Blossoming and Bearing Fruit
One of the miracles of God's creation is how fruit trees blossom and then bear fruit. It is simply amazing to think that there is power within the tree to produce the flowers and to have them turn into wonderful, delicious fruit. It could only be the Lord who designed and empowered these trees to provide nutritious food for us in this way. It has always been His gift to us, as humans, since the Garden of Eden. From the beginning God gave people this blessing out of His love for us and His sustaining power for us. The Bible speaks a lot about bearing fruit both physically and spiritually. In the case of Aaron God used some miracle fruit to validate the ministry of the tribe of Levi after the people had rebelled against both Moses and Aaron having authority over them. God told the leader of each of the 12 tribes to bring a staff with his name engraved on it to the Tabernacle. Moses put them in the Tabernacle overnight to see who God would validate as His special servants. (Numbers 17:8) The next day, when Moses entered the Tabernacle of the Covenant, Moses found that Aaron's staff had sprouted, budded, blossomed, and produced ripe almonds. I believe this gives us some food for thought.
Why would God show His favor for the tribe of Levi and for Aaron by having a wooden stick blossom and bear fruit overnight? I believe it was God's way of showing the miracle He does in the lives of His servants on this earth. This was true of the Levites who did special service in the Tabernacle and the Temple, but it is still true today. We have no power in us to serve the Lord on our own. We can't bear spiritual fruit by seeing people saved and changed without God empowering us. He produces the fruit through us for His glory and His kingdom, not for our glory. Therefore, this picture should inspire us to blossom and to bear fruit for the Lord by yielding ourselves to Him and asking Him to use us to touch the lives of others in the unique way that He has gifted us. Then, let's watch to see what kind of fruit God produces. Believe Me, He will if we submit to Him.
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Tomorrow, I intend to read Numbers 18-21.