The Ohr Hachaim asks a contradiction in this possuk. The possuk first says that Hashem spoke to Moshe in the wilderness, which is the general location, and continues with a specific description of where it was, in the ‘Tent of Meeting'. However, when the Torah tells us when this command was given, it first tells us that it was on the first of the second month, with the specific date, and only afterward does it tell us the general time that it took place, which is the second year to their departure from Mitzrayim. Why does the Torah change things?
The Ohr Hachaim explains that the possuk is written with precision. The Medrash says, on the possuk הִנֵּה מָקוֹם אִתִי – Behold there is room with me, that the place that Hashem inhabits is secondary to Hashem, unlike everyone else, where the person is secondary to his place, and he lives in his place. In a similar vein, all places in the world are secondary to the place that Hashem dwells. Although one would think that the larger place is the more important factor, the reality is that all is secondary to Hashem’s place.
The Tent of the Meeting, the אהל מועד, was the central place of the universe, and the desert was secondary to that. The Torah writes the places in sequence, from the minor factor of the desert to the major factor, which is the ‘tent of the meeting’ itself.
The proof of this is indeed from the continuation of the possuk. When discussing the time the story took place, it is obvious that the year is of more general importance than the specific day. Yet the Torah writes the day and only then follows it by the year. This parallels the beginning of the possuk, where the less important factor precedes the more important one.
We find this concept in another area too. The Medrash (Vayikra Rabbah 10:9) writes that the entire Klal Yisroel fit between the two poles of the Aron. This was a relatively tiny place, but seeing as that is where Hashem’s Shechina is to be found, it can hold more than its physical dimensions would seem. Where Hashem is to be found is the largest most important place in the world. Everything else is secondary.
