Physical reminders of unseen things…….

The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and get twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes. Write the name of each man on his staff. On the staff of Levi write Aaron’s name, for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe. Place them in the tent of meeting in front of the ark of the covenant law, where I meet with you. The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites.”  Numbers 17:1-5

Another visually dramatic sign from God to clarify the issue of leadership. You can guess what happened. Aaron’s staff sprouted, budded, bloomed and produced almonds. Sweet.

Then God said to Moses –

Put back Aaron’s staff in front of the ark of the covenant law, to be kept as a sign to the rebellious.  Numbers 17:10

A physical reminder. Some of us need those. Spiritual things are hard to understand. That is why Jesus used everyday objects and situations in his stories to convey spiritual truths. Many of us struggle with abstract concepts and need to see visually dramatic signs of God’s love and nature in the world. That is why God sent Jesus in the first place – as a visual incarnation of God. God made flesh.

We need a physical reminder of what God has done for all of us, because we too are human and quick to forget and quick to grumble. That is why we take bread and wine as a physical reminder of Jesus’ body and blood.

And people around us need to see physical reminders of God’s love at work in the world. That’s where we come in.

So now that that is all cleared up, God turns his attention to the duties of the priests and Levites and the offerings for the priests and Levites. With leadership comes great responsibility. The priests and Levites are to take full responsibility for offences connected with the sanctuary and the priesthood.

I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift.  Numbers 18:7

Every gift comes with a responsibility. Our gifts and talents are given to us for a reason.

Aaron and the priests are richly rewarded for carrying out their duties to the letter –

Everything in Israel that is devoted to the Lord is yours.  Numbers 18:14

The priests and Levites cannot work the land or grow crops or earn an income as they are serving in the tabernacle. Therefore God provides for all their needs from the offerings given to Him. If they give the best of each offering to God, then they can have the rest –

for it is your wages for your work at the tent of meeting.  Numbers 18:31

When individuals are serving God in whatever they are doing, then God will make sure that their needs are met.

Chapter 19 is all about the water of cleansing – or holy water. It is made in a very specific way in a specific place by a specific man with the slaughter of a red heifer. The ashes from the sacrifice are to be kept and added to water to make the water for cleansing. This is to be used every time anyone has become unclean by touching and being in contact with a dead body of any kind. This is another dramatic visual sign and reminder of something we can’t see – perhaps in this case, germs!

Let me introduce you to an interesting character.

Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis (1818 – 1865) was a Hungarian physician. He’s been described as the “savior of mothers”, as he discovered that the incidence of puerperal fever could be drastically reduced by the practice of hand washing in clinics. He published a book of his findings showing that hand-washing reduced mortality to below 1%.

Here comes the really interesting bit! His ideas were rejected by the medical community. Some doctors were offended at the suggestion that they should wash their hands and Semmelweis could offer no acceptable scientific explanation for his findings. Wow!

His practice earned widespread acceptance only years after his death, when Louis Pasteur confirmed the germ theory. In 1865, Semmelweis was committed to an asylum, where he died after being beaten by the guards. He was 47.

Even two hundred years ago, people were struggling to respond positively to advice that could not be physically proven!

Hand-washing matters! Maybe I’ll leave you with that thought today!