(4)He brought me to the banquet roomAnd his banner of love was over me.

(2)Thus said G8D:
The people escaped from the sword, Found favor in the wilderness; When Israel was marching homeward(3) G8D was revealed to me from afar.
With eternal love I loved you then;Therefore I continue My chesed to you.

באתת [EVERY MAN OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL SHALL ENCAMP BY HIS OWN STANDARD] WITH THE SIGNS [OF THEIR FATHERS’ HOUSES] — Each banner shall have a different sign — a piece of colored cloth hanging on it, the color of the one not being the same as the color of another, but the color of each tribe shall be like that of his stone that is fixed in the breastplate (of. Exodus 28:21), and by this means everybody will be able to recognize his banner . Another explanation of באתת לבית אבתם is: by the signs (i.e., following the signs) which their father Jacob gave them severally when they carried him out from Egypt, as it is said, (Genesis 50:12) “And his sons did unto him exactly as he had commanded them”. For he had commanded that Judah, Issachar and Zebulun should carry him, having their position at the east side of the bier, Reuben, Simeon and Gad at the south side, etc., — as it is related in Tanchuma on this section (Midrash Tanchuma, Bamidbar 12; cf. Rashi on Genesis 50:12).

וידבר… במדבר סיני … באחד לחדש וגו׳ AND HAVAYAH SPOKE [UNTO MOSES] IN THE DESERT OF SINAI … ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE [SECOND] MONTH … [TAKE THE SUM OF ALL THE CONGREGATION] etc. — Because they were dear to him, He counts them every now and then: when they went forth from Egypt He counted them (Exodus 12:37), when many of them fell in consequence of their having worshipped the golden calf He counted them to ascertain the number of those left (cf. Rashi Exodus 30:16); when he was about to make His Shechinah dwell amongst them (i. e. when He commanded them to make a Tabernacle), He again took their census; for on the first day of Nisan the Tabernacle was erected (Exodus 40:2) and shortly afterwards, on the first day of Iyar, He counted them.

ACCORDING TO THE ENSIGNS. There were signs upon each and every standard. The ancients said that the banner of Reuben had the form of a person on it. Their statement is based on a midrashic interpretation concerning the mandrakes found by Reuben. The ancients also tell us that there was an image of a lion on the standard of Judah, for Jacob had compared Judah to a lion. They also tell us that the banner of Ephraim had the image of an ox upon it, in keeping with the verse, His firstling bullock (Deut. 33:17). The flag of Dan had the image of an eagle. Thus the banners were similar to the cherubim which the prophet Ezekiel saw.

“Each man by his flag” (Bamidbar 2:2). The Midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah 2:3) connects the flags mentioned in this pasuk to the verse in Shir Hashirim (2:4), “His banner of love was over me.” One who learns Torah and progresses from one halacha to the next (medaleg mihalacha lehalacha) is proclaimed dear to Hashem. When Bnei Yisrael received the Torah and saw the heavenly angels with their flags, they desired to have flags as well. Hashem promised them that they too would have flags.The simple reason for the flags is so that each person knows his tribe and his place, and to remind each person of their ancestry. The principle here is that Bnei Yisrael, in this world, cannot serve Hashem on the level of the holy angels. However, they can have the constant desire and will to long to do Hashem’s will. This is why the entire Torah and the mitzvot hint at lofty ideas, driving our desire for spiritual heights.The Midrash explains that even though we cannot reach the level of the angels, through their desire and longing, Bnei Yisrael merited flags. This is the meaning of the Midrash comparing the word "degel" (flag) to "dilug" (skipping). Bnei Yisrael can connect to extremely high spiritual levels, sometimes beyond their own merit, because Hashem grants the ability to connect to Him through a deep outpouring of love.This ability is due to the merit of our forefathers, who were a chariot for Hashem’s presence. Hashem blessed them, saying, “thus your children will be.” However, this level is reserved for those who are truly connected to Avraham’s descendants, nullifying themselves to the source of their neshama, and acting in the ways of our forefathers.The Chidushei Harim relayed a teaching from the Rav of Pershischa on the expression (Tana Devei Eliyahu Rabbah 25), “One should always say: ‘when will my actions be like those of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov?’” This does not mean one should foolishly compare themselves to the holy forefathers. Rather, it means one should strive never to be disconnected and ensure that their actions are linked to those of the forefathers. This is the meaning of “under the banners of their ancestral house” (Bamidbar 2:2), indicating that one’s actions should resemble and connect to the deeds of their ancestors, allowing them to grasp their spiritual roots, even if it involves spiritual leaps.

When the Torah will penetrate their hearts, no longer will they teach, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying: Know the Lord. They will not have to teach this to each other, for all of them will know Me, from their smallest to their greatest – the utterance of the Lord – for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no longer. At the time of their redemption they will have a new heart; they will cleave to Me from an internal awareness of God, not due to fear of punishment.