July 8, 2019

God Validates Through Bringing the Dead to Life

Numbers 17

Lauren Heiser
Monday's Devo

July 8, 2019

Monday's Devo

July 8, 2019

Central Truth

In the same way that God makes a dead rod come to life and validates one man, Jesus' victory over death validates all those who believe in Him.

Key Verse | Numbers 17:8

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.

Numbers 17

Aaron's Staff Buds

1 17:1 Ch 17:16 in Hebrew The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “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, and write Aaron's name on the staff of Levi. For there shall be one staff for the head of each fathers' house. Then you shall deposit them in the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you. 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.” 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. And Moses deposited the staffs before the LORD in the tent of the testimony.

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. 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?”

Footnotes

[1] 17:1 Ch 17:16 in Hebrew

Dive Deeper | Numbers 17

One of the first questions I asked myself while reading this passage was, "What made Aaron so special?" I discovered there was actually nothing significant about Aaron's own abilities, prestige, or popularity.

Aaron and Moses were not without sin. Yet, for some reason, God chose them to lead His people and come before Him on their behalf. It then hit me—even in as critical of a time as this in Israel's history, God is showing us that He chooses to do extraordinary things through imperfect and ordinary people.

I love the imagery painted here of the lengths God goes to defend and validate Aaron. God is our Protector. It comforts me to know that, while the world chooses to elevate those who are right in its own eyes, God chooses to elevate the unlikely.

Jesus affirms this, "So the last will be first, and the first last." (Matthew 20:16) The Lord is not looking for the people who seem to be the "best" or have it all together. Instead, He uses people who realize their depravity and need for Him to come in and make something of their ashes.

Just as God could make a dead rod come to life and bear fruit, so He could choose Aaron's line to live lives of fruitful service in communion with Him. The fact that Aaron's dead rod produced fruit overnight is nothing short of miraculous.

Like the rod, we are unable to produce anything good in and of ourselves. It is Jesus' miraculous victory over death that validates us before the Lord and His Spirit poured out on us that continually produces fruit in our own lives. Neither our successes nor our shortcomings have any influence on how much God desires to use us for His kingdom. As Paul writes to the Corinthians, "But [the Lord] said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Discussion Questions

1. Do you struggle to accept that the Lord has chosen you specifically? If so, why do you think that is?

2. Are there areas in your life in which you tend to rely on your own abilities to deliver you, rather than the Lord? 

3. What weaknesses in your life can you be glad about in light of the fact that the Lord's power is made perfect in weakness? (2 Corinthians 12:9)