Fruitfulness | Wayfarer

The next day Moses entered the tent and saw that Aaron’s staff, which represented the tribe of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds.
Numbers 17:8 (NIV)

This past week, I have been enjoying the fruit of our little herb garden here at Vander Well Manor. I’m happy to report that I have not only managed to keep our little garden growing, but it’s even yielded some abundance! I’ve had lots of Jalapeno peppers which I’ve been dicing and adding my queso. I also used parsley and basil in making a homemade almond salsa verde which we’ve used on both grilled chicken and grilled salmon. It was really good.

When God began talking to the Hebrews about His dwelling among them, He boiled things down into very simple terms: life and death:

This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (NIV)

Along my spiritual journey, I’ve come to realize that this is a great way to summarize the entire Great Story.

God is a wellspring of life.
Creation
Order
Fruitfulness
Abundance
Resurrection
Contentment

Evil rejoices in death.
Destruction
Chaos
Infertility
Scarcity
Decay
Discontent

When reading the ancient texts, I’ve learned that it’s important to pay attention to how things are ordered (God loves order).

In yesterday’s chapter, a massive rebellion breaks out against Moses and Aaron. It begins with a man named Korah and 250 leaders who attempted a leadership coup. By the time all was said and done “the whole Israelite community” had joined in the discontented grumbling. The consequences of standing up and rebelling against what God had ordained was swift judgement and death for the 250 instigators.

In today’s short chapter, God instructs Moses to have the head of each tribe bring a wooden staff to God’s traveling tent Temple with their name engraved on it. Aaron brought the staff for the tribe of Levi. Moses placed all twelve inside the tent overnight. By morning, nothing had changed about eleven of the wooden staves. Aaron’s however, had not only budded, but it had blossomed and produced almonds.

What in the world?!

A few thoughts about God giving the Hebrews this metaphor:

First, dead wooden staves do not sprout, let alone do they produce fruit. The miracle of Aaron’s rod not only provides the Hebrews with an undeniable sign of God’s choice of Aaron and his son as priests, but His miracle reminds them that it is God’s choice. Aaron’s staff was no different than any of theirs. God’s choice was not based on Aaron’s merit, but on God’s gracious choice intended to bring life and blessing through Aaron to everyone in the community.

Second, the miracle stands in contrast to Korah’s rebellion in which discontent led to conflict, chaos, and death. Quietly, God’s swift miracle restores order and brings fruitfulness. Jewish scholars have long observed that almonds are among the earliest to blossom. God’s metaphorically reminding the Hebrews of a truth that God’s chosen King, David, would so poetically and lyrically phrase:

For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may stay for the night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.
Psalm 30:5 (NIV)

Finally, God’s miracle reminds the Hebrews of what He’s been telling them from the beginning. He is the God of Creation, who is all about life and abundance. Before the miracle, God told Moses that the staff He chose would “bud.” Aaron’s staff did far more than that. As Jesus, God’s Son would later tell us, “I came that you might have life in abundance!”

So in the quiet this morning, I’m simply reminded that I choose.

With my choices each day I am choosing one or the other. I can make choices out of discontent, envy, anger, and pride that lead towards perpetual disorder, conflict, and chaos in life. Or, I can make choices out of faith in and obedience to the way of Jesus in which love for God and love for others leads to contentment, order, gratitude that is fruitful and life-giving for myself and everyone around me (like an herb garden!).

What does my life say about the nature of my choices?
What do my choices say about the condition of my heart?

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

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Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
Psalm 107:6 (NIV)

As I’ve been mulling over the spiritual milestones I’ve shared about recently, I have been looking back at my life journey of 20,000+ days and my spiritual journey of 40 years. There have been some amazing moments, some stretches of prosperity on multiple levels, and then there have been some seasons of soul-stretching adversity. As I recount the peaks and valleys and where they’ve brought me, it occurs to me that the latter has been more critical in my spiritual growth. And, very often the former follows. The valleys of life prune me spiritually, and when I eventually reach the high places they are particularly fruitful.

“Exile” is one of the grand themes of the Great Story. Some scholars have gone so far as to say that it is the primary theme that occurs over and over again, beginning with Adam and Eve being exiled from the Garden and their intimate relationship with the Creator. The Hebrews living in bondage and exile in Egypt, then later being exiled and scattered by the Babylonian and Assyrian empires. The crux of the Great Story is Jesus leaving heaven to be exiled here as one of us to make a way for us to escape our own earthly exile and be at home in eternity. And, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Exile is a theme in the stories of Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Ruth, Esther, Daniel, Nehemiah, Mary, Joseph, John the Baptist, Jesus, John, and Paul.

All good stories are a reflection of the Great Story, and I typically find the theme of exile in every major human epic.

Today’s chapter, Psalm 107, kicks off the fifth and final “Book” of Hebrew Song lyrics we know as the Psalms. Psalm 107 is another liturgical song, most likely written to be sung during one of the Hebrew religious festivals. Most scholars agree that it was penned during the period of time when the Hebrews returned from Babylonian exile, rebuilt Jerusalem and God’s temple there. Having come through years of captivity and exile, they have ascended Mount Zion to worship, reflect on their experiences, and give thanks.

The song lyrics introduce different exilic experiences: wandering in the desert, living in darkness, struggling through captivity and forced labor, bitter consequences of foolish choices, sickness and disease, and being lost and rudderless on the stormy seas. In each of the stanzas the description of exilic struggle leads to the phrase: “Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble.” This is followed by God’s salvation, deliverance, redemption, and restoration. Each stanza ends calling the listener to gratitude and praise.

In the quiet this morning, I’m seeing the pattern. Out of darkness into the light. Up from the valley to the mountaintop. Return from exilic adversity to the blessing of finding myself safe at home. This is the Great Story. It’s life’s story. It’s my story, too.

As I meditate on the lyrics of Psalm 107 and look back on my journey, I’m reminded that there is purpose in the painful stretches. Perseverance has always paid off. I have always been able to cry out to the Lord in my troubles. There have always been better stretches ahead.

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