Numbers 17 – Study

For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Numbers 17:1-13

1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 ‘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. 3 On the staff of Levi write Aaron’s name, for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe. 4 Place them in the tent of meeting in front of the ark of the covenant law, where I meet with you. 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.’ 11 Moses did just as the Lord commanded him.

12 The Israelites said to Moses, ‘We shall die! We are lost, we are all lost! 13 Anyone who even comes near the tabernacle of the Lord will die. Are we all going to die?’

A. Find Out:

1. What did the Lord tell Moses to do? v.1-3
2. How were they to reveal God’s will? v.4,5
3. What was the outcome? v.6-9
4. What instruction did Moses give and why? v.10
5. Yet what was Israel ‘s response? v.12

B. Think:

1. What was the significance of what happened to Aaron’s rod?
2. What was the point of putting it in front of the ark?
3. What was the Lord’s objective by all this?

C. Comment:

     Aaron and the future priesthood have been under attack. So far in these studies we have noted seven lots of grumbling against Moses and Aaron. The people need to realize that God has appointed Aaron and his subsequent family to stand before Him at the Tabernacle. It is not something to be aspired to by anyone from any tribe. In such a way the Lord will help the people realize something of His holiness; He is not to be approached casually.

     To counter all this grumbling against Aaron, the Lord lays on a simple demonstration for the people. Each tribe-leader is to present a staff (a strong walking stick) to Moses and they will be labelled and left in the Tent overnight. The next morning a miracle was clearly observable. Aaron’s staff hadn’t merely budded with shoots, it had budded, produced leaves and blossom and fruit. Naturally speaking such a thing was clearly impossible. This is an obvious miracle and clearly observable sign from the Lord. Of that there could be no dispute. This wasn’t something Moses and Aaron could conjure up, this was a clear miracle from God.

     To ensure this would not be forgotten, Aaron’s staff would be left on display. The people begin to realize the significance of this: the Lord is there at the Tabernacle; this is a holy place and anyone who comes casually here is going to die. The message is getting through!

D. Application:

1. God doesn’t desire death (Ezek 18:32). He seeks to avoid it.
2. The Lord’s grace is there to make the way ahead clear.