Throughout the Torah one finds various listings of the twelve tribes of Israel. The first mentioning (Bereishit 35:23-26) comes shortly after the birth of Binyamin and the death of his mother Rachel. There, the order of the tribes follows the sequence of their births according to each of the mothers in the order of their marriage
The Book of Shemot (Shemot 1:2-4) opens with the identical order except for the obvious deletion of Yosef who did
In all the other listings, the order of the tribes appear differently each time! 
not descend with the family to Egypt as he was already there. However, in various other listings of the tribes, the tribe of Levi is omitted. In its place, the tribe of Yosef is divided into the two tribes of Ephraim and Menashe. These listings were associated with the eventual parceling of the Land of Israel in which case, Levi did not receive a share while Yosef received a double share. Most strange is that in all the other listings, the order of the tribes appear differently each time!
Beyond the totality of all of the twelve tribes, the Torah apparently was interested in conveying particular ideas in each of the locations alluded to by the shifting of the tribal order. For example in Bamidbar 10:14-27, the twelve tribes are divided into four divisions. Each division occupied a different side of the Mishkan which stood in the center. Each division of three tribes was led by one of those tribes. The leading division (verses 14-16) consisted of the tribes of Yehuda, Yissachar, and Zevulun. Yehuda led that group. This grouping makes no sense in terms of the order of their births. Obviously, these three tribes must represent some composite national personality essential for the success and survival of the entire nation. Indeed, Yehuda represented political power; Yissachar was deeply involved in Torah study; while Zevulun provided the economic clout. In leading the nation towards Eretz Yisrael, all three ingredients – represented by these three leading tribes – would be indispensible.
In a similar vein, we may examine the strange order of the tribes found in this week's Parshat Bamidbar (1:5-14, above). The opening names do follow a logical pattern. We have the children of Leah (minus Levi, as mentioned earlier), followed by the children of Rachel (two from Yosef along with Binyamin). We would expect the remaining four tribes to follow the order of their mothers, Bilhah and Zilpah respectively: Dan, Naftali, Gad, and Asher. However, what we found is a jumbled version of these four tribes: Dan, Asher, Gad, and Naftali. While Dan is in his proper position, the remaining three are in the reverse order: Naftali, Gad, and Asher!
Perhaps the key to unlocking this Biblical mystery can be found in the musical cantilation notes attached to each name. We find that the tribes are divided into three divisions. In each division, the first three tribes carry the " גדnote, while each of the fourth names has the double note, ". These three names, concluding each division of four tribes, include: Yissachar, Binyamin, and Naftali (thus creating the need for the reversed order regarding Naftali). Apparently, these three tribes specifically symbolize something central concerning the Nation of Israel.
The great Religious Zionist leader, R' Ze'ev Gold Z"l, coined the slogan for Religious Zionism as 'The Land of Israel for the Nation of Israel, in accordance with the Torah of Israel". The three tribes of Yissachar, Binyamin, and Naftali symbolize, in their own way, this triangular ideology of Religious Zionism. Yissachar was the tribe particularly involved in Torah study. Binyamin was selected as being the tribe that would territorially host the Bet HaMikdash. One of the reasons given is that Binyamin was the only one of Ya'akov's sons not born outside the Land of Israel. The institution of the Bet HaMikdash, however, provided for an extra-territorial status of the area which, ultimately, was not divided amongst the tribes. Quite the contrary, the area of the Bet HaMikdash was regarded as a national corporate entity. The tribe of Binyamin, therefore, symbolized the totality of the nation as a whole. The tribe of Naftali, on the other hand, represented the nation's title to the Land of Israel. The Talmud (Sotah 13a) relates that at the time of Ya'akov's funeral at the Cave of Machpelah, a legal challenge over the land's ownership was raised by Esau. The family remembered that Ya'akov had documentary proof of title. However, this was inadvertently left behind in Egypt. At which time, Naftali, gifted with unusual athletic ability, ran back to Egypt to salvage the family's claim on the land.
The Book of Bamidbar tells the story of the nation's march from Sinai to the Promised Land. Highlighting the three tribes of Yissachar, Binyamin, and Naftali at the outset would, hopefully, ingrain into the national psyche these essential qualities, represented by these tribes, thereby guaranteeing the overall appreciation of the Divine Promise.