Numbers 17

I wonder why more people (in Western culture, at least) don't carry staffs around. They help you walk, they help you look more authoritative even if all you're doing is standing there, and you can use them to thwack people. Wizards certainly know the power of staffs; you rarely see Gandalf without one, do you? And when he confronts Saruman after taking his mantle, what does he do? He breaks the treacherous wizard's staff, of course. In the books, at least, Saruman continues his perfidy for a little longer, but he's nowhere near as magically powerful. And in video games like, I don't know, Diablo, the wizards and mages get to run around shooting lightning bolts and other computer-generated special effects out of their staffs.

The leaders of the 12 tribes of Israelites also have staffs, though since this is real life, they can't perform any magic with them. When staffs do exhibit miraculous properties (as Moses's did), they do so with the power of God. To demonstrate His authority and confirm those consecrated as priests, God imbues another staff with His power. After Moses collects the staffs of the 12 tribal leaders, God turns Aaron's staff into a botanist's delight--it "not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds" (verse 8). OK, the almonds aren't such good news for me since I'm allergic to them, but a legume-bearing staff is a specimen any kid would be thrilled to bring to show-and-tell.

For some reason, the blooming staff is what finally makes the Israelites realize the folly of their supercilious impertinence. Not the plague, not the fireballs coming out of God's presence, not even the bloody earth opening up and munching a throng of people--but a staff with almonds on it. When I first read this passage, I couldn't fathom why the staff was apparently more potent to the Israelites than the preceding disasters. But then I had a thought: What makes people respond better--constructive criticism or caustic derision? How do you form a strong, loyal team--though tyranny or through respect? The pure (if offbeat) beauty of a budding staff may have evoked feelings of wonder at God's majesty, and then shame at having spurned that majesty. On the other hand, all a catastrophe does is instill fear. Of course, God still deserves to be "feared" in the sense that we should respect Him. But God, like Huey Lewis, knows the power of love as manifested in the ultimate sacrifice of His son.