民二1~2　耶和华对摩西、亚伦说，以色列人要各归自己的纛下，在自己宗族的旗号那里，对着会幕，在四边安营。

　　〔以色列人〕编组的第二点，就是部署安营。数点是为着部署安营，部署安营就成为军队。

　　〔民数记二章二节开头〕这句话含意很深。首先我们要看见，部署安营这事没有人意的选择。比方，……一个以色列人是犹大支派所生，……不能因他不喜欢犹大，而要归到拿弗他利支派的纛下。每个支派有一个大纛（一面大旗），人生在哪个支派，就该归到哪个支派的旗下，不能有自己的选择。就这预表的属灵意义说，在召会中的配搭，也不能有自己的选择，完全是出于神的命定、神的安排（民数记概论上册，二八至二九页）。

　　Num. 2:1-2 Then Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, The children of Israel shall encamp each by his own standard with the ensigns of their fathers' households; they shall encamp facing the Tent of Meeting on every side.

　　The second point of the formation of the Israelites into an army is that they encamped in array. Being numbered was for encamping in array, by which the Israelites became an army.

　　This portion of the Word, [Numbers 2:2], has a deep implication. First, we need to see that in the matter of encamping in array, there was no human choice. For example,...if [an] Israelite was born of the tribe of Judah, he was not allowed to encamp by the standard of the tribe of Naphtali, even if he disliked Judah. Each tribe had one standard (one large flag). Whichever tribe an Israelite was born of, he had to encamp by the standard of that tribe; he was not allowed to have his own choice. The spiritual significance of this type is that in the coordination in the church, the believers are not allowed to have their own choice; their coordination must come absolutely out of God's ordination and arrangement. (CWWL, 1960, vol. 1, "Synopsis of Numbers," p. 75)

　　民数记二章二节下半接着说，“对着会幕，在四边安营。”以色列人虽然各归各纛，但中心只有一个；纛旗有十二面，中心目标只有一个。所有的纛都是为着维持神的见证，没有一面旗是为着自己的支派。他们不是各自独树一帜，乃是对着会幕、围着会幕安营；他们是以会幕，就是神的见证为中心。

　　在民数记里，帐幕有两个名称，一是会幕（一1，四23），二是见证的帐幕（一50、53，十11）。称作会幕，乃重在帐幕是神与祂百姓相会的地方；称作见证的帐幕，则重在见证的柜是帐幕的中心。

　　利未记大都说到会幕，因其重点不在于神的见证，乃在于人如何到神面前与神交通、事奉神并过圣别的生活。民数记才着重于神的见证。神的见证是指摆在见证柜里的两块法版。见证柜是帐幕的中心，因此，帐幕成了见证的帐幕。见证的帐幕是宇宙的中心，是神在地上的见证；而这见证在地上需要有保障。当日这见证的帐幕立在旷野，若没有够强的军队围绕保护，就很容易被毁坏。神见证的帐幕要能立在地上，一直维持在那里，就需要以色列人所编组的军队在帐幕周围安营、保护，使其得着保障，能稳妥地在地上维持神在宇宙中的见证。

　　召会也是如此，一面是会幕，另一面是见证的帐幕。一面有属灵的军队，以帐幕作中心为神争战，为着维持神的见证；另一面有为着见证的事奉，这见证乃是一切事奉的中心。今天召会在地上有这两面的职责，一面是争战，一面是维持神的见证，而争战是为着维持见证。各地召会都该有属灵争战的光景，也该有为神作见证的光景。属灵的争战乃是指召会受撒但攻击时，召会中那些生命成熟的人，能认识撒但的攻击，并在神面前担负祷告的工作；他们就像以弗所六章十至二十节所说的，与那邪恶的属灵势力争战（民数记概论上册，二九、一六至一七、二七至二八页）。

　　参读：民数记概论，第二篇。

　　Numbers 2:2 goes on to say, "They shall encamp facing the Tent of Meeting on every side." Although the children of Israel encamped by their own standard, there was only one center. There were twelve standards among the Israelites, but there was only one central goal. All the standards were for maintaining the testimony of God; none of the standards was for its own tribe. They did not raise their own flags individually; instead, they encamped facing toward and around the Tent of Meeting. They took the Tent of Meeting, the testimony of God, as their center.

　　In Numbers the tabernacle has two names: the Tent of Meeting (1:1; 4:23) and the Tabernacle of the Testimony (1:50, 53; 10:11). The Tent of Meeting emphasizes that the tabernacle was the place where God met with His people, whereas the Tabernacle of the Testimony emphasizes that the Ark of the Testimony was the center of the tabernacle.

　　Leviticus speaks mainly of the Tent of Meeting, because the emphasis of this book is not the testimony of God but how man comes before God to have fellowship with Him, serve Him, and live a holy life. Numbers emphasizes the matter of God's testimony. The testimony of God refers to the two tablets in the Ark of the Testimony. The Ark of the Testimony was the center of the tabernacle; therefore, the tabernacle was called the Tabernacle of the Testimony. The Tabernacle of the Testimony was the center of the universe and was the testimony of God on earth. This testimony on earth needed to be safeguarded. When the Tabernacle of the Testimony was erected in the wilderness, it could easily have been destroyed without a strong army surrounding and protecting it. In order for the Tabernacle of the Testimony of God to stand on the earth and be maintained, the children of Israel needed to be formed into an army, encamping around it and protecting it. In this way the tabernacle was safeguarded so that God's testimony in the universe could be maintained on the earth.

　　The church is not only the Tent of Meeting but also the Tabernacle of the Testimony. On the one hand, there is a spiritual army that takes the tabernacle as the center to fight for God in order to maintain His testimony; on the other hand, there is a service for the testimony, which is the center of all the services. Today the church has a twofold responsibility: fighting and maintaining God's testimony. The former is for the latter. Thus, all the local churches should engage in spiritual warfare and be a testimony for God. Spiritual warfare means that when the church is being attacked by Satan, there are those in the church who are mature in life and who know Satan's attack and take up the work of prayer before God. They fight against the spiritual forces of evil spoken of in Ephesians 6:10-20. (CWWL, 1960, vol. 1, "Synopsis of Numbers," pp. 75-76, 65-66, 74-75)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1960, vol. 1, "Synopsis of Numbers," ch. 2