The LORD commanded that each tribal leader present to Moses the rod/staff of the leader with the name of the leader written or carved on it. Then these rods were laid out before the LORD in the tabernacle. The LORD said that He will cause the rod to bud of the tribe He had designated as the tribe to lead this nation. Overnight the rod of Aaron (tribe of Levi) leafed, budded, and produced almonds. All the other rods remained the same as they had been when placed before the LORD. The LORD did this to settle the matter for the nation definitively by this miracle in order to stop the grumbling against Moses and Aaron that so displeased Him and brought His judgment on so many among the people.
Moses showed the rods to the congregation, proving that Aaron's rod had indeed budded miraculously. Each tribal leader took his own rod. The LORD ordered that Aaron's rod would be set back in front of the Testimony (Ark of the Covenant) to serve as a perpetual memorial of this miracle that showed God's will for the leadership of the nation. the LORD said that this placement of the rod of Aaron as a memorial will stop the grumbling of the people against His chosen leaders, Aaron and Moses so that they will not die due to continuing to grumble.
After this the Israelites cried out that anyone who came near the tabernacle will die. They said that they were lost. They asked if they will die.
Although the LORD did not say this would happen, the people were in dread for their lives. Perhaps they felt conviction of sin. Maybe they feared the LORD at last. Surely they were concerned for themselves more than praising or honoring the LORD after such a wonderful miracle that showed forth God's grace that Aaron's rod would be a reminder, not an object for condemnation.
Notice how obedient Moses was to all that the LORD asked of him. He listened to YHWH without argument and was swift to carry out the instructions regardless of results.
Please consider the following as you follow after an image of a false god and a false Christ.
God unites His people (the believers) by His Spirit ( John 4:24; Eph. 4:3-6,13).
Luke 9:56. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them.
Matthew 11:6. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me ( Isa. 8:14; Matthew 13:57; 24:10; 26:31; Rom. 9:32; 1 Cor. 1:23; 2:14; Gal. 5:11; 1 Peter 2:8).
John 3:19. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Luke 11:22. But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.
1 John 4:4-6. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he than is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice ( John 8:47; 18:37).
You search the scriptures for in them ye think that ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life ( John 5:39,40).
He that is spiritual judgeth (discerneth) all things, yet he himself is judged by no man ( 1 Cor. 2:15).
There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true ( Proverbs 1:7; 10:8,21; 12:15; 13:20; 14:9; 16:22; 18:2; 20:3; 29:11; Luke 18:10-14; Cor. 1:20; 2:14; 15:36).
We regret that you are not able to understand any of the above ( 1 Cor. 2:14; 2 Cor. 7:10). Notwithstanding: Seek and ye shall find ( Matthew 7:7).
Don't let your self-righteousness stand in the way of your salvation ( Romans 10:2-4).
Jesus sits at the right hand of God the Father, making intercession for the Saints.
We need to sit with Jesus every day, for an hour, and pray what He is praying. You show yourself to have this burden too. A burden to pray, AWAKE SLEEPERS.
Our righteousness is like a filthy rugs compared to the righteousness of God. If it's not for God's mercy, we all deserve to be punished and suffer in the lake of Fire. We fail God everyday, and base on the present condition of the world we are living in, all the terrible things happening all around us including abortion, killings of the innocent, every sin unimaginable,whether directly and indirectly, we are affected by it. What are we doing about it? Mostly, we condemn each other, we blame each other, compare ourselves to each other, boastful. etc.
We all need to repent and ask God's forgiveness for the sins of this world. It is ours to bear the burdens of this world. We ought to love one another and spread the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. So often we forget. Woe to all of us! May God forgive us all in our shortcomings- Amen.
Sean,sin is never a minor offence.Sin takes one from Holy to unholy.( Leviticus 19:2) "Ye shall be holy:for I the LORD your God am holy." ( Hebrews 12:14) "Follow peace with all men,and holiness,without which no man shall see the Lord."
Verse 5: Jehovah God was going to make known who had his approval and who he was using. He was well aware of the murmurings of the Israelites and he did not take these lightly.
"Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish. Whosoever cometh any thing near unto the tabernacle of the LORD shall die: shall we be consumed with dying?" To what lengths of madness and theater will men go to in their desperation and fear; but will yet refuse to repent! Screaming and crying, working themselves into hysterics; but never ready to humble themselves to acknowledge the truth and convert!
"...fairly minor offenses"--Seriously? !!! If you think ANY offense against God is a minor matter, you have not even begun to understand the absolute perfection and holiness of God. The people being punished here are those who fomented rebellion against the leaders God Himself appointed. They are dissidents, anarchists, usurpers, and rabble-rousers against God's holy law.
@Sean,
If one man sins against another, the judge shall judge him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who shall entreat for him? 1 Samuel 2:25, In the wilderness journey they always rebelled against God, tempted God, provoked God, Grieved God. These were not some fairly minor offences! But as we are in this Grace period, we ought to believe the Holy Scriptures, and walk accordingly. Believe in Jesus, take water baptism and receive Holy Spirit, and be ready for the soon return of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Matthew Henry, another great summation and lesson
learned. You express beautifully what my same
thoughts conclude. I look forward to your
writing after every chapter.
This is beautiful! One of my favorite chapters! It really shows that even though God was angry at the children of Isreal, he still proves His greatness in good ways.
For your study - Numbers 17:1-13
The LORD commanded that each tribal leader present to Moses the rod/staff of the leader with the name of the leader written or carved on it. Then these rods were laid out before the LORD in the tabernacle. The LORD said that He will cause the rod to bud of the tribe He had designated as the tribe to lead this nation. Overnight the rod of Aaron (tribe of Levi) leafed, budded, and produced almonds. All the other rods remained the same as they had been when placed before the LORD. The LORD did this to settle the matter for the nation definitively by this miracle in order to stop the grumbling against Moses and Aaron that so displeased Him and brought His judgment on so many among the people.
Moses showed the rods to the congregation, proving that Aaron's rod had indeed budded miraculously. Each tribal leader took his own rod. The LORD ordered that Aaron's rod would be set back in front of the Testimony (Ark of the Covenant) to serve as a perpetual memorial of this miracle that showed God's will for the leadership of the nation. the LORD said that this placement of the rod of Aaron as a memorial will stop the grumbling of the people against His chosen leaders, Aaron and Moses so that they will not die due to continuing to grumble.
After this the Israelites cried out that anyone who came near the tabernacle will die. They said that they were lost. They asked if they will die.
Although the LORD did not say this would happen, the people were in dread for their lives. Perhaps they felt conviction of sin. Maybe they feared the LORD at last. Surely they were concerned for themselves more than praising or honoring the LORD after such a wonderful miracle that showed forth God's grace that Aaron's rod would be a reminder, not an object for condemnation.
Notice how obedient Moses was to all that the LORD asked of him. He listened to YHWH without argument and was swift to carry out the instructions regardless of results.
Please consider the following as you follow after an image of a false god and a false Christ.
God unites His people (the believers) by His Spirit ( John 4:24; Eph. 4:3-6,13).
Luke 9:56. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them.
Matthew 11:6. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me ( Isa. 8:14; Matthew 13:57; 24:10; 26:31; Rom. 9:32; 1 Cor. 1:23; 2:14; Gal. 5:11; 1 Peter 2:8).
John 3:19. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Luke 11:22. But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.
1 John 4:4-6. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he than is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice ( John 8:47; 18:37).
You search the scriptures for in them ye think that ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life ( John 5:39,40).
He that is spiritual judgeth (discerneth) all things, yet he himself is judged by no man ( 1 Cor. 2:15).
There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true ( Proverbs 1:7; 10:8,21; 12:15; 13:20; 14:9; 16:22; 18:2; 20:3; 29:11; Luke 18:10-14; Cor. 1:20; 2:14; 15:36).
We regret that you are not able to understand any of the above ( 1 Cor. 2:14; 2 Cor. 7:10). Notwithstanding: Seek and ye shall find ( Matthew 7:7).
Don't let your self-righteousness stand in the way of your salvation ( Romans 10:2-4).
In His Service.
Andy & Dianne van den Berg
We need to sit with Jesus every day, for an hour, and pray what He is praying. You show yourself to have this burden too. A burden to pray, AWAKE SLEEPERS.
We all need to repent and ask God's forgiveness for the sins of this world. It is ours to bear the burdens of this world. We ought to love one another and spread the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. So often we forget. Woe to all of us! May God forgive us all in our shortcomings- Amen.
If one man sins against another, the judge shall judge him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who shall entreat for him? 1 Samuel 2:25, In the wilderness journey they always rebelled against God, tempted God, provoked God, Grieved God. These were not some fairly minor offences! But as we are in this Grace period, we ought to believe the Holy Scriptures, and walk accordingly. Believe in Jesus, take water baptism and receive Holy Spirit, and be ready for the soon return of Jesus Christ our Lord.
learned. You express beautifully what my same
thoughts conclude. I look forward to your
writing after every chapter.
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