Numbers 17 Devotional

Blossoms on a Dry Staff

“The next day Moses entered the Tent of the Testimony and saw that Aaron’s staff, representing the house of Levi, had sprouted, put forth buds, blossomed, and produced almonds.”Numbers 17:8 (BSB)

After Korah's rebellion the grumbling still has not stopped, so God settles the question of the priesthood himself. Each tribal leader's staff, with his name written on it, is laid in the Tent of Meeting before the Testimony, and God says the staff of the man he chooses will sprout (17:2-5). By the next morning Aaron's staff has come alive with buds, flowers, and almonds (17:8).

God's purpose in the sign is mercy. He wants to end the grumbling against him so that the people will not die (17:5, 10). Hebrews says the honor of priesthood is never self-appointed; Aaron was called by God, and so was Christ (Hebrews 5:4-5). The chapter ends with the people crying out in fear that approaching the tabernacle means death (17:12-13). God does not leave his people guessing whom he has chosen to bring them near. You can rest in the priest he has appointed rather than one you choose for yourself.

To think about: Whom or what do you lean on to bring you near to God, and how does God's own choice of a priest settle that?