Meditation 14
The Divine Order of March of the Hebrews
Let us now scrutinize the mystery of these twelve celestial
jewels and prefiguration of the protective veils of the coming Church
in the live of grace still further, as they are revealed in the gallery
of God's sacred images in Exodus. It is this mystery which is as a
golden cain in God's revelation, a truth which the ancient Icelandic
fathers received from their Celtic predecessors in the country, the
papas of the Celtic church who made Iceland their desert fortress of
contemplation before the arrival of the Vikings in the country. As a
matter of fact it has taken scholars with surprise how close a contact
was between the Celtic papas and the Egyptian desert fathers.
In Exodus we see that the tribes walked in the order of their birth in the Divine Order of March under the protection of these twelve precious jewels and four creatures, A Lion, Winged man, Bull and an Eagle. “The stones will correspond to the names of the sons of Israel” (Ex 28. 21). The tribes walked in accordance with this Divine Order of March in the desert in the order of their age (Ex 28. 10; Nb 2. 1-34) under the guidance of the ark of the covenant.
When the Israelites walked through the desert in accordance with the Divine Order of March, it was the ark that went before them,
It is indeed in this guiding role that we see the ark in the Book of Joshua when it led the Israelites to their resting place in the Promised land. The officials went through the camp and said,
The ark gave them guidance and after having given the Israelites such a guidance in the desert, the ark kept on in it's role of guidance in the Promised land and secured victory against all enemies. Under its guidance they enjoyed prosperity, peace and happiness and did not miss their mark. We can see how the ark secured a victory for them in the Book of Joshua,
Thus they captured the city by walking around it for six days with the seven ram's horn trumpets of their sanctification under the protection of the ark and in the power of the protection of the celestial hierarchies and their leader on earth, the archangel Michael, as we can see in the Book of Joshua, the handbook of spiritual warfare,
It was only by this manner that the Israelites were able to conquer their main enemies, “the spirits of evil in the air” (Ep 1. 6). It was the power of these seven trumpets which refer to the seven lamps of the lamp stand in the Holy of the Sanctuary, the eyes of the Lord and to the seven sacraments as will be discussed later in detail, “These seven are the eyes of Yahweh, which range over the whole world” (Sc 4. 10).
As an sacred image the Divine Order of March of the Hebrew tribes reveals how the soul storms the abode of the enemy of our salvation, “the place where Satan is enthroned” (Rv 2. 13) as our Lord shed upon by His temptations in the desert (Mt 4. 1-11) or the black tabernacle of a presumptuous human soul where he has inscribed all his filthiness.
In Exodus we see that the tribes walked in the order of their birth in the Divine Order of March under the protection of these twelve precious jewels and four creatures, A Lion, Winged man, Bull and an Eagle. “The stones will correspond to the names of the sons of Israel” (Ex 28. 21). The tribes walked in accordance with this Divine Order of March in the desert in the order of their age (Ex 28. 10; Nb 2. 1-34) under the guidance of the ark of the covenant.
When the Israelites walked through the desert in accordance with the Divine Order of March, it was the ark that went before them,
They set out from
Yahweh's mountain and traveled for three days, while the ark of the
covenant of Yahweh preceded them on the three days journey, searching
out a place for them to halt. In the daytime, Yahweh's cloud was over
them, once they broke camp. Whenever the ark set out, Moses would say:
“Rise, Yahweh, may your enemies be scattered and those who hate you
flee at your approach!” And when it halted, he would say: “Come back,
Yahweh, to the countless thousands of Israel (Nb 10. 33-36).
It is indeed in this guiding role that we see the ark in the Book of Joshua when it led the Israelites to their resting place in the Promised land. The officials went through the camp and said,
When you see the ark of
the covenant of Yahweh your God being carried by the levitical priests,
you will leave your position and follow it, so that you may know which
way to take (Js 3. 2-4).
The ark gave them guidance and after having given the Israelites such a guidance in the desert, the ark kept on in it's role of guidance in the Promised land and secured victory against all enemies. Under its guidance they enjoyed prosperity, peace and happiness and did not miss their mark. We can see how the ark secured a victory for them in the Book of Joshua,
Joshua, the son of Nun
summoned the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the
covenant, and let seven priests carry seven ram's horn trumpets in
front of the ark . . . ” At once the people stormed the city, each man
going straight forward, and they captured the city (Js 6. 6-20).
Thus they captured the city by walking around it for six days with the seven ram's horn trumpets of their sanctification under the protection of the ark and in the power of the protection of the celestial hierarchies and their leader on earth, the archangel Michael, as we can see in the Book of Joshua, the handbook of spiritual warfare,
Now when Joshua was
near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him,
grasping a naked sword. Joshua walked towards him and said to him, ‘Are
you on our side or on that of the enemies?’ He replied, ‘On neither
side. I have come now as the captain of the army of Yahweh’(Js 5. 13,
14).
It was only by this manner that the Israelites were able to conquer their main enemies, “the spirits of evil in the air” (Ep 1. 6). It was the power of these seven trumpets which refer to the seven lamps of the lamp stand in the Holy of the Sanctuary, the eyes of the Lord and to the seven sacraments as will be discussed later in detail, “These seven are the eyes of Yahweh, which range over the whole world” (Sc 4. 10).
Yahweh your God looks
after his country, the eyes of Yahweh your God are always on it, from
the beginning of the year to the end (Dt 11. 12).
As an sacred image the Divine Order of March of the Hebrew tribes reveals how the soul storms the abode of the enemy of our salvation, “the place where Satan is enthroned” (Rv 2. 13) as our Lord shed upon by His temptations in the desert (Mt 4. 1-11) or the black tabernacle of a presumptuous human soul where he has inscribed all his filthiness.