Israel's Tribal Standards Outshine the Nations in the Wilderness

"Each man by his standard, with the ensigns" (Numbers 2:2). This is what Scripture says: "Who is this that looks forth like the dawn, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, etc." (Song of Songs 6:10). Holy and great are Israel with their standards, and all the nations gaze at them and wonder and say, "Who is this that looks forth?" The nations said to them, "Return, return, O Shulammite" (Song of Songs 7:1) — cleave to us and come to us, and we will make you rulers, dukes, and governors, as it is said, "Return, return, that we may gaze upon you" (ibid.). And "gazing" means nothing other than rulership, for thus Jethro said to Moses, "And you shall provide [literally: gaze] out of all the people, etc." (Exodus 18:21). And Israel say to them, "What will you gaze upon in the Shulammite?" (Song of Songs 7:1) — and what greatness will you give us? "As it were a dance of the two camps" (ibid.) — can you give us such greatness as the Lord our God gave us in the wilderness: the standard of the camp of Judah, the standard of the camp of Reuben, the standard of the camp of Ephraim, the standard of the camp of Dan? Can you do such a thing for us? "What will you gaze upon in the Shulammite, as it were a dance of the two camps" — for we sin and He pardons us, and He says to us, "Then your camp shall be holy" (Deuteronomy 23:15). So too the wicked Balaam looked at them, and his eye went blind against them, for he could not touch them, as it is said, "And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes" (Numbers 24:2). He began to say, "Who can touch these people, each one of whom dwells under his standard?"