Numbers 17 is another lesson in God’s anointed leadership. Of course the people are still grumbling and God instructs Moses to get a staff from each tribe of Israel. He is instructed to “write the man’s name on his staff” and then lay them out in the Tent of Meeting. So there are 12 staff’s lying on the ground in the Tent – one for each of the 12 tribes. Aaron’s is the one for the tribe of Levi. The test here is that one of the staffs will grow. Now that is a pretty good trick. A dead piece of wood will come to life and grow – not slowly, but now. Can you imagine the ribbing Moses would take here. Dead sticks lying down – no watering – no fertilizing – just drop them down in the Tent and wait for one to grow. Sort of like watching paint dry isn’t it?
“Moses walked into the Tent of Testimony the next day and saw that Aaron’s staff…..had in fact sprouted–buds, blossoms, and even ripe almonds”! As is most always the case, God outdoes Himself. He said one would sprout, but this staff grew and even produced fruit. Now that is nothing short of a major miracle wouldn’t you say. Overnight – dead wood to live tree with fruit. That is a pretty strong message that Aaron is the chosen leader here. God instructs Moses to put “Aaron’s staff to the front of The Testimony”. This is to remain as a reminder to the people of who God has put in charge here. He was to “keep it there as a sign to the rebels”. That is how God sees people who are not willing to follow the leader He puts in place – rebels. Ponder that one. God’s expected outcome is that “this will put a stop to the grumbling against me” – which actually had been against Moses and Aaron but because they were God’s chosen leaders it was really grumbling against God. Are you catching this? People died prior and in future examples because they were not following God’s chosen leaders. God Himself takes that personally. God will stop the grumbling even if it means wiping out some people. The people of Israel are getting the picture in this chapter. They know that it will be a “death sentence” if they don’t respect what God has said. How much do you respect what God is doing around you? Are you following the leaders He has put in place in your life? Are you grumbling against them and ultimately to God? Time to ponder a whole lot of things about leading and following. God takes it seriously, so should we.
