If We Didn’t Complain So Much…..

Why do you think God is always proving Himself to us? Here in Numbers 18, God calls all the ancestral leaders to bring a staff with their named inscribed on it into to sanctuary. God told Moses that He would show who He has chosen to lead them in the priestly duties. Aaron was chosen, by making his staff blossom with almonds. God told Moses to permanently display this staff at the ark as a permanent reminder to the people that God has chosen so they needed to stop complaining about the leadership. God settled the issue, once and for all. Why does God have to continually prove Himself? Because we are fickle. We humans forget so easily what He’s done for us, that we demand a sign to remind us of what He has already done. God has great patience. Maybe we should translate that in more faith? That way, we wouldn’t be so inclined to ask for all these signs. God doesn’t have to prove Himself, but He does as a reminder to us to stop complaining. Think about that for a minute. If we didn’t complain so much, or have an ungrateful attitude, maybe our faith wouldn’t waver so much, and thus we wouldn’t need to demand a sign from God to prove Himself?

1 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the people of Israel to bring you twelve wooden staffs, one from each leader of Israel’s ancestral tribes, and inscribe each leader’s name on his staff. 3 Inscribe Aaron’s name on the staff of the tribe of Levi, for there must be one staff for the leader of each ancestral tribe. 4 Place these staffs in the Tabernacle in front of the Ark containing the tablets of the Covenant, where I meet with you. 5 Buds will sprout on the staff belonging to the man I choose. Then I will finally put an end to the people’s murmuring and complaining against you.”6 So Moses gave the instructions to the people of Israel, and each of the twelve tribal leaders, including Aaron, brought Moses a staff. 7 Moses placed the staffs in the Lord’s presence in the Tabernacle of the Covenant. 8 When he went into the Tabernacle of the Covenant the next day, he found that Aaron’s staff, representing the tribe of Levi, had sprouted, budded, blossomed, and produced ripe almonds!9 When Moses brought all the staffs out from the Lord’s presence, he showed them to the people. Each man claimed his own staff. 10 And the Lord said to Moses: “Place Aaron’s staff permanently before the Ark of the Covenant to serve as a warning to rebels. This should put an end to their complaints against me and prevent any further deaths.” 11 So Moses did as the Lord commanded him.12 Then the people of Israel said to Moses, “Look, we are doomed! We are dead! We are ruined! 13 Everyone who even comes close to the Tabernacle of the Lord dies. Are we all doomed to die?” Numbers 17:1-13