Numbers 17:5-10 New International Version (NIV)
5 The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites.”
6 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. 7 Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the covenant law.
8 The next day Moses entered the tent and saw that Aaron’s staff, which represented the tribe of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds. 9 Then Moses brought out all the staffs from the Lord’s presence to all the Israelites. They looked at them, and each of the leaders took his own staff.
10 The Lord said to Moses, “Put back Aaron’s staff in front of the ark of the covenant law, 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.”
They witnessed amazing events. They saw the Egyptians punished with plagues. They even experienced the actual presence of God, and they complained and belly ached. How were they so blind? How were they so ignorant? We do the same things in our lives many times. We have actual evidence. We have centuries of testimonies. We have archeological evidence. Are we more concerned with our physical condition than our spiritual condition? How can we escape that pattern? Pay attention to all the signs of God’s presence. He has guided. He has protected. He has answered prayer. He has provided blessing. He has healed. We have the Bible stories. Focus on what God has done.
