17:1-6
The rebellions on Miriam and Aaron, and then Korah and his fellow rebels, had revolved around who had the right to approach God, and to be God’s messenger. So one staff was taken from each tribe, and the name of each man was to be written on the staff, so identifying which tribe it belonged to. The staffs were then to be placed before the Tent of Meeting. Aaron’s staff was also there. One of the staffs would bud. I.e. this was a purely miraculous event, something that could not be orchestrated by man. Some miracles can be explained (at least partially) in natural terms, others, like this one, cannot. So Moses spoke to the people and God’s instructions were carried out.
17:7-13
The next day only one of the staffs had budded, and this was the staff of Aaron. No surprise there! It had also produced blossoms and almonds. Following the Lord’s instruction, it was placed in the Ark of the Covenant as a reminder to rebels that God had indeed made His choice, so there was to be no more arguing.
The rebels were now gripped by fear, realising, at least to some degree, who they had been rebelling against. However, it seems unlikely that there was much in the way of true repentance.
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