The Way
The Staff That Budded
Almond blossoms on a dry stick
Story
Korah, a Levite, together with Dathan and Abiram of the tribe of Reuben and two hundred and fifty well-known leaders, rose up to block the way of Moses and Aaron. They cried out, the whole community is holy, so why do you set yourselves above us? At that, Moses fell face down. Moses said. Tomorrow all of you, put fire and incense in your censers before the Lord, and you will see whom the Lord chooses. Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, but they refused to come. Is it not enough that you brought us up out of Egypt, a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness?
The moment Moses finished saying, this is how you will know that the Lord has sent me, the ground beneath them split apart. The earth opened its mouth, swallowed them and their households, and closed again. Then fire came out from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men holding censers. The next day the whole community grumbled again, and a plague began to spread. Aaron took his censer and ran into the midst of the assembly, and he stood between the dead and the living. And the plague stopped.
The Lord had them place twelve staffs, one for each tribe, before the ark of the testimony in the tent of meeting. On the staff of Levi was written Aaron's name. The Lord said to Moses. The staff of the man I choose will sprout. The next morning, when Moses went into the tent, Aaron's staff had sprouted, blossomed and borne ripe almonds. Dead wood had come to life in a single night.
Walk this scene on the map →God's Words
The staff of the man I choose will sprout. In this way I will put an end to the grumbling of the Israelites against you.
Put Aaron's staff back in front of the ark of the covenant, as a sign to the rebellious.
This is how you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these things, and that it was not my own idea.
The sayings are fresh renderings of the original meaning in today's language. Text: Num 16:1–17:13
Background
In the land of Israel the almond tree is the first to blossom in late winter, which earned it a Hebrew name meaning the wakeful tree. The letter to the Hebrews says Aaron's budded staff was kept inside the ark of the covenant. The text does not say in which year of the wilderness journey this happened.
Pause and Reflect
Because I want to be recognized, do I make light of the place God has given me?