May 19, 2023

We desperately need reminders!

Numbers 17 - 18:7

Will McIlroy
Friday's Devo

May 19, 2023

Friday's Devo

May 19, 2023

Friday's Devo

May 19, 2023

Friday's Devo

May 19, 2023

Big Idea

God's instruction can always be trusted.

Key Verse | Numbers 17:10

And the LORD said to Moses, "Put back the staff of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebels, that you may make an end of their grumblings against me, lest they die."

Numbers 17 - 18:7

Aaron's Staff Buds

1  1 17:1 Ch 17:16 in Hebrew The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel, and get from them staffs, one for each fathers' house, from all their chiefs according to their fathers' houses, twelve staffs. Write each man's name on his staff, 3 and write Aaron's name on the staff of Levi. For there shall be one staff for the head of each fathers' house. 4 Then you shall deposit them in the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you. 5 And the staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout. Thus I will make to cease from me the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against you.” 6 Moses spoke to the people of Israel. And all their chiefs gave him staffs, one for each chief, according to their fathers' houses, twelve staffs. And the staff of Aaron was among their staffs. 7 And Moses deposited the staffs before the LORD in the tent of the testimony.

8 On the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony, and behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds. 9 Then Moses brought out all the staffs from before the LORD to all the people of Israel. And they looked, and each man took his staff. 10 And the LORD said to Moses, “Put back the staff of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebels, that you may make an end of their grumblings against me, lest they die.” 11 Thus did Moses; as the LORD commanded him, so he did.

12 And the people of Israel said to Moses, “Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone. 13 Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the LORD, shall die. Are we all to perish?”

Duties of Priests and Levites

1 So the LORD said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father's house with you shall bear iniquity connected with the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear iniquity connected with your priesthood. 2 And with you bring your brothers also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may join you and minister to you while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony. 3 They shall keep guard over you and over the whole tent, but shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary or to the altar lest they, and you, die. 4 They shall join you and keep guard over the tent of meeting for all the service of the tent, and no outsider shall come near you. 5 And you shall keep guard over the sanctuary and over the altar, that there may never again be wrath on the people of Israel. 6 And behold, I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the people of Israel. They are a gift to you, given to the LORD, to do the service of the tent of meeting. 7 And you and your sons with you shall guard your priesthood for all that concerns the altar and that is within the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood as a gift, 2 18:7 Hebrew service of gift and any outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”

Footnotes

[1] 17:1 Ch 17:16 in Hebrew
[2] 18:7 Hebrew service of gift

S2:095 Numbers 17 - 18:7

Listen Now

Dive Deeper | Numbers 17 - 18:7

What is so special about the budding staff? Why does God choose this as His miracle to remind the people of His authority and goodness? Two reasons come to mind about why the budding staff is significant: 

First, the staff is a fitting symbol for the priesthood that Aaron represented. Not only did the staff produce sprouts, but it also budded flowers and produced fruit. This was a symbol that under Aaron's leadership and priesthood, there would be fruit. Similarly, Christ has commanded us to bear fruit (John 15:8). Christ is the vine. As long as we are attached to the vine, we, as branches, will bear fruit.

Second, the budding staff is important because it proves once again that God produces life when there would otherwise be death. This staff had no sap. It had no roots. However, God gave it life and fruit. Remind yourself today of all the times God has breathed life into deadly situations. Here are just a few:

  • He provided manna in a desert that offered no life (Exodus 16:4)
  • He gave the people water from a rock (Numbers 20:11)
  • He breathed life into a valley of dry bones that came alive (Ezekiel 37:5)
  • He raised Lazarus from the grave after being dead for four days (John 11:43)
  • He made us alive together with Christ, even though we were dead in our sins (Ephesians 2:5)

Most importantly, Christ Himself came down and experienced and secured the ultimate victory over death (1 Corinthians 15:55-56). He is the ultimate bread of life, the ultimate rock that was struck on our behalf, the living water, the One who breathes life, and the One who raises us from the dead. 

I need these constant reminders just like the Israelites needed to be reminded of God's authority. I, too, find myself grumbling, complaining, and rebelling because of forgetfulness. How different would our lives look if we continually reminded ourselves of God's provision for us, His authority over us, and His love for us? 

This month's memory verse

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

– Philippians 2:3-4

Discussion Questions

1. Just like the staff had fruit, how is your life bearing fruit?

2. How often do you provide reminders of God's goodness for yourself?

3. Look back at your life. When are times you can see God's faithfulness and provision for you? 

4. How can you come alongside others right now and remind them of God's love for them?

As we gear up to release even more features for Join The Journey in 2025, our staff team, unfortunately, no longer has the margin to continue to support the comment functionality. We have big things in store for Join The Journey 2025. Stay tuned!

MS

Michael Sisson

Re: Num 17:1-11 “Just as God exclusively chose Aaron to minister before Him, so Yeshua was the exclusively chosen to be the greater High Priest of the New Covenant. Regarding His priesthood ‘after the order of Malki-Tzedek,’ the author of Book of Hebrews wrote: ‘No one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was’ (Heb 5:4). And just as Aaron's lifeless rod miraculously brought forth life, Yeshua's cross — likewise made of wood — also ‘budded and produced blossoms’ after His resurrection from the dead. Yeshua went into the sanctuary made without hands and there offered his blood to procure for us an everlasting atonement. His sacrifice as our High Priest gives us life from the dead! Under the terms of the Sinai covenant, ‘Aaron's rod’ was a picture of God's authority and judgment, just the Messiah's cross and resurrection vindicates God's exclusive choice of Yeshua as our Mediator before God. Those who reject His choice will ultimately share the same fate as those who partook of Korach's rebellion (Jude 1:11).” — Hebrew For Christians https://hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/Parashah/Summaries/Korach/Aaron_s_Rod/aaron_s_rod.html
SB

Sue Bohlin

Thanks for your devo, Will, and for serving the young'uns in Shoreline. There aren't too many places in scripture that crack me up, but the end of chapter 17 did it for me today. RIGHT after God installed a provision against the people's incessant grumblings *explicitly* so they would not die (v. 10), they moan and wail, "We will die! We are lost, we are all lost! Anyone who even comes near the tabernacle of the Lord will die. Are we all going to die?” Drama queens much? I'm pretty sure it wasn't funny to the Lord, but it strikes my funny bone. Interesting that the Holy Spirit doesn't have Moses comment or even offer any kind of follow-up to their response. But I have to wonder if there wasn't a divine eye-roll . . .?
MS

Michael Scaman

Aaron's wooden rod used over a year spouting, having leaves and budding and even having almonds is a type of resurrection. The life seen in the rod is associated with the line of Aaron. Must have been more than amazing for them to see. We know from Jeremiah almonds is lated to the word 'watching' and God is 'watching over his word to perform it. A warning of the responsibility of Aaron follows. The ark would contain the commandment tablets, a jar of manna and Aaron's rod. Eventually only the commandments and then eventually the ark lost. Eventually the 1st and 2nd temples gone. It might be like John the Baptist "He must increase and I must decrease". The spotlight moves to Jesus.
AL

Amy Lowther

1. My life is bearing fruit at work because I encourage workers to use Good Manufacturing Practices and it helps them currently produce a high number of quality products. In regards to resumes, I am sending them and receiving great results. And in regards to friends, there is a lot being shared and a lot of good things to anticipate. 2. God reminds me of His goodness everyday. God shines through each of us. I think how God created the world and how He created each person in it helps each of us show His goodness. 3. I see God’s faithfulness in my current job search. I am meeting a lot of good people and seeing a lot of good work being done. I also see God’s faithfulness in me choosing the job which is correct for me. 4. I can help guests feel welcomed to service on Sundays and help them be encouraged to learn about God and Jesus.
HS

Hugh Stephenson

Good morning Will. Really awesome devo on Aaron’s staff. Very insightful points about us bearing fruit as the branch of the vine. Also, I love your five examples of life coming out of death. I think I’ve moved past grumbling, complaining and rebelling - but I can fall back into spiritual fatigue when I don’t often enough seek the bread and water that I need. https://www.gotquestions.org/Aaron-rod.html Q1. I’d like to think that the blessing o years in discipleship has borne fruit. The reality for me is that quite often a person that has been in a group I’ve lead usually moves on after that season is over. So, in many cases, I’ll never know if I was a helpful guide in their journey of faith. Thankfully, I am still connected to many of the men who discipled me and that continue to do so. Q2. Right after I get up I walk the dogs on about a 1/2 mile walk. During that walk I will either pray my gratitudes or focus on a sequence of praises as the Spirit brings them to me. That is a key foundation to the start of my day. When I let the calendar overwhelm me so that I miss that walk it impacts my entire day. Usually I need some redo dry time later in the day. Q3. Oh man. Way, way before 2 Corinthians 5:17 was true for me there are endless examples. A few… - Patience. Years of being a fan rather than a follower that meant I was really a foe. - Parents. 2 parents that loved me and provided for me materially and were 100% committed to be the best parents they could be. - Protection. From 16 to 55 there is an aggregates of, by my estimate, at least 5,000 times I got behind the wheel when that was the last place I should have been. No DUI’s. No wrecks. No injuries to me or anyone else. Quite a number of very scary episodes. This is the very definition of mercy- defined as not getting what I deserved. - Provision. Through a series of supernatural events he bought Amy and I together when we were just fans, not really followers. Q4. I am blessed to be able to do that every Tuesday night at Prodigal. Some take-aways from Numbers 17-18:7 -In His mercy, God has elected me. This is not based on any merit whatsoever. -Only God is holy. I am a lost and broken sinner whose need for Jesus supersedes any material need. -Jesus is the only mediator I ever need and the only way for me to approach a holy and perfect God as His blood has washed me white as snow. -God has given me gifts and talents so that I am to bear fruit in order to glorify Him and serve others. -God has done enough in my life to demonstrate that H is who He says He is. Demanding further proof or miraculous acts is a very dangerous posture.