Numbers 17

The Israelites continue to have problems with authority. They have lost faith in Moses and Aaron. So God has to restore their faith.

God has a leader of each of the 12 tribes bring a staff to place in front of the Ark of the Covenant. One of the staffs, the one that belonged to Aaron, has a plant grow out of it while it is sitting there. This is taken as a sign to all of Israel that God has chosen Aaron to be an unquestioned leader.

Being a religious leader is a hard job. In one sense, it is important to listen to the people and allow their vision to shape the present and future. On the other hand, it is more important to listen to what God has to say, because it is God's church.

I think that we can all agree with the last couple sentences... but what makes it hard is that God doesn't speak as loud and clear as the people. And often, the direction from God goes against the direction of the people. Humans think earthly thoughts while God thinks heavenly thoughts... but earthly thoughts make much more sense.

And how can anyone be sure that God is talking to them? How was Moses and Aaron sure? Some people that have claimed to have heard from God often begin their story with taking drugs.

That doesn't mean that God doesn't speak to us. I think that God still speaks in many ways. We are just too busy to hear.

Moses sat alone on Mt. Sinai for 7 days before God showed up with the 10 Commandments.

Sometimes we just need to slow down and pray. And in our prayer we need to stop talking and start listening.

Otherwise we might just run this thing aground.