사천육백 명이며

3 On the east, toward the sunrise, the divisions of the camp of Judah are to encamp under their standard. The leader of the people of Judah is Nahshon son of Amminadab. 4 His division numbers 74,600.

2:5 그 곁에 진 칠 자는 잇사갈 지파라 잇사갈 자손의 지휘관은 수알의 아들 느다넬이요

2:6 그의 군대로 계수된 자가 오만 사천사백 명이라

5 The tribe of Issachar will camp next to them. The leader of the people of Issachar is Nethanel son of Zuar. 6 His division numbers 54,400.

2:7 그리고 스불론 지파라 스불론 자손의 지휘관은 헬론의 아들 엘리압이요

2:8 그의 군대로 계수된 자가 오만 칠천사백 명이니

7 The tribe of Zebulun will be next. The leader of the people of Zebulun is Eliab son of Helon. 8 His division numbers 57,400.

2:9 유다 진영에 속한 군대로 계수된 군인의 총계는 십팔만 육천사백 명이라 그들은 제 일대로 행진할 지니라

9 All the men assigned to the camp of Judah, according to their divisions, number 186,400. They will set out first.

2:10 남쪽에는 르우벤 군대 진영의 군기가 있을 것이라 르우벤 자손의 지휘관은 스데울의 아들 엘리술이요

2:11 그의 군대로 계수된 자가 사만 육천오백 명이며

10 On the south will be the divisions of the camp of Reuben under their standard. The leader of the people of Reuben is Elizur son of Shedeur. 11 His division numbers 46,500.

2:12 그 곁에 진 칠 자는 시므온 지파라 시므온 자손의 지휘관은 수리 삿대의 아들 슬루미엘이요

2:13 그의 군대로 계수된 자가 오만 구천삼백 명이며

12 The tribe of Simeon will camp next to them. The leader of the people of Simeon is Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai. 13 His division numbers 59,300.

2:14 또 갓 지파라 갓 자손의 지휘관은 르우엘의 아들 엘리아삽이요

2:15 그의 군대로 계수된 자가 사만 오천육백오십 명이니

14 The tribe of Gad will be next. The leader of the people of Gad is Eliasaph son of Deuel. 15 His division numbers 45,650.

2:16 르우벤 진영에 속하여 계수된 군인의 총계는 십오만 천사백오십 명이라 그들은 제 이대로 행진할 지니라

16 All the men assigned to the camp of Reuben, according to their divisions, number 151,450. They will set out second.

2:17 그 다음에 회막이 레위인의 진영과 함께 모든 진영의 중앙에 있어 행진하되 그들의 진 친 순서대로 각 사람은 자기의 위치에서 자기들의 기를 따라 앞으로 행진할지니라

17 Then the tent of meeting and the camp of the Levites will set out in the middle of the camps. They will set out in the same order as they encamp, each in their own place under their standard.

2:18 서쪽에는 에브라임의 군대의 진영의 군기가 있을 것이라 에브라임 자손의 지휘관은 암미훗의 아들 엘리사마요

2:19 그의 군대로 계수된 자가 사만 오백 명이며

18 On the west will be the divisions of the camp of Ephraim under their standard. The leader of the people of Ephraim is Elishama son of Ammihud. 19 His division numbers 40,500.

2:20 그 곁에는 므낫세 지파가 있을 것이라 므낫세 자손의 지휘관은 브다술의 아들 가말리엘이요

2:21 그의 군대로 계수되 자가 삼만 이천이백 명이며

20 The tribe of Manasseh will be next to them. The leader of the people of Manasseh is Gamaliel son of Pedahzur. 21 His division numbers 32,200.

2:22 또 베냐민 지파라 베냐민 자손의 지휘관의 기드오니의 아들 아비단이요

2:23 그의 군대로 계수된 자가 삼안 오천사백 명이니

22 The tribe of Benjamin will be next. The leader of the people of Benjamin is Abidan son of Gideoni. 23 His division numbers 35,400.

2:24 에브라임 진영에 속하여 계수된 군인의 총계는 십만 팔천백 명이라 그들은 제 삼대로 행진할지니라

24 All the men assigned to the camp of Ephraim, according to their divisions, number 108,100. They will set out third.

2:25 북쪽에는 단 군대 진영의 군기가 있을 것이라 단 자손의 지휘관은 암미삿대의 아들 아히에셀이요

2:26 그의 군대로 계수된 자가 육만 이천칠백 명이며

25 On the north will be the divisions of the camp of Dan under their standard. The leader of the people of Dan is Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai. 26 His division numbers 62,700.

2:27 그 곁에 진칠 자는 아셀 지파라 아셀 자손의 지휘관은 오그란의 아들 바기엘이요

2:28 그의 군대로 계수된 자가 사만 천오백 명이며

27 The tribe of Asher will camp next to them. The leader of the people of Asher is Pagiel son of Okran. 28 His division numbers 41,500.

2:29 또 납달리 지파라 납달리 자손의 지휘관은 에반의 아들 아히라요

2:30 그의 군대로 계수된 자가 오만 삼천사백 명이니

29 The tribe of Naphtali will be next. The leader of the people of Naphtali is Ahira son of Enan. 30 His division numbers 53,400.

2:31 단의 진영에 속하여 계수함을 받은 군인의 총계는 십오만 칠천육백 명이라 그들은 기를 따라 후대로 행진할지니라 하시니라

31 All the men assigned to the camp of Dan number 157,600. They will set out last, under their standards.

2:32 이상은 이스라엘 자손이 그들이 조상의 가문을 따라 계수된 자의 총계는 육십만 삼천오백 오십 명이며

2:33 레위인은 이스라엘 자손과 함께 계수되지 아니하였으니 여호와께서 모세에게 명령하심과 같았느니라

32 These are the Israelites, counted according to their families. All the men in the camps, by their divisions, number 603,550. 33 The Levites, however, were not counted along with the other Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.

2:34 이스라엘 자손이 여호와께서 모세에게 명령하신 대로 다 준행하여 각기 종족과 조상의 가문에 따르며 자기들의 기를 따라 진 치기도 하며 행진하기도 하였더라

34 So the Israelites did everything the Lord commanded Moses; that is the way they encamped under their standards, and that is the way they set out, each of them with their clan and family.

                  우리는 어제까지 하나님의 명령으로 이스라엘 백성들이 각 지파에서 싸울 수 있는 장정의 수를 계수하였던 것을 보았습니다. 각 지파에서 그 수를 세었던 것을 다 합하니 총 60만명이 넘는 인원이었습니다. 야곱이 그의 아들들과 함께 애굽으로 들어갔을 때의 사람 수가 70명이었던 것을 생각하면 고작 400년 만에 이렇게 방대한 민족이 된 것은 하나님께서 아브라함에게 주신 약속이 성취된 것이라고 밖에는 볼수 없습니다. 이제 가나안을 향해 출정하기 위한 군사력 측정은 다 끝이 났습니다. 그렇다면 이제 이 인원들을 어디에 어떻게 배치할 것인지를 정해야 하지요. 제가 예전에 군에 있을 때 분대장 교육대라는 곳을 갔었던 기억이 납니다. 한국 군대는 인원을 10명 단위로 쪼개서 이 인원을 분대라고 부릅니다. 그리고 그 분대의 장을 세우는데 그것이 분대장입니다. 보통 이제 상병이 되거나 자기 내무반의 실세가 될 때 즈음이면 분대장 교육대에 가서 교육을 받게 되는 데요. 그 교육을 마쳐야 한 분대를 책임지는 분대장이 되는 것이지요. 이 분대장 교육이라는 것이 여러가지 내용들이 있지만 그 중에 하나가 바로 행군시의 분대 대형입니다. 저도 이제는 기억이 좀 가물가물 합니다. 분대 종대로 나아갈 때에는 정찰이 앞에 서고 그 다음에 자동소총수 그 뒤에 탄약 보급병 그 뒤에 일반소총수 그 뒤에 유탄수 이런식으로 여러가지 상황에 맞는 다양한 대형을 갖추는 것을 배우지요. 아마 저보다 선배이신 여러분들이 훨씬 더 잘 아실 것이라 믿습니다. 아니면 기억이 저보다 더 안나실 수도 있지요. 이렇듯 인원이 파악이 되었다면 그 인원을 가지고 어떻게 진을 치고 어떤 대형으로 행군할지를 알아야 하겠지요. 그래야 그 인원들을 가장 효율적으로 운용할 수 있을 것입니다. 그런데 오늘 말씀을 보면 숙영, 즉 진을 치고 머물 때에는 하나님의 성막이 그 중심에 있고 행군할 때에도 하나님의 성막이 진영 중앙에 있는 것을 볼 수 있습니다. 이들이 이 광야라는 낯선 땅에서 목적지인 약속의 땅 가나안으로 나아갈 때에 이들은 언제나 하나님이 그들의 중심에 계신 것입니다. 오늘은 이처럼 성막을 중심으로 나아가는 사람들이라는 제목으로 말씀을 나누기 원합니다.

We saw yesterday that by God's command, the Israelites counted the number of fighting men from each tribe. Adding up the numbers from each tribe, the total exceeded 600,000 men. When we consider that Jacob entered Egypt with just 70 people, the growth into such a vast nation in only 400 years can only be seen as the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham. Now the military assessment for the march toward Canaan is complete. Next, we need to determine where and how to position these people.

I remember when I was in the military, I attended a squad leader training program. In the Korean military, personnel are divided into units of 10 people called squads, each led by a squad leader. Typically, when soldiers reach senior rank or become influential in their barracks, they attend squad leader training to become responsible for a squad. This training covers various topics, including marching formations. My memory is somewhat fuzzy now. When marching in squad column, the scout goes first, followed by the automatic riflemen, then the ammunition carrier, then regular riflemen, followed by the grenade launcher operator - we learned various formations appropriate for different situations. I believe many of you senior members know this better than I do. Or perhaps your memories are even hazier than mine.

Similarly, once personnel are accounted for, we need to know how to arrange the camp and what formation to use when marching to utilize these people most effectively. In today's passage, we see that when camping, God's tabernacle is at the center, and when marching, God's tabernacle remains in the middle of the formation. As they journeyed through the unfamiliar wilderness toward their destination, the Promised Land of Canaan, God was always at their center. Today, I want to share a message titled "People Centered on the Tabernacle."

                  자 함께 2절 보시겠습니다. “이스라엘 자손은 각각 자기의 진영의 군기와 자기의 조상의 가문의 기호 곁에 진을 치되 회막을 향하여 사방으로 치라” 자 60만명이 넘는 사람들을 어떻게 배치하고 있습니까? 각각 자기의 진영의 군기가 있어서 그 군기를 따라 진을 칩니다. 또 자기의 조상의 가문의 기호 곁에 진을 치라고 하십니다. 자 이스라엘이 열두지파가 있지 않습니까? 그 열두 지파를 각각 세지파씩 묶습니다. 그러면 진영이 총 몇개가 나옵니까? 네, 4개가 나오지요. 이 4개의 진영을 각각 동서남북에 하나씩 할당하는 것입니다. 자 그래서 각각 자기의 진영의 군기, 즉 세 지파씩 묶은 동서남북 중에 하나의 군기 아래에 집결하는 것입니다. 그리고 그 진영 안에서는 또 자기의 조상의 가문의 기호 즉 한 진영 안에 세 지파 중에 자기가 속한 지파의 기호 곁에 진을 치라는 말이지요. 자 예를 들면 제가 잇사갈 지파 사람입니다. 그러면 저는 어디로 가야 할 까요? 오늘 말씀 3절을 보니 “동방 해 돋는 쪽에 진 칠 자는 그 진영별로 유다의 진영의 군기에 속한 자라” 조금 내려와서 5절을 보니 “그 곁에 진 칠자는 잇사갈 지파라” 아, 저는 잇사갈 지파 사람이니까 동쪽 유다의 진영의 군기에 속한 사람이고 유다 지파 곁에 잇사갈 지파에 진을 치면 되는 것이지요. 그러면 제가 있어야 할 곳을 알았으니 그냥 거기 텐트 치면 되는 걸까요? 자 아까 2절 후반절을 다시 한번 보겠습니다. “진을 치되 회막을 향하여 사방으로 치라.” 조금 이상하지요. 조금 이상하지 않으십니까? “진을 치되 회막을 향하여 사방으로 치라.” 회막을 중심에 두고 동서남북 사방으로 진을 치는 것은 오케이. 문제 없습니다. 그런데 진을 회막을 향하여 치라구요? 회막이 중심에 있는데 텐트 입구가 다 회막을 향하고 있으면 불시에 적군이 외부에서 침입해오면 어떡합니까? 애당초 보이지도 않을텐데요. 구조적으로 초동대처가 훨씬 느리지 않겠습니까? 바로 나가자마자 싸우는 것이 아니라 한번 돌아야 하잖아요. 초기대응에 있어서 즉각적인 반응이 얼마나 중요한지는 군에서 5분대기 훈련을 해보신 분이라면 누구든지 알 수 있지요. 이것이 가능한 이유는 무엇입니까? 바로 하나님이 이들의 파수꾼이 되시기 때문입니다. 이들은 스스로를 지키기 위해 그들 자신의 힘을 의지하는 사람들이 아닌 것입니다. 그들이 의지할 분은 오직 하나님 한 분 뿐이신 것입니다. 그들 가운데 계신 하나님이 그들의 공급자시며 보호자이신 것이지요. 낮에는 구름기둥으로 밤에는 불기둥으로 호보하지 않으십니까? 그래서 이들의 중심은 오직 하나님을 향하여야 하는 것입니다. 그때에야 비로소 그들은 보호받을 수 있습니다. 그래서 하나님께서는 그들에게 하나님의 성막을 그들의 중심에 두시라고 하는 것입니다. 단순히 진영적인 위치뿐만 아니라 이스라엘의 마음과 신앙에 있어서도 하나님이 그들의 중심이라고 말하고 계시는 것입니다.

Let's look at verse 2 together: "The Israelites are to camp around the tent of meeting some distance from it, each of them under their standard and holding the banners of their family." How are these 600,000+ people arranged? Each has their division's standard, and they camp following that standard. They are also told to camp near their ancestral family's banner. Israel has twelve tribes, right? These twelve tribes are grouped into four divisions of three tribes each. So how many divisions do we have? Yes, four. These four divisions are allocated one to each of the four directions - east, west, north, and south.

So each person assembles under their division's standard - one of the four directions with three tribes grouped together. And within that division, they camp near their ancestral family's banner - meaning the specific tribe they belong to among the three in their division. For example, if I belong to the tribe of Issachar, where should I go? Looking at verse 3 of today's passage: "On the east, toward the sunrise, the divisions of the camp of Judah are to encamp under their standard." And coming down to verse 5: "The tribe of Issachar will camp next to them." Ah, since I'm from the tribe of Issachar, I belong to the eastern division of Judah and should camp next to the tribe of Judah.

Now that I know where I should be, do I just set up my tent there? Let's look at the latter part of verse 2 again: "The Israelites are to camp around the tent of meeting some distance from it." Isn't this a bit strange? Doesn't it seem odd? "The Israelites are to camp around the tent of meeting." Having the tabernacle in the center with camps in all four directions - that's fine, no problem. But facing the tabernacle? If the tabernacle is in the center and all tent entrances face it, what happens if enemies suddenly attack from outside? They wouldn't even see it coming! Wouldn't the response be much slower structurally? You'd have to turn around first before engaging, rather than immediately fighting. Anyone who has done five-minute standby training in the military knows how crucial immediate response is in initial engagement.

What makes this arrangement possible? It's because God becomes their watchman. These people don't rely on their own strength to protect themselves. The only one they rely on is God alone. God among them is their provider and protector. Doesn't He protect them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night? Therefore, their focus must be directed solely toward God. Only then can they be protected. That's why God instructs them to place His tabernacle at their center. God is telling them that He is the center not only in terms of camp position but also in the hearts and faith of Israel.

행진 할 때에도 마찬가지입니다. 동쪽의 유다진영이 제 1대로 행진하고 남쪽의 르우벤 진영이 제 2대로 행진하고 17절에 보면 “그 다음에 회막이 레위인의 진영과 함께 모든 진영의 중앙에 있어 행진하되” 라고 하십니다. 중앙에 회막이 있고 그 뒤에 서쪽의 에브라임 진영이 제 3대로 행진하고 마지막으로 북쪽의 단 진영이 제 4대로 행진합니다. 비록 하나님의 법궤와 구름 기둥은 이 모든 그룹의 선두에 서지만 이들의 중심에는 회막이 있는 것입니다. 이들의 삶에 있어서 하나님의 회막은 이들의 삶에 최우선 순위에 있고 가장 보호해야할, 지켜야 할 대상이며 그들의 중심인 것입니다.

말씀을 맺습니다. 오늘 말씀 34절에 “이스라엘 자손이 여호와께서 모세에게 명령하신대로 다 준행하여”라고 합니다. 이들은 회막을 중심으로 사방으로 진을 치며 그 텐트의 입구가 회막을 향하여 있어 늘 하나님께서 그들 가운데 거하시는 것을 볼 수 있었습니다. 그들이 숙영지에 머물 때에도 행진 할 때에도 하나님의 회막은 늘 그들의 중심에 있었습니다. 그들은 이렇게 명령하신대로 행하여 하나님께서 그들의 중심되심을 늘 상기할 수 있었습니다. 우리도 광야과 같은 인생 길을 살고 있습니다. 하나님께서 약속하신 천국을 향해 지금 광야와 같은 현실의 싸움을 싸우고 있는 우리입니다. 성막을 중심으로 나아갔던 이스라엘 백성들과 같이 우리도 하나님의 말씀을 다 준행하여 하나님의 성막이 우리의 중심 가운데에 고정되기를, 최 우선이 되기를 기도합니다. 

The same applies when marching. The eastern division of Judah moves first, the southern division of Reuben moves second, and in verse 17 it says, "Then the tent of meeting and the camp of the Levites will set out in the middle of the camps." The tabernacle is in the middle, followed by the western division of Ephraim as the third group, and finally the northern division of Dan as the fourth group. Although God's ark and the pillar of cloud lead at the front of all these groups, the tabernacle remains at their center. In their lives, God's tabernacle is their top priority, the thing they must protect and guard most, and their center.

In conclusion, verse 34 of today's passage says, "So the Israelites did everything the LORD commanded Moses." They camped in a square around the tabernacle with their tent entrances facing it, always able to see God dwelling among them. Whether staying at camp or marching, God's tabernacle was always at their center. By following these commands, they were constantly reminded that God was their center.

We too are living a wilderness-like journey through life. We are fighting the battles of our present reality, which is like a wilderness, as we head toward the heaven God has promised. Like the Israelites who moved with the tabernacle as their center, I pray that we too will follow all of God's words completely and keep God's tabernacle fixed at our center, as our highest priority.