Numbers 17 - Communication

Have you ever had a complete communication miss with a person? Maybe, no matter what, it seems like you and that person just can't communicate. Each of you says one thing and the other person never receives that and you both feel lost in the dark and things just go awry...

Well, I hope that never happens to you, but it has happened to me. I think I am telling somebody exactly what I am thinking and how I feel and that person misses that and they think the same and yest I don't see it. When I read this chapter that was all I could think about. Here God is trying to make clear to the people who God has chosen in order to avoid rebellion and more deaths.

⁵ Buds will sprout on the staff belonging to the man I choose. Then I will finally put an end to the people’s murmuring and complaining against you.”

¹⁰ And the Lord said to Moses: “Place Aaron’s staff permanently before the Ark of the Covenant^[d] to serve as a warning to rebels. This should put an end to their complaints against me and prevent any further deaths.” ¹¹ So Moses did as the Lord commanded him.

 It all seems so clear. God provides the sign, the people are obedient and there is no more rebellion and death. Except that is not  the place the people end up...

¹² Then the people of Israel said to Moses, “Look, we are doomed! We are dead! We are ruined! ¹³ Everyone who even comes close to the Tabernacle of the Lord dies. Are we all doomed to die?”

I think this is not a one time problem for God and a major reason why Jesus came to Earth. Maybe it is because of who God is or maybe because of who we are (probably both), but we sometimes have trouble communicating with God. I actually believe that it is more often than we think, we just don't understand enough to realize that we haven't really understood what God is telling us.

So how do we fix this> Well, one thing I think we need to do is shut up and listen more. You really can't hear someone when you are already talking and since I think God has more of value to say than we do, we should start by listening more. Another is to trust and take what we do know and apply it to what we think we here. Since God is not in a bodily form in front of us, we don't have gestures and facial expressions to help convey the meaning of the words. Therefore, we need to use what we know to help us. I think sometimes we get so fearful of the possibilities that we don't focus on the realities of God's behavior and attitudes.

I think if we could do those two things, we could really improve our communication with God. I know I need to give it a try and improve in that area...why don't you join me.