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. His division numbers 74,600. – Numbers 2:3-4

Today’s Scripture Reading (October 18, 2018): Numbers 2

Ali Attar, the founder of ListoGraphic, makes this argument concerning war. “It was a wonderful morning, 5:29 a.m. on July 16, 1945, when everything in the history of warfare changes – [the] first detonation of nuclear bomb by [the] U.S. in Jornada del Muerto. Since then, war becomes a situation of loss and loss, there is no win after all.” Once we entered into the nuclear age, there could no longer be a winner and a loser in war. All that is left in a military conflict is how much each nation will lose; there can be no gain. Increasingly, war in our post-modern reality is fought using terrorist methods and single strikes into enemy territory. To risk any more only ups the amount that we have to lose. And nuclear weapons are only good as a threat because if they are ever used by a country, it would just bring about the end of civilization.

Attar concludes that in spite of war’s lose-lose reality, the most powerful army belongs to the United States. But the strength of the U.S. military is a direct result of her to equipment and training of her soldiers. By the number of soldiers, the United States is well down the list. The largest military machine on the planet would appear to belong to North Korea, although the majority of her soldiers have little to no training. Following the North Korean army, with regard to fighting strength, are South Korea, Vietnam, India, Russia, and China. Only after these countries do we get to the United States and her soldiers. 

While this is the state in modern warfare, the reality is that in ancient times, how many soldiers a nation had at its disposal was often the deciding factor in who would win the war. A smaller army defeating a large one was thought to be an upset. The only way weaker armies could win was to hide behind military fortifications such as a city wall. And how many soldiers a country could use in battle depended on how many men the country had at its disposal.

For the first time in her history, Israel begins to organize herself. At the center of this organized structure was the tabernacle. But that was not the end of the organization of Israel. Up until this point, people simply camped anywhere. But from this point on, it would begin to camp according to tribe.

And the first tribe mentioned in this reorganization of Israel was Judah. Judah would take up its position on the East side of the nation, toward the sunrise and welcoming of the new day. Judah would become important to Israel. David and Solomon were both of the tribe of Judah, as Jesus would be centuries later. The symbol of Judah was reportedly a lion, one of the most dangerous beasts of the ancient world. But the importance of Judah here is still to come. At this point, the main consideration seems to be that it is Judah that has the largest number of men who could become soldiers in time of national distress. It is Judah who should be the military leader of the nation. Others would follow, but solely based on her population, Judah would have to take the lead in times of danger.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Numbers 3