Numbers 17

It’s a known principle, a natural law if you will, that wherever the people of God say “let us rise up and go!” the enemies of God say “let us rise up and oppose!” This has been the experience of Moses. If you will go back to the book of Exodus, you might remember that Moses didn’t WANT this job, God had called Him to it! He gave every excuse you can think of, from “I’m not your guy”, to “I can’t talk right”. (As a side note, I’ve always wondered what Moses’ speech problem sounded like… Did he stutter, or have a lateral lisp ala Sid the sloth? Who knows????) The point is that Moses wasn’t seeking the job of being leader of millions; God had called him to it! He really had no choice at all.

Over and over we have seen people opposing him, questioning his calling. Today we might refer to them as “haters”. Moses didn’t respond with a “why you be hatin’?!” attitude, instead he was always faithful to bring things before the Lord. Because of this the Lord was his defender. He didn’t have to defend himself, God had his back!

Here we see God defending Mo and Aaron… they are vindicated in the eyes of the people. 12 rods are brought before the Lord, dead pieces of wood… Each one has the name of the prince of the particular tribe they represent... The people wait until morning, and they find that the rod that belongs to Aaron (representing himself, Moses, and the tribe of Levi) has budded! It was a dead thing bursting forth with life, a truly supernatural sign that THEY WERE GOD’S CHOICE.

This is so encouraging to me! As we follow Jesus, we should expect to be opposed by men, both believing and unbelieving. They will question our motives, our choices, our hearts, and our lives… but we don’t need to get defensive! The Lord is mighty to save, and He stands to defend his people. The Lord provided Moses and Aaron with a permanent monument to the call He had upon their lives, and He can do the same for us. I’m not talking about a blooming branch; I am talking about how He can bring fruit from our dead lives. There is no other explanation for the work God does in us than SUPERNATURAL. A transformed life cannot be argued with.

So what’s the point? It’s this: Let God work mightily in your life, do ALL that He calls you to do, and you will never have to fear what men might say or do… your life will be a testimony of the mighty working of God!