And the standard of the camp of the children of Ephraim set forward according to their hosts, and over his host was Elishama the son of Ammihud;
This verse records one line in Israel's first march away from Sinai: the third of four great camps lifts its standard and moves off, with Ephraim at its head. Why does Ephraim lead this group, why does it march here and not first, and what was a "standard" for?
This verse belongs to a roll-call that names every group and its leader in turn. One writer draws the lesson from that list and applies it to Christians today:
Ephraim next began their journey, with Elishama the son of Ammihud as leader (v.22)... All of this shows that God is a God of order. In the Church of God there is no physical order like this at all. Yet God's instructions in Scripture, for instance in 1 Corinthians, are plain enough. We have no excuse if we do not do all things properly and in order (1 Cor. 14:40). No man is in charge to control the saints. The Lord is in authority, and each believer has the Spirit of God. Under His influence all may be subject to the Lord, and so keep godly order in spiritual unity.
A "standard" was a banner, and Israel's camp was built around four of them:
Each tribe had its own standard, degel, and each family its own flag, oth. In the camp the twelve tribes stood three on each side. One of each three gave its name to that side, or camp. So the standard of Judah is called the standard of the camp of Judah, which was on the east. The camp of Reuben was on the south, the camp of Ephraim on the west, and the camp of Dan on the north.
Ephraim's place was not first and not last. The tribes marched in turn with the men who carried the tent and its vessels:
Everything, we notice, was regulated; and the order was God's order. Judah led the first three tribes. After them came the bearers of the tabernacle. After the second group of three tribes came the bearers of the sanctuary — the ark and other holy vessels. So at the new place the tabernacle went up before the ark arrived. Ephraim led the remaining six tribes. These arrangements held good for all the journeys of the people of Israel, as verse 28 says.
The detail in this chapter is God's own doing, and a later psalm names these same three tribes:
Note the sovereignty of God in ordering their journeys. The directions here are more detailed than at the start of the book. This shows the energy of the Spirit more than a concern with outward order. Chapter 2 says only, "Then the tabernacle in their midst." Here we get more detail. Psalm 80:2 says, "Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up your strength" — calling on God to act as He did in those days.
Ephraim was the younger, yet his name heads the camp and Manasseh follows. One writer traces this back to Jacob's blessing:
The four leaders were Judah, Reuben, Ephraim, and Dan. The tribes attached to each leader moved behind their standards. In every case but Manasseh, the younger followed the elder. No one could justly complain of that one exception. Jacob had settled Ephraim's precedence over Manasseh when he blessed them, guiding his hands on purpose, we read... No tribe, then, could complain of its place in the order of march. It gave no one a reason for jealousy.
Elishama, Ammihud and Ephraim are all names with meanings, and one writer reads them together:
Of these, Ephraim comes first, because Jacob's prophecy gave this place to the younger-born. Ephraim's prince is Elishama, "God has heard." The very "fruitfulness" that Ephraim speaks of may be a snare to us. It will be, unless we have learned to give the credit for it, with reverence, to the One who hears His people's prayer. The second name, Ammihud, means "the people of Majesty." It may point to that conscious relationship with the infinite Greatness, which is both the ground and the spur of successful prayer. All these names breathe a spirit of dependence and of nearness — of lowliness, yet of closeness. These two things must go together.
- Order. God set the sequence of the march, not Israel. Everything was regulated, down to Ephraim's turn to move.
- Banner. Ephraim's standard named the camp on the west side. Manasseh and Benjamin marched under it.
- Precedence. Ephraim leads though he was the younger. Jacob had fixed that when he blessed them, so no tribe had cause for jealousy.
- Nearness. These three tribes marched straight after the holy vessels. Psalm 80 later names the same three when it calls on God to act as He once did.
- Prayer. "Ephraim" speaks of fruitfulness, and his leader's name means "God has heard." Fruitfulness that forgets the God who hears prayer turns into a snare.
and over the host of the tribe of the children of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur;
Israel is leaving Sinai, and the march list names one tribe and one man: Manasseh went out under Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. Why does God record who led each company, and what do the names and the place in the line teach?
Manasseh marched with Ephraim and Benjamin. Those three tribes camped nearest the ark, the chest holding the covenant, which stood for God's presence among them. One writer traces a whole psalm back to this arrangement:
The smallest things in the word deserve our notice. The position of the tribes opens up the whole of Psalm 80. In the last days of Israel's ruin, the psalmist's spirit asks God to lead them. He asks God to show His power as He did when He led them through the wilderness. He asks for the power of His presence on the ark of testimony. God showed that power at the moment Israel set out, when the call went up, "Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered." Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh were the three tribes nearest the ark in the camp of Israel. That is why verse 2 of the Psalm says, "Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh."
Both names in this verse carry meaning. Together they hold an encouragement and a guard against pride:
Manasseh's prince was Gamaliel, meaning "God is a Rewarder." In a time of conflict this is a wonderful encouragement. There is no reason to look for men's approval or rewards. If we wage war simply out of a desire to please God, we shall be fully content to wait for God's time of rewards. Gamaliel's father, Pedahzur, means "the rock has redeemed." That reminds us that the rewards of service must not become occasions of pride on our part. We must remember that we are only sinners redeemed by Him who is the one stable Rock.
The tribe's own name carries a lesson, drawn from the day Joseph named his firstborn son in Egypt:
During the seven years of plenty Asenath bore Joseph two sons. He named the first Manasseh (v. 51), which means "forgetting." As he says, "God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father's house." This is typical of the truth of Christianity. It makes us forget the first creation with its natural relationships and its troubling trials. But this is because it introduced something better, the new creation, of which Christ is the Head.
Manasseh did not pick its slot in the line. The same God who told the tribes where to sleep told them where to walk:
We notice that God commanded the order in which the tribes were to march when they set out on their journeys. He commanded it just as much as He commanded the order of their tents when they rested. God did not leave the arrangements to their choice or their wishes. Had they disobeyed, thinking they knew of some better order, they would simply have produced disorder.
One writer carries the lesson over to believers now. "In the Church of God there is no physical order such as this," he writes, yet "we have no excuse if we do not do all things decently and in order." He adds a guard: "not any man is in charge to control the saints, but the Lord is in authority" (Leslie M. Grant).
Each man's place came from God, and that left no room for rivalry:
Each had to know his post and keep it — to know his standard and stay by it. So they moved on together. So they made progress, did the work, and carried on the warfare. The man of Benjamin had his post, and the man of Ephraim had his. Neither was to interfere with the other or cross his path... Each had his family line, and each had his post. Neither of them was according to their own thoughts; all was of God. He gave the family line, and He assigned the standard. There was no need to compare one with another, and no ground for jealousy of one another. Each had his place to fill and his work to do, and there was work enough and room enough for all.
- Rewarded — The son's name, Gamaliel, means "God is a Rewarder." So do not chase human approval; wait for God's time of reward.
- Redeemed — The father's name, Pedahzur, means "the rock has redeemed." Rewards must never feed pride: the servant is a sinner redeemed by the one stable Rock.
- Forgetting — The tribe's name, Manasseh, means "forgetting." The old ties are let go because something better has come in: the new creation, with Christ as Head.
- Positioned — The place: Manasseh camped among the three tribes nearest the ark. Psalm 80 later prays on the strength of that place.
- Ranked — The order: God assigned every post, and no one chose his own. Where God gives the post, there is no room for rivalry and no shortage of work.
and over the host of the tribe of the children of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni.
This verse names the last of three tribes that marched together: Benjamin, led by Abidan the son of Gideoni. One line of a roll call raises the chapter's big questions — who set this order, and what do these names mean?
Every man in the camp knew two things: which family he came from, and where he belonged in the line. One commentator shows what would have happened without that.
If a man did not know his family line, he could not recognise his standard. Everything would then have collapsed into hopeless confusion. Instead of keeping rank and making steady progress, they would have been in each other's way, treading on one another. Each had to know his post and keep it — to know his standard and stay by it. So they moved on together, made progress, did the work, and carried on the warfare. The Benjaminite had his post, and the Ephraimite had his, and neither was to interfere with the other or cross his path... Each had his family line, and each had his post. Neither of these came from their own ideas — all was of God.
The tribes did not settle this order among themselves. A better idea of their own would not have helped.
We notice that God commanded the order in which the tribes were to march when they set out on their journeys. He commanded the order of their tents in the same way when they rested. The arrangements were not left to their discretion or their wishes. Had they disobeyed, under the mistaken idea that they knew of a better order, they would simply have produced disorder.
One commentator moves from this marching column to how believers meet today.
Ephraim next began their journey ... then Manasseh ... then Benjamin with its leader Abidan the son of Gideoni. ... All of this shows that God is a God of order. In the Church of God there is no physical order like this at all. Yet God's instructions in Scripture are plain enough — for instance in 1 Corinthians. We have no excuse if we do not do all things decently and in order (1 Cor. 14:40). No man is in charge to control the saints; the Lord is in authority. Each individual has the Spirit of God, and by His influence all may be subject to the Lord, so keeping godly order in spiritual unity.
Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin travelled immediately after the holy things were carried out. That detail is picked up centuries later in a psalm of appeal.
The smallest details in the word deserve to be noticed. The position of the tribes opens up the whole of Psalm 80. In the last days of Israel's desolation the psalmist asks God to lead them. He asks God to show His power as He did when He led them through the wilderness. He asks for the power of His presence on the ark of testimony, as God showed it at the moment Israel set forward and it was said, "Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered." Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh were the three tribes nearest the ark in the camp of Israel. That is why verse 2 of the psalm says, "Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh."
Some writers find teaching in the meanings of the three names in this verse.
Benjamin, "the son of my right hand," speaks of the dignity of our position. That position is to be marked by the prince Abidan, "my father is judge," the son of Gideoni, "the one who cuts down." Here we have the sense of adoption together with that godly fear which removes pride from us.
Benjamin was given two names on the day he was born. Writers see Christ pictured in both.
The youngest son of Jacob by his beloved wife Rachel. She died at his birth and named him BEN-ONI, meaning "son of my sorrow," but his father named him BENJAMIN, "son of the right hand" (Gen. 35:18, 24). He is a picture of Christ in both names. Benjamin pictures Him exalted at God's right hand. Ben-oni pictures Him rejected, and so the occasion of Israel's tribulation in the last days, with Rachel picturing Israel.
- Assigned — God gave Benjamin its place in the line. He commanded the order of the march and the order of the camp alike.
- Kept — each tribe held its own post, so no one got in another's way. God is a God of order, and Scripture still calls for all things to be done decently and in order.
- Near — Benjamin marched with Ephraim and Manasseh nearest the ark. Psalm 80 later appeals to that place.
- Named — Benjamin, "son of the right hand"; Abidan, "my father is judge"; Gideoni, "the one who cuts down" — adoption joined to a fear that removes pride.
- Christ — Benjamin's two names picture Him: exalted at God's right hand (Benjamin), and rejected, the occasion of Israel's sorrow (Ben-oni).