Num
17:1-5, 8, 10-13 (NIV) The Lord said to Moses, 2 "Speak to the Israelites
and get twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral
tribes. Write the name of each man on his staff. 3 On the staff of Levi write
Aaron's name, for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe.
4 Place them in the Tent of Meeting in front of the Testimony, where I meet
with you. 5 The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid
myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites."
. . .
8 The
next day Moses entered the Tent of the Testimony and saw that Aaron's staff,
which represented the house of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded,
blossomed and produced almonds. . . .
10 The
Lord said to Moses, "Put back Aaron's staff in front of the Testimony, to
be kept as a sign to the rebellious. This will put an end to their grumbling
against me, so that they will not die." 11 Moses did just as the Lord
commanded him.
12 The
Israelites said to Moses, "We will die! We are lost, we are all lost! 13
Anyone who even comes near the tabernacle of the Lord will die. Are we all
going to die?"
NOTE: Verses 12 and
13 seem out of place, although they could be the result of a number of things:
delayed guilt, a hope that Aaron's staff would not be selected and now waiting
for the punishment shoe to fall, etc. I am also surprised that God chooses this
method, although signs and wonders are often used to signify events. For
whatever reason, Aaron's position was undergoing a lot of scrutiny and
grumbling. Nor does Aaron's action seem faultless as he and his wife once tried
to usurp Moses' authority. The next chapter will highlight the responsibilities
of Aaron's role especially in regards to holiness. The reasons offered will be
the protection of God's people from wrath. So, the people are right, they do
need to be afraid of dying because they are sinful creatures living near the
"name or shekinah glory" of a most Holy God (obviously God does not
dwell in the tabernacle, but there is something unique about the tabernacle
compared to any other place upon earth). Of course, we are holy because of what
Jesus has done, but I wonder if we consider the Holiness of God enough in our
day to day lives. It was important to God, it should be important to us.
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