BLESSINGS IN CURSES?

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

"The Lord said to Moses, "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. On the staff of Levi write Aaron's name, for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe. Place them in the Tent of Meeting in front of the Testimony, where I meet with you. The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites."

"So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and their leaders gave him twelve staffs, one for the leader of each of their ancestral tribes, and Aaron's staff was among them. Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the Tent of the Testimony. 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. Then Moses brought out all the staffs from the Lord's presence to all the Israelites. They looked at them, and each man took his own staff. 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." Moses did just as the Lord commanded him. The Israelites said to Moses, "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?" Numbers 17

As we have seen in Chapter 16, there was a lot of contention for the position of chief priest, the position that God had already selected and ordained Aaron into. This was possibly because the people had witnessed the awesome power of God and felt that they too might have a part of that power by holding the worldly office closest to Him. What they didn't realize is that it's not up to man to dictate to God what God will do but it's all about God dictating to man what God wants man to do and it is the sole responsibility of man to obey God's will.

After the destruction of the 14,700 that included Korah, Dathan, Abiram, the 250 men opposing God with them and some of the people of Israel who grumbled against Moses and Aaron, God devises a plan to put the matter of His appointed priest to rest. We read where He tells Moses to:

"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. On the staff of Levi write Aaron's name, for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe. Place them in the Tent of Meeting in front of the Testimony, where I meet with you. The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites. "

So Moses does as the Lord commands receiving "twelve staffs, one for the leader of each of their ancestral tribes" with Aaron's staff among them". Moses then "placed the staffs before the Lord in the Tent of the Testimony".

As the next day dawned, "Moses entered the Tent of the Testimony" to look at the staffs and as he examined them, he saw that "Aaron's staff, which represented the house of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds". There was no question as to who God had selected to be His earthly priest and leader of the tabernacle.

Scripture tells us that "Moses brought out all the staffs from the Lord's presence to all the Israelites" and when "they looked at them…each man took his own staff". Then 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." And "Moses did just as the Lord commanded".

When the Israelites saw the budding, blossomed, almond-filled staff, they were panic-stricken and afraid, saying to Moses, "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?" The Lord had spoken through the budding staff in a way that finally brought a reverent fear and respect from the people. The sign of the staff at the entrance of the tabernacle was there as a reminder of God's miraculous power, a power that could be used to bless or curse, depending on the attitude and actions of His people. Through their words, Israel seemed to realize that not only their words but their actions against God could lead them to destruction.

Interestingly enough, go back to God's words to Moses. For He said that the staff of Aaron at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting would not only put an end to Israel's grumbling but also ensure that they wouldn't die. God intended for the staff to ultimately be salvation for the Israelites. Israel saw it as a sign of their doom.

This got me pondering how so many of us misread the things that God is doing in our lives each and every day. How many times do we see things as curses when God is really giving them to us as blessings? Maybe we would best served to just trust that God is always working in, around and through us for good. For in the words of Paul:

"…we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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