Christian, Misrepresent God at Your Own Peril and Lose Your Dream.

Numbers Chapter 20: A Big Chapter in which Miriam & Aaron Die; Israel & Moses Sin; God Commands; and Edom Refuses Passage to the Israelites

Numbers 20:1-29

Day 73. Minneapolis is “burning”, and a police officer was charged with 3^rd degree murder and manslaughter. Murder is either first degree or second degree, except in three states (Florida, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota). There were violent riots last night in Atlanta, New York, Washington, and Minneapolis. The world is no longer a safe place. Racism is still rampant. Love is still missing big time. I can’t speak for others, but I feel the church is silent. It was, for all intent and purposes, silent as Hitler was implementing his “final solution”.  The Church of Jesus Christ has the only true “final solution” that works for mankind and it needs to take bigger risks to share it these days. I recently was asked on social media if I was prepared to actually admit that I “talk with God daily, etc.” I said “yes, I do” and the person proceeded to ridicule me. That’s okay. But the message got out there. Franklin Graham of the Billy Graham Association is using this Covid-19 experience as an opportunity to share the Gospel – clearly and simply.  I congratulate him. We need to put our money where our mouths are. Let’s be a blessing to someone today.

On a positive note, today NASA/SPACEX (the latter being owned by Elon Musk who owns brought us Tesla cars) has successfully launched American astronauts into space again, after nearly one whole decade. We wish them godspeed.

Thank you for joining us in our study of Numbers. Chapter 20 is a chapter with lots of events. Read on.

The Passage

20 Then the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to the wilderness of Zin in the first month; and the people stayed at Kadesh. Now Miriam died there and was buried there.

² There was no water for the congregation, and they assembled themselves against Moses and Aaron. ³ The people thus contended with Moses and spoke, saying, “If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord! ⁴ Why then have you brought the Lord’s assembly into this wilderness, for us and our beasts to die ^[a]here?⁵ Why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us in to this wretched place? It is not a place of ^[b]grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink.”⁶ Then Moses and Aaron came in from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to them;

⁷ and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁸ “Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink.”

⁹ So Moses took the rod from before the Lord, just as He had commanded him; ¹⁰ and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. And he said to them, “Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” ¹¹ Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank. ¹² But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”¹³ Those were the waters of ^[c]Meribah, ^[d]because the sons of Israel contended with the Lord, and He proved Himself holy among them.

¹⁴ From Kadesh Moses then sent messengers to the king of Edom: “Thus your brother Israel has said, ‘You know all the hardship that has befallen us; ¹⁵ that our fathers went down to Egypt, and we stayed in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians treated us and our fathers badly. ¹⁶ But when we cried out to the Lord, He heard our voice and sent an angel and brought us out from Egypt; now behold, we are at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory. ¹⁷ Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or through vineyard; we will not even drink water from a well. We will go along the king’s highway, not turning to the right or left, until we pass through your territory.’” ¹⁸ Edom, however, said to him, “You shall not pass through ^[e]us, or I will come out with the sword against you.” ¹⁹ Again, the sons of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway, and if I and my livestock do drink any of your water, then I will ^[f]pay its price. Let me only pass through on my feet, ^[g]nothing else.” ²⁰ But he said, “You shall not pass through.” And Edom came out against him with a heavy ^[h]force and with a strong hand.²¹ Thus Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through his territory; so Israel turned away from him.

²² Now when they set out from Kadesh, the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor. ²³ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying, ²⁴ “Aaron will be gathered to his people; for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the sons of Israel, because you rebelled against My ^[i]command at the waters of Meribah. ²⁵ Take Aaron and his son Eleazar and bring them up to Mount Hor; ²⁶ and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar. So Aaron will be gathered to his people, and will die there.” ²⁷ So Moses did just as the Lord had commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. ²⁸ After Moses had stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar, Aaron died there on the mountain top. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain.²⁹ When all the congregation saw that Aaron had died, all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days.

Footnotes

1. Numbers 20:4 Lit there
2. Numbers 20:5 Lit seed
3. Numbers 20:13 I.e. contention
4. Numbers 20:13 Or where
5. Numbers 20:18 Lit me
6. Numbers 20:19 Lit give
7. Numbers 20:19 Or no great thing
8. Numbers 20:20 Lit people
9. Numbers 20:24 Lit mouth

Thoughts on the Passage

A packed chapter indeed. Verse 1 tells us where they are and when they got there and simply that Moses’ sister, Miriam, died there. Miriam was the first of the three siblings to die (Aaron and Moses were to follow). This was in keeping with God’s promise that none of the original generation of those who left Egypt, save Joshua and Caleb, would enter the promised land.

In verses 2-6, we find out that the people grumble again, this time for water. They approach Moses and ask the same questions, “why, why, why”. And of course, Moses and Aaron go towards the doorway of the tent of meeting, fall on their faces, and the glory of the Lord appears to them and God speaks to Moses. He instructs Moses on how to deal with the situation. Let’s look at the instructions carefully because this event is a lead-up to the most critical or key verse of the entire book of Numbers.

David Guzik says the need was real, but the reaction of Israel smacked of unbelief and a bad attitude. Sometimes, as we all know, we overact to what we think is a pressing need in our lives rather than to take the matter to God.

God says: i) take the rod; ii) you and Aaron assemble the congregation; and iii) speak to the rock before their eyes, so that it would yield water. Simple. Three requests. Nothing else was needed. The rod that Moses was to take, according to Robert Jamieson, was the one that had been deposited in the tabernacle as we are told in Numbers 17:10. It was the rod of Aaron. There was no request to ‘use’ the rod to strike the rock as God had instructed Moses to do back in Mount Sinai when there was a similar need. Just talking to the rock this time would produce the water needed and the congregation and their animals would have their thirst satisfied. But what happened?

Moses i) takes the rod (so far, so good); ii) Moses and Aaron gather the assembly before the rock (even better); and iii) – oh oh, Moses doesn’t speak to the rock! He speaks to the people (verse 10) and he calls them rebels. He asks them if he and Aaron were to give them water out of the rock. And then, only then, does Moses strike the rock twice without speaking to it. The water gushes forth and the people and their animals drink as much as they want.

What was Moses guilty of from a human perspective? First, he added his own approach to the process that God had given him to deal with the situation. Second, he chided the people and was angry at them. His emotions or attitude took over his heart. And finally, as Guzik says, he over-magnified his part or potential part in the solution – “shall we give you water?” Who’s “we” Moses?  You can’t do anything. Did you forget that?  That’s our lesson here. When God wants us to do something – stick to what He tells us to do and we must not exaggerate in our minds or with our words, our role in that. And then he strikes the rock not once, as if he were a magician, but twice, out of shear anger and frustration.

We need to note how gracious God was to the Israelites. Even though Moses didn’t follow the instructions, God didn’t deny His people what they needed. The thought that comes to mind is how we often see God taking care of His people in local church when their leaders are not following God’s exact instructions. God loves us and He will take care of us regardless of leadership. And then He will deal with the leadership.

And the God speaks to Moses and Aaron, and here comes the most critical or key verse in the whole book, verse 12, “Because you guys did not believe me and you did not treat Me as holy in the sight of the people, you both will not have the privilege of leading them to the promised land.”  The rock did not need to be struck; it only needed to be spoken to. Come on, God. We’re talking about Moses and Aaron here. These are you chosen servants.  They have gone through so much in obedience to you. One little mistake and that’s it, they’re out?  That’s it, they are out. And not only that, they, or at least Moses, still has a lot of work to do for God. No exceptions, not even for Moses.

We have to understand what God was upset about here. It was the fact that He was misrepresented to the people by Moses and Aaron. He says, “because you did not believe me.” Because God said that, we can know that Moses did in fact have a problem at that very moment with his belief in God being able to deliver the water by Moses simply speaking to the rock. And as a result, Moses lost out on his life’s dream – the promised land. The lesson? Don’t ever misrepresent God. Don’t ever doubt God. Don’t stop believing in what God tells you directly. Leaders, pastors, elders, deacons, church staff take note – don’t ever do that. And that goes for the rest of us, too.

Now, here’s the comparison to Christ the Rock. In order for Christ to accomplish His work for the Father, He only needed to be struck once – to be crucified. He did not need, in order to save us all from sin, to be struck twice. Guzik says Moses in striking the rock twice, “defaced a beautiful picture of Jesus' redemptive work through the rock which provided water in the wilderness”.

Verses 14-21 relate the account of Moses sending messengers to the king of Edom requesting permission to pass through his land on their journey. Notice these messengers referred to themselves, to Israel, as “Edom’s brother”. Guzik says, “The nation of Israel was brother to the nation of Edom, because the patriarch Israel (also known as Jacob) was brother to Esau (also known as Edom), as related in Genesis 25:19-34.

They give him the story about all the hardships they’ve been through and that they will not harm their land at all. The king of Edom says no, and if they try anyway, he would go after them in battle. They tried again asking if they could even just go by one highway and again, he said no, at which point the Israelites turned to travel away from Edom’s territory and they got to Mount Hor (verse 22). The refusal was truly unnecessary. It would have cost Edom nothing to agree. But what was the lesson for the Israelites? It was the same as it is for us today: when people do not support our work or cause and set up barriers for our service to God, leave them to God and don’t try to avenge their actions. In my own life, I’ve seen God take care of those kind of uncooperative sorts appropriately soon after their refusal to help.

God once again speaks to Moses and Aaron. This is important because now God is telling them that it is time for Aaron to die because they both rebelled against God at Meribah (where the water miracle took place). And Moses was to take Aaron and his son Eleazar up to Mount Hor. God uses the phrase “bring them up” so we could assume that He was going to be there as well. Moses was to strip Aaron of this high priestly garments and put them on Eleazar. And then Aaron was to die there. And that’s exactly what happened. Then Moses, after supposedly burying Aaron (we don’t know for sure), along with Eleazar went back down.  The whole congregation connected the dots and realized that Aaron had died, and they all wept and mourned for 30 days.

Several things to note here. Aaron’s death had been announced prior to the trip up Mount Hor. So, there was time for an orderly and appropriate transition from Israel’s first High Priest to their second. Also, we must remember that as good as Aaron was, he was also involved negatively in the whole situation with the Golden Calf. He, like sister Miriam, and later Moses, could be said to have had a mixed record in serving God. What’s the lesson? Guzik suggests that many times the office and the work is more important than the man (or woman) carrying it out. [I can’t but think of how so many Christians today complain about the personal sins of a president but fail to see what that president may be doing that God wants done. We need to think about that as we verbalize our opinions.]

What is not lost on us and Matthew Henry is that these same people who time and again came out and complained about Aaron, now mourn 30 days for his loss. That is human nature. That is the fickleness of people. That is the hypocrisy of people. I can go on.  I won’t. Our job is to work and live throughout our lives for an audience of one – our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That is my prayer for you and me today.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Comparing the Compensation of Clergy in the Old Testament Israelite Congregation to The New Testament Church Today.

Numbers Chapter 18: Remuneration of the Priesthood

Numbers 18:1-32

Day 70. Ten weeks of “please stay at home” and “we’ll shut down everything just in case.” As I posted earlier today, “If ever there was a doubt about whether or not politicians can solve the world's problems, it has totally disappeared. They can't.” Neither can doctors. Of course, lawyers will always be around to make a good dollar from the messes that politicians and doctors make. And we just had a black man named George Floyd killed by four police officers in Minnesota with initial video showing the murder. They only got fired. And of course, there’s an outrage. Only God can solve this kind of mess, this kind of hatred. And He will unite us – in His good time and in His good way. But of course, that may be too late for some who reject Him now. In the meantime, we keep on studying. I was encouraged again today by a reader who appreciates how we try to simplify the passages here. Thank you, K.B., but I assure you, I too am benefitting from this. So much to learn and take in.  Keep on trucking.  Please comment on blog, share it, and/or ask questions that arise. Now let’s turn what God said about compensation for priests.

The Passage

This chapter (in verses 1-3) clarifies the duties of Aaron and his sons (the priesthood) verses those of the Levites (their assistants). Aaron and Sons are held responsible for any offenses related to or in connection with the sanctuary and the priesthood. But their brothers, the rest of the tribe of Levi will serve them in their duties, but they cannot go near the furnishings of the sanctuary and the altar, or both Aaron’s family and the Levites would die.

Verse 4 says that no outsider may enter the tent of meeting or go near Aaron or the priests. Verse 5 says this division of duties is intended to eliminate the wrath of the sons of Israel (the whole congregation).

In verse 6, God assures Aaron that the men He has given them as helpers are a) a gift, and b) dedicated to the Lord, for the purpose of performing their work. Verse 7 informs us that God is giving Aaron and Sons the priesthood as a bestowed gift, or honor, or present.

Then in verse 8 God continues talking to Aaron and up to verse 20, the chapter reviews the ‘remuneration’ of Aaron and Sons – that is, what they get to keep for their services that they may share with their families. And this was to go on perpetually in the future. Verse 10 tells us that the food portions of their compensation are to considered holy and eaten. In verse 12, God says He is the One giving Aaron’s family the fresh oil, fresh wine, the grain, and the first fruits.

In verses 14-15, God says that every “devoted” thing in Israel would belong to the priests. That includes all firstborns. But the firstborn of man they will need to redeem.

Verses 16-19 give more instructions about the redemption price, and what is not to be redeemed; as well as how to deal with the blood of the firstborn of an ox or a sheep or a goat.

And God reminds Aaron (in verse 20) that he and his sons are not to have any inheritance in their land nor own any portion of it, as He [God] alone is their portion and inheritance.

Then in verse 21, God turns His attention to the sons of Levi that were to help Aaron and Sons in their work. He indicates He has given them “the tithe” for their service. That tithe comes from the Israel of Israel (the whole congregation). That is their inheritance and they have no other inheritance among the sons of Israel.

Finally, in this chapter, God speaks again to Moses (verse 25). Moses was to tell the Levites that when they get the tithe from the rest of Israel, they still have to tithe on it to the Lord – a tithe of the tithe (vs. 26). They were to give the Lord the best of the tithe, and the rest was theirs (verse 31) for themselves and their families. This was their ‘compensation’ for their services in the tent of meeting.

The chapter ends by telling the Levites that doing what God asks here will clear them from any guilt or sin with respect to receiving or taking this tithe from the people. However, they were not to treat these gifts from the people as though they were common in any way. Doing so would mean they would die.

Thoughts on the Passage

After God proved to the sons of Israel that Aaron and family were indeed the divinely-appointed priests and that the Levites were to only help them, He then went about to eliminate any further wrath by specifying their separate areas of operation, their duties and responsibilities, and the process by which they were to be compensated. He also indicated what the penalty was for both the sons of Aaron and the sons of Levi if they messed this up – they would die.  Here’s the first point – God never assigns anyone any “authority” without assigning them a corresponding “responsibility”. Take note when God give you an assignment – there is no option as to how well you apply yourself to it.

The very desire of God to eliminate the wrath of the people tells me a lot about God. Not only does He give us instructions, but He cares about psychologically and emotional states. He didn’t want His people to be angry, or furious, or annoyed. That’s God’s “father-side”. As parents, we sometimes not only decide disputes among our children, but we also then try to work with those that feel they got the short end of the straw. Why do we do that – because we love them. That’s our God.

God also assures Aaron that the helpers God has given him and his sons are hand-picked, fully qualified to do the work – they’re a gift from God and dedicated to God. When God assigns you a responsibility, He knows what help you need and how much. In fact, in this case, those helpers are to be perceived by Aaron as a gift, an honor. We could well ask ourselves how we view our helpers, our workers? Do we see them as God’s gift and treat them in the appropriate manner, encouraging them, developing them, and so on?

Just to make this a little clearer:
-- Aaron and his family were part of the tribe of Levi – but only his family was given responsibility for the priesthood.
-- the Levites were one of the tribes of the congregation of Israel (or the sons of Israel) and they were given assignments as helpers to the priests.
-- the whole congregation or Israel were the ones that would go to the priests with their sacrifices and their offerings.

And then of course God has a lot to say about how Aaron and Sons, as well as the Levite helpers are to be compensated then and into the future. What’s important here is that we are to see our compensation as being provided to us by God (verse 12).

In verse 20, we see God saying to Aaron and Sons that they are not to have any other inheritance except what He provides for them as per His instructions. How do we transfer that idea over to our compensation of pastors or clergy today? I remember some time ago being part of a church board that had hired a new pastor. One issue that arose was whether to allow he and his family to stay in a house belonging to the church, or to enable him to buy his own house with reduced or interest-free loans, etc. I opted for the latter, thinking more of the pastor’s long-term needs, even past retirement. Although, studying this passage, I’m open to the possibility that I was wrong. Why did God say they were to have no other inheritance, especially land?  On the other hand, we did read earlier in the book of Leviticus, chapter 25, verse 34 that the Levites were given lands to dwell in (they just didn’t own these outright). And even after retirement, they remained contacted to the tent of meeting, and would benefit from the gifts received by the younger, active priests. Since that is not the case for our pastors today – we don’t usually keep them until they die, perhaps encouraging them to own their own property as a retirement investment isn’t such a bad idea.

David Guzik reminds us that the concept of tithing was practiced and honored by God before the Law of Moses was given as indicated in Hebrews 7:5-9.

It’s also interesting that God tells Moses, not Aaron, that the Levites had to tithe on their tithe. That wasn’t Aaron’s job to tell them. It was Moses’ responsibility. And it had to be driven home. I like the idea of a title on a tithe. I know that some churches and some charities I have been involved with take a tenth of their tithes and pass them on to other more needy organizations in observance of this idea. I like it.

[Having said that, I would point out that there is no evidence that priests themselves (Aaron and Sons) had to tithe on what came into the tabernacle. Guzik believes that it was unlikely that they would have to tithe on what they got because “because what belonged to the priests was considered holy, and not to be used by others outside the priestly families.” How do we resolve this issue then of should pastors tithe? Pastors, in my humble opinion, are not required to tithe if they are considered part of the ‘priesthood’ as we understood Aaron and Sons to be. On the other hand, if they are seen as “servants” in God’s house, then they would be required to tithe. While, for Christians, Jesus Christ is our one and only High Priest, then pastors are clearly not the present-day equivalent of Aaron. On the other hand, the New Testament in I Peter 2:9 says we are all “priests”, so either we don’t have to tithe (which is clearly not the case) or pastors are like us and they too have to tithe. No one said that the model of the Old Testament Israelite Congregation and the model of the New Testament Church would match perfectly. Thank God for that.]

One other comment I would make here is that it appears, generally speaking, that Aaron and Sons got the offerings from the sacrifices and the Levites got the tithes. However, in those days, I believe the source of both was the people of Israel. Tithes were more closely related to “first fruits” and offerings were more closely related to the various sacrifices that were required. In the modern church – we have moved away from the idea of the various sacrifices and/or the first-borns being dedicated to God’s service.  Instead, we made the idea of the “tithe” the basic donation of a believer – 10% of their earnings and even then, we argue about whether it is net or gross. [I personally believe it should be gross (before taxes) because I want to give back to God first, before I give to the government; but hey, that’s just my take – you have to decide for yourself.] And then over and above the tithe, we have our “offerings” unto God when we feel Him say, “I want you to support this or that cause.”  The matter is further complicated when we put everything in the same collection plate as we take up an “offering” – although some churches or pastors specifically refer to this so-called offering as being composed of our “tithes and offerings”.

Finally, the chapter ends by saying to the Levites that if they did what God instructed – that is, a tithe on the tithe – they would be clear of any guilt or sin with respect to them being accused of taking this ‘tithe’ from the people.  And that is why I love it when a pastor can say (in an appropriate way without bragging or shaming others, but as a means of being a role model) that he and his family are also tithing and when God directs them, are giving ‘offerings’ as well.

And, let us not forget verse 32 that indicates they had to treat that whole ‘tithe’ as special, belonging to God. Failure to do so, and misusing it in any way, would mean death.

So, here’s my questions: Have we thought about how God would have us compensate our pastors? Have we thought about what provisions we should make for them and their families now and in the future?

And if we are the ones being compensated, can God say of us, “You are clear of any guilt with respect to your compensation?”

The gems in Numbers continue to be found.  Although I do admit this was a difficult chapter. Thanks for hanging in there. Would love to have your comments on social media (if you got here by there) or preferably on the blog itself.  And if you have questions, let’s discuss them. Thanks. Until next time.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

"Let Me Take a Dead Piece of Wood and Bring Life Out of It Overnight. Will That Do It?" -- God

Numbers Chapter 17: Confirmation of the Divine Call

Numbers 17:1-13

Day 69. Well, thanks to my IT friend we were able to make sure you can leave comments again once you click into a specific blog. Then you’ll see the comment box. Leave us a comment or a question. We love interaction and that’s what the study of God’s Word should be like – all of studying together.  The lockdown continues. Nothing new of significance to report. Except we did find we were unable to purchase tomato and cucumber plants for our vegetable garden. Perhaps everyone in Michigan bought them all up to spite their governor who tried to ban the purchase of seeds for planting.  Oh well, judgement day is ‘a-coming’.  Meanwhile we press on.

The Passage

17 ^[a]Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel, and get from them a rod for each father’s household: twelve rods, from all their leaders according to their fathers’ households. You shall write each name on his rod, ³ and write Aaron’s name on the rod of Levi; for there is one rod for the head of each of their fathers’ households. ⁴ You shall then deposit them in the tent of meeting in front of the testimony, where I meet with you. ⁵ It will come about that the rod of the man whom I choose will sprout. Thus I will lessen from upon Myself the grumblings of the sons of Israel, who are grumbling against you.” ⁶ Moses therefore spoke to the sons of Israel, and all their leaders gave him a rod apiece, for each leader according to their fathers’ households, twelve rods, with the rod of Aaron among their rods. ⁷ So Moses deposited the rods before the Lord in the tent of the testimony.

⁸ Now on the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds. ⁹ Moses then brought out all the rods from the presence of the Lord to all the sons of Israel; and they looked, and each man took his rod. ¹⁰ But the Lord said to Moses, “Put back the rod of Aaron before the testimony ^[b]to be kept as a sign against the ^[c]rebels, that you may put an end to their grumblings against Me, so that they will not die.” ¹¹ Thus Moses did; just as the Lord had commanded him, so he did.

¹² Then the sons of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, “Behold, we perish, we are dying, we are all dying! ¹³ Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the Lord, must die. Are we to perish completely?”

Footnotes

1. Numbers 17:1 Ch 17:16 in Heb
2. Numbers 17:10 Lit for preserving
3. Numbers 17:10 Lit sons of rebellion

Thoughts on the Passage

God, using Moses and Aaron as intercessors, stops the plague from killing more Israelites who had rebelled against him, and the approaches Moses with some more instructions. The people were about to see another miracle proving the that God was indeed behind Aaron as the High Priest of the congregation.

God told Moses to have each of the twelve tribes bring a leader’s “rod” to him, Moses. Remember these rods were symbols of authority. And that’s what God wanted to establish here – the appointed Authority over His house.  On each rod, Moses was to write the name of the tribe’s leader, including the name of Aaron on the rod from the tribe of Levi. Once that was done, all 12 rods were to be put into the tent of meeting in front of the place where God normally met with Moses. Then just watch. These rods were, according to Robert Jamieson, of dry sticks or wands, probably old, as transmitted from one head of the family to a succeeding.

One of the rods would actually sprout (something very difficult with old dried out rods) – the owner of that rod was to be the one that God had chosen. It is interesting that the text says that God was doing this in order to lessen the amount of grumbling that the Israelites were undertaking against Moses. Again, God was acting on behalf of His servant, not Himself. That is something that we often forget about our God. He acts on our behalf, not His.

And Moses got the rods from the Israelites, put their names on them, and on the same day placed in the tent of meeting as instructed, near the ark. He left them overnight and went in again the next day to find that Aaron’s rod had sprouted, produced buds and blossoms, and if that’s not enough, bore ripe almonds – in one day. Can you imagine one old dry (Guzik says ‘dead’) rod, bearing three stages of development at the same time, in one day?  He took all the rods out to the sons of Israel, and each man took his rod.

All except Aaron’s rod as God asked Moses to put it back and to keep it there as a sign “against the rebels” to end the grumbling against God – and I love this next phrase, “so that they would not die.” To put it in modern human talk, God was ready to kill them; He was so angry with their repeated grumblings. David Guzik says God wanted to give them (again) another unmistaken display of evidence that would end their grumbling once and for all. And Moses obeyed.

Now of course the sons of Israel were scared and asked Moses, “Are we to perish completely as it seems we are all dying and it appears that everyone who comes near to the tabernacle of the Lord, must die?”  So, if you were Moses, what would you do?  How would you answer them now?

We should point out here that Robert Jamieson tells us that some see this as a new springing forth of more grumblings and others see it as an indication of a reverential and submissive spirit. I don’t know the answer to that one, but if you look at verse 13 in the passage, clearly there is hint at “hey, that’s not fair; is God going to punish us for every little offense we make?” For that alone, I would agree with those that say this is more grumbling. But I’m open if our readers see it differently. By the way, Matthew Henry in his commentary, says the answer is that the verse indicates both dismay at God’s insistence and an indication that they finally understood. To be seen as we continue our study in Numbers.

Now Guzik also raises a question that many of us may be asking and he answers it: “If God demonstrated His choice of Aaron [from the tribe of Levi] and his descendants as priests for Israel, how can Jesus be our high priest, as Hebrews 2:17 says? Because Jesus is a high priest of the order of Melchizedek [from way before the Levi], not Aaron (Hebrews 7).”  For more on this you may want to check out Who Was Melchizedek.

Gems we can take from this chapter:
i. God often acts on our behalf, not His.
ii. God is very insistent on His way, not ours.
iii. When God goes to establish or prove something to us mere humans, He does it in technicolor.

That’s our God. Hang in there. Please take the time to comment in the blog and to share this blog with your friends. Next time we take a look at how the priests were to be paid. Interesting.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.