The pericope I choose for this reflection paper is Numbers 17:1-13. This pericope is the last in a series of three stories about the revolt of the congregation of Israel against Aaron's position as high priest and the leadership of Moses. The first revolt came from Korah. Korah was a member of the tribe of Levi, the same tribe as Aaron (Exodus 6:16-20). Korah's rebellion is not simply a personal attack on Aaron but also on God's appointed priesthood. The second revolt led by Dathan, Abiram, and 250 other lay leaders challenged and rejected Moses' leadership. These rebellious leaders have a very democratic argument that the will of the people must have greater authority than the God-appointed leadership. God responds by killing all the leaders and followers of these two rebellious parties. All of these events establish the context for the text of Numbers 17:1-13. In this pericope, God commands Moses to stage a final test to demonstrate His approval of Aaron's priesthood. This final test is intended to end the people's questioning and defiance of the authority of both Aaron and Moses. In this final test, Moses is asked to take a staff from each tribal leader. Each leader's name is written on his staff. Aaron's name is inscribed on the staff representing the tribe of Levi. Moses places all these staffs in the tent of meeting before the Lord. The next morning, Moses shows up at the tent and Aaron's staff sprouts, sprouts, flowers and produces ripe almonds. There is something interesting about the way the text describes Aaron's staff. The text does not simply say that Aaron's staff reaches the final stage of the production cycle and has ripe almond fruits on it. The text lists in detail...... in the center of the paper ...... hopes that Jesus will return in the same way he was taken up into heaven (Acts 1:11). The message of this pericope for Christians today is very clear that it means honoring your spiritual leaders even when they fail to fulfill their callings. God gives salvation universally available to all, but God elects some to save and from those He saves, He calls some to lead. There are always failures and corruptions waiting to happen in the ministries God calls to lead, this is inevitable. God wants Christians to honor their spiritual leaders not for who they are but for what they do. A true spiritual leader does two main things: preach the Word of God (Hebrews 13:7) and care for the souls of other Christians (Hebrews 13:17). As long as a spiritual leader is committed to doing these two things, the church as God's people should submit to his leadership.