Numbers 17 BUDS, BLOSSOMS AND ALMONDS There are times when the minds of people are opened to receive what previously they had ignored or rejected. When such times come, they are often called "teaching moments." For some reason there is a ray of light of understanding that comes into a dark mind. When that happens to an individual, it is an important time to learn a lesson that will not be easily forgotten. The children of Israel as a congregation of people were reeling from the events that had just taken place. The light of the Lord's presence had appeared and they had not feared Him. They had gotten used to the fact that God was in their midst. Their complaints and fears had cost them lives at the hands of the Amalekites. Rebellion against authority had cost the lives of 250 leaders in a trial by fire. Jealousy and rebellion had been dealt with by God when the earth opened up and three whole family units vanished into the ground. The complaints of the whole congregation caused a plague in which thousands died and only the acts of Moses and Aaron preserved the lives of any of them.
Now there came the command from God to each tribe to bring a rod, a symbol of authority, in order to establish once for all who God had designated as the high priest and the priesthood. Probably every tribe picked what they thought was the most symbolic of authority and carefully had carved the name of a tribal leader on their chosen rod. As they watched Moses go into the Tabernacle with those twelve rods, they might have thought, "This is more serious than we thought." It wasn't just what stick was the most attractive or what name was carved in the wood. The issue was, what does God have to say about the spiritual leadership of His people. We do not have the authority to pick and choose what God wants us to believe or how we are to carry out His will and word. That is reserved for God Himself. No congress of men can make the decision as to what is right and wrong, and what is moral or immoral. God has the sole authority to establish the terms of righteousness and justice. If we could get that into our minds, we would be saved from the terrible consequences of acting on our own choices by our own volition.
God was establishing a visible testimony in an unforgettable way, the position of Aaron as the high priest chosen by the Lord. He had made that clear before, but the independent attitude of the people wanted to make a choice to suit themselves. To settle the matter, it is God alone who can determine who is a priest or not, the rods were placed before the Lord overnight. Humans do not have the right to establish a priesthood to stand before God. God does that personally by Himself. He has given our Lord Jesus Christ the spiritual authority of our Great High Priest. In His sovereign electing grace, He has made those who believe on Him a kingdom of priests. That was what He wanted Israel to be, but they wanted to do things their own way by making a gold calf to represent God. The result was the Levites who stood out for God, became the priestly tribe. Again, that had to be clarified.
Each tribal name was clearly visible on the rods. When Moses brought the rods out in the morning, eleven were the same dry sticks as before. One had buds on it, beautiful white flowers blossoming on it and almonds formed on it. That happened overnight in the dark. In a time period of twelve hours or less, the whole history to produce almonds into developing fruitfulness, took place on a dead stick. The Lord had imparted life and moved through the whole cycle of a normal year, and produced evidence of His life-giving authority in a rod that wasn't even planted in the ground and had no roots. This was not Moses' rod that was a symbol of power, authority and justice. This was Aaron's rod, a symbol of grace and mercy. Eleven dead rods of man's choice remained dead. Only that one brought forth life. Moses' rod of authority would have taken away the sinful, murmuring, complaining people themselves. Aaron's rod was to take away the problem - the murmurings, as he interceded for the people as their high priest chosen by God.
The whole matter of who is the rightful priest was taken out of man's hands. The Lord made His selection unmistakable in the dark of night and silenced the complainers. Those who are unbelievers will try to find some human explanation for this action. From the limitations of human experience, they will say that it was impossible for this to happen, and they refuse to believe that God made it happen miraculously. Such unbelief leads people to doubt everything, believe nothing and have an "if," "how," or "but" to everything, even though there is evidence of God all around us. Infidelity wants some rationale that is lowered down to human understanding before it will repent and believe. Faith believes that God is, and is a "rewarder of them what diligently seeks Him." Faith believes that God speaks to us in ways of His choosing. Faith thinks like God and trusts the solutions God gives when difficulties arise. "It is written" are words of faith one lives by who knows God does what He wants and it will be righteous, no matter what human experience might say.
Unbelievers think they are the ones who define who God is and what He does. To them, God is who they say He is. We need to remember a fact is far different than a scientific conclusion. Such conclusions that have been made in the past as dogmatic statements have since been exposed as wrong. When it comes to understanding the Lord and who He is, we learn from what is written and the evidence He chooses to give us in creation, conscience and good and perfect gifts - that the Lord is in control of everything. "In Him we live and move, and have our being." He gifts us to do the work He intends for us to accomplish. Our calling as a "kingdom of priests" is to represent Him to the world, and to worship and serve the Lord as citizens of His kingdom. We do this by faith in the Lord. Then there isn't the fear that the people of Israel had when the Lord displayed His authority and grace in Aaron's rod before their astonished eyes. The whole history of seasons was displayed on what was a dry stick the day before. Now it had evidence of new life in the buds, the promise of future blessings in the blossoms that were white and showy, and also in the almonds that were ready to pick. How great is the fullness of God and His sovereign grace!