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. 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. Numbers 17:8-9
During
the time of Moses and the Israelites’ 40-year wandering in the desert, lots of
grumbling occurred over leadership. Many
wondered why Moses was in charge. Others
wondered why the Levites got special attention.
God
decided to do a miracle and have the head of every tribe put their leader’s
staff in a place overnight. The one’s whose
staff came alive and blossomed would be the tribe God picked to perform the
priestly duties. Aaron’s staff,
representing the Levites, won.
God
wanted to put an end to the grumbling and give them a sign they would never
forget. Only God could bring life (a
blossom) to something that was dead (a stick).