And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of them a staff, a staff for each father's house, of all their princes according to the houses of their fathers, twelve staves thou shalt write each one's name upon his staff.
Israel was murmuring against Moses and Aaron, and the question of who may approach God was still open. God's answer was a test, not an argument: twelve dry sticks, each with a name on it, left in His presence overnight.
God set this up so that no man could claim the choice as his own.
This takes the matter right out of man's hands and puts it where alone it ought to be — in the hands of the living God! It was not a man appointing himself, or a man appointing his fellow; it was God appointing the man of His own choice. In a word, God Himself would settle the question once for all. Then all murmuring would stop for ever, and no one could ever again charge God's high priest with taking too much upon himself. The human will had nothing whatever to do with this solemn matter. The twelve rods, all in the same condition, were laid before the Lord. Man stepped back and left God to act. Once God had settled the question there, it could never be raised again.
Each prince's staff, or rod, stood for his authority. His name on it put his own claim on trial. When the rods came back, eleven men saw what that authority was worth.
Each of the twelve chief princes brought Moses his rod with his name written on it, and their tribes all knew it. Moses also wrote Aaron's name on the rod of Levi. Later Moses showed the rods to the princes, and each man looked and took his own rod — his lifeless stick of authority, with his name on it. That rod declared how useless mere human rule is in the things between man and God. Then they went back to their tents.
A rod is a branch already cut from the tree that fed it.
The rods for each tribe would show the complete severance from the root, their original life. Any life they might now show would be apart from the root. It would mean life given back again — in other words, the work of God. The rods of the tribes remain lifeless. Aaron's rod does more than show signs of life; it produces the full results of life, in bud, flower and fruit. This was a work of God. It would for ever silence anyone else's claim to the place of honour and service God had given to Aaron. "No one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was" (Hebrews 5:4).
Commentators see a picture of resurrection in the budding rod.
The twelve rods were all alike lifeless. But God, the living God, entered the scene. By that power which belongs to Him alone He put life into Aaron's rod and brought it out to view, bearing on it the fragrant fruits of resurrection.
The almond adds more than the bare fact of life.
The almond is the first tree to wake up in the spring, and its Hebrew name means "the wakeful." It announces and guarantees the burst of life which follows. So Christ risen is the "firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." He rises alone, yet He cannot remain alone, and the risen Priest joins to Himself the great crowd of His own.
The dry stick and the fruit on it stand for two very different things.
The dry dead stick expressed nature's barren and worthless condition. The buds, blossoms and fruit set out the living and life-giving grace and power of God. On that grace and power rested the priestly ministry — the only ministry that could carry the congregation through the wilderness. Grace alone could meet the ten thousand needs of that marching host. Power could not do it. Authority could not do it.
Mackintosh carries this straight over to service today.
So it was with priesthood of old, and so it is with ministry now. All ministry in the Church of God is the fruit of divine grace — the gift of Christ, the Church's Head. There is no other source of ministry whatever.
- Cause. Murmuring against Aaron raised the question of who may draw near. God answered it Himself, and no human will could reopen it.
- Chosen. Twelve named rods put twelve claims on trial. Eleven men carried home a lifeless stick, proof that human rule counts for nothing before God.
- Quickened. A rod is a branch cut from its root, so any life in it must be life given back — the work of God alone.
- Fruitful. Buds, blossoms and almonds picture a priesthood founded on resurrection. The almond wakes first, and it marks Christ as firstfruits who does not rise alone.
- Carried. Authority could not bring Israel through the desert. Grace that brought fruit from a dead rod could. All true service still flows from that grace.
And Aaron's name shalt thou write upon the staff of Levi; for one staff shall be for [each] head of their fathers' houses.
After Korah's rebellion, one question burned in the camp: who has the right to come near to God? God answers with a quiet test — twelve staffs, each carrying a man's name, with Aaron's name on the staff of Levi, one for each tribe's head. (The commentators quoted here say "rod" where the ESV says "staff".)
The chapter follows a judgment, but its aim now is to teach.
God had shown His deep displeasure against those who challenged the priesthood of Aaron. Even so, He used this occasion to show the positive side of priesthood. He wanted to press on Israel both the seriousness and the blessedness of true priestly character. He told Moses to have one man from each of the twelve tribes of Israel bring a rod with his name written on it. Aaron's name was to be written on the rod of Levi. Moses was to place these in the tabernacle before the Testimony. God promised that the rod of the man He chose would blossom. That would silence the complaints of the children of Israel.
Men write the names, but men do not decide the outcome.
See how completely the matter is taken out of man's hands and placed where it alone belongs — in the hands of the living God! A man was not to appoint himself, and no man was to appoint his fellow. God would appoint the man of His own choosing... The human will had nothing whatever to do with this solemn matter. The twelve rods, all in the same condition, lay before the Lord. Man stepped back and left God to act... Far away from all man's thinking, in the quiet of the sanctuary, God Himself settled the great question of priesthood. Once settled in this way, it could never be raised again.
What was true of Aaron's appointment holds for every priest, and Korah shows the cost of ignoring it.
No one can truly take the place of priest, in any sense of the word, unless God has called him. The judgment that fell on Korah and those with him shows how serious it is to neglect this great truth. They tried to set themselves up as priests without any call from God.
Aaron alone is named for Levi, so one man stands for the whole tribe.
On this occasion Jehovah once for all answered all questions as to the tribe which alone should bear the priesthood. He ordered every tribe to present its rod before Him.
A staff stood for a man's authority. The princes take their staffs back exactly as they left them.
He showed the rods to the princes, and each man looked and took back his own rod. It was his lifeless stick of authority, with his name on it. It declared that mere human rule is useless in the things between man and God. Then they returned to their tents.
What marks out the chosen name is not argument but fruit.
The rod was more than an undeniable sign of which man God had chosen. It was also a telling sign of the true place of priesthood, which here rests, in picture, on death and resurrection. There is no fruit at all except through the priesthood that Jehovah chose for them.
Moses' staff is missing from the twelve, and the reason lies in what a murmuring people needed.
Moses' rod was the expression of power and authority. Aaron's rod was the lovely expression of that grace which gives life to the dead... Power could crush the rebel. Authority might strike the sinner. But only mercy and grace could be of any use to an assembly of needy, helpless, sinful men, women, and children... The rod of authority could take away the murmurers; but the rod of grace could take away the murmurs.
- Twelve names — every tribe puts a man forward, with his name in plain sight. No one can argue with the result.
- One head — Aaron's name on Levi's staff means one man answers for the whole house. That closes the question of which tribe carries the priesthood.
- God chooses — men write the names, then step back. God makes the choice inside the sanctuary, where human will has no say.
- Life decides — eleven men take back dead sticks with their own names on them. Fruit marks out the chosen name, and only God can grow it.
- Grace follows — authority can remove the rebels. Only grace removes the murmuring.
And thou shalt lay them up in the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you.
Israel had accused Aaron of taking too much on himself, and God now answers the charge with a test. Each tribe hands over a rod, and the rods go to the place in the tent where God meets His people.
Nobody in Israel can steer the result, and that is the whole point.
How completely the matter is taken out of man's hands and placed where alone it ought to be — in the hands of the living God! It was not a man appointing himself, or a man appointing his fellow, but God appointing the man of His own choice. God Himself would settle the question once for all, so that all murmuring would be silenced for ever, and no one could ever again accuse God's high priest of taking too much on himself. The human will had nothing whatever to do with this solemn matter. The twelve rods, all in the same condition, were laid up before the Lord; man withdrew and left God to act.
Every rod starts in the same state, and the wood can do nothing for itself.
A rod is dead, being a stick cut off from the living tree. Twelve such dead things, each with the name of a tribe on it, were laid up in the tabernacle before the Lord. On the rod of Levi the name of Aaron was written. The next morning eleven of the sticks were unchanged in their dead state. The twelfth, Aaron's, was living and even fruitful, since it not only blossomed but bore almonds.
The place matters as much as the test.
These were put in the tabernacle, before the testimony, where the Lord met with Moses when He made His mind known. The answer came quickly… It was not only an unmistakable sign that this person was chosen. It was also a deeply significant token of the true basis of priesthood, which here in picture rests on death and resurrection. Clearly there is no bearing of fruit except according to the priesthood that the Lord chose for them. There is, no doubt, the expression of authority here; but that authority is by grace, and for gracious ends.
The wording raises a further question: did the rods go inside the ark, or only in front of it? One writer looks at it and leaves the matter open:
The words of Exodus 16 and of Numbers 17, "before the Testimony," may imply that they were placed where the tablets were kept. That is all we can say. Had it been written "before the ark of the Testimony," we would have known that they were never inside it.
The rod that lived bore almonds, and that tree carries its own message.
The picture of resurrection cannot be mistaken, but the almond gives more than this… It is the first tree to wake up in the spring, and its Hebrew name means "the wakeful." It is the herald and pledge of the burst of life that follows. So Christ risen is "the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." He rose alone, yet He cannot remain alone. The risen Priest joins the great multitude of His own to Himself.
One writer looks at what the sign achieved, and finds comfort in it for our own weakness.
The main result of the budding of Aaron's rod was the removal of the people's murmurings. There is unlimited comfort for us in this. We are surrounded with weakness, and all kinds of opposition meet us on the path of faith… We would certainly become discouraged and complain, if we did not have a High Priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses and deal gently with the ignorant and the wayward. In the power of infinite and unquenchable love He always lives to make intercession for us. His mighty intercession cannot fail.
- Chosen, not claimed. Man laid the rods up and withdrew. God alone named the priest, so no one could dispute the appointment again.
- Chosen from death. Twelve cut sticks lay there, all equally dead. Whatever marked one out had to come from God, not from the wood.
- Chosen where God meets. The rods went before the testimony, where God made His mind known. Fruit comes only through the priesthood He chooses.
- Chosen first, so others follow. The almond, the "wakeful" tree, pictures resurrection. The risen Priest does not stay alone; He gathers His own with Him.
- Chosen to quiet us. The sign was given to end murmuring. A living High Priest who deals gently with the weak still answers our complaining today.
And it shall come to pass, that the man whom I shall choose, his staff shall bud forth; and I will make to cease from before me the murmurings of the children of Israel, that they murmur against you.
Israel had been murmuring against Moses and Aaron, and God moves to settle the dispute for good. Twelve rods go into the sanctuary. The one that buds will show whom God has chosen. And that budding rod is what will quiet a complaining people.
God sets up the test so that no human hand can touch the outcome.
What matchless wisdom shines in this arrangement! How completely God takes this matter out of man's hands and puts it where alone it ought to be — in the hands of the living God! It was not a man appointing himself, or a man appointing his fellow, but God appointing the man of His own choosing. In a word, God Himself would settle the question once for all. Then all murmuring would stop for ever. No one could ever again charge God's high priest with taking too much upon himself. The human will had nothing whatever to do with this solemn matter. The twelve rods, all in the same condition, lay before the Lord. Man withdrew and left God to act.
God's chosen sign is not fire or thunder but a blossom on dead wood — a picture that points beyond Aaron.
"And Moses deposited the staffs before the LORD in the tent of the testimony. On the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony, and behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds." A striking and beautiful figure of Him who was "declared to be the Son of God in power … by his resurrection from the dead"! The twelve rods were all alike lifeless. But God, the living God, entered the scene. By that power which belongs to Him alone, He put life into Aaron's rod. He brought it out to view, bearing on it the fragrant fruits of resurrection.
The blossoming settles more than one man's rank. It fixes where any fruit for God can come from at all.
This was not only an unquestionable sign that God had chosen this man. It was also a deeply significant token of the true place of priesthood, which here, as a picture, rests on death and resurrection. The rod was not merely a means of stopping the plague in the face of an obvious divine judgment. It was the constant witness that real fruit, fit for the sanctuary of God, springs only from the priesthood that Jehovah has chosen.
Two rods could have ended the complaining. Which one God used is the whole point.
God cannot give them up; He cannot allow sin; and so He brings in priestly grace to meet the difficulty. To take away their murmurings He does not use the rod of Moses, but the rod of Aaron. The rod of Moses could only judge them for their sin, and so take away their murmurings by judgment. But Aaron's rod does it by priestly grace.
This is why the rod, and not the plague, becomes the lasting answer for the desert road.
The love of God is greater than the sin of the people: without it they could never have crossed the desert. The rod of Aaron is therefore the full display of the grace of God.
God promises to bring the murmuring to an end. That promise reaches the mouths of His people.
There is one intensely interesting word from God about the budding of Aaron's rod. God said, I will completely take away from before Me the murmurings of the children of Israel. Because we have a great high priest, we can go through wilderness circumstances without a murmur on our lips. Instead of murmuring there may be thanksgiving and praise to God. How is that made possible? High above us lives the great High Priest, and He makes intercession for us. Through the supplies of grace that He gives, He takes away the murmurings from the people of God. He fills their mouths instead with the songs of overcomers.
The rod was there to be leaned on, not just looked at. Not counting on it has a name.
Israel should have walked in the power and comfort of that rod. They saw the blossoms and the fruit, and should have counted on them. Suppose we want something, and we doubt we will get it because we say we do not deserve it. That is putting ourselves under the law. It is forgetting that there is "the rod" … God takes away the murmurings by grace.
- Chosen — God alone names the priest. Man lays down the rods, withdraws, and God's answer settles the question for ever.
- Raised — dead wood buds, blooms and bears almonds. Priesthood rests on death and resurrection.
- Grace — Aaron's rod answers the murmuring, not Moses' rod. Judgment could silence them; only grace could carry them on.
- Fruit — no fruit fit for God grows from any other rod than the one He chose.
- Quieted — complaint ends where a living High Priest supplies grace. To forget the rod, and plead that we do not deserve help, is to go back under law.
And Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and all their princes gave him a staff, one staff for each prince according to their fathers' houses, twelve staves, and the staff of Aaron was among their staves.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And Moses laid the staves before Jehovah in the tent of the testimony.
Israel had murmured against Aaron's priesthood, so God set a test: twelve named staffs, one per tribe, left overnight in His presence. Verse 7 is the hinge — Moses lays them down, walks away, and leaves the outcome to God.
Moses left the rods where no human hand could manage the outcome.
See how completely the matter is taken out of man's hands and placed where it alone belongs — in the hands of the living God! It was not a man appointing himself, or a man appointing his fellow, but God appointing the man of His own choice. God Himself would settle the question once for all, so that all murmuring would stop for ever... The twelve rods, all in the same condition, were laid up before the Lord; man withdrew and left God to act. There was no room and no opportunity for human management, because there was no need of it. In the deep quiet of the sanctuary, far away from all man's thinking, God's own decision settled the great question of priesthood. Once He had settled it, no one could raise it again.
The twelve rods Moses laid down had one thing in common.
A rod is dead, being a stick cut off from the living tree. Moses laid up twelve such dead things in the tabernacle before the Lord, each with the name of a tribe on it. The rod of Levi carried Aaron's name. The next morning eleven of the sticks stayed dead and unchanged. The twelfth, Aaron's, was living and even fruitful, since it not only blossomed but bore almonds. The almond tree is one of the earliest to bear fruit. In Jeremiah 1:11-12 there is a play on its name, which is almost the same as the word translated "hasten".
The place matters as much as the act. The testimony means the stone tablets. That spot was where God met Moses and made His mind known.
These were put in the tabernacle, before the testimony, where the LORD met with Moses when He made His mind known... It was not only an unmistakable sign that God had chosen the person. It was also a deeply significant token of the true basis of priesthood, which here in picture rests on death and resurrection.
A further question follows: was the rod ever inside the ark?
Hebrews speaks of the golden pot of manna and Aaron's rod that budded as having been in the ark with the two stone tablets. Reading Exodus 16:34 and Numbers 17:10, we might not have gathered that, but we cannot say those passages rule it out. The words of Exodus 16 and Numbers 17, "before the Testimony," may mean that they were placed where the tablets were kept. That is all we can say. Had it been written "before the ark of the Testimony," we would have known they were never inside it.
Commentators connect Aaron's budding staff with Christ.
The office of the high priest rests on resurrection power. The buds and blossoms of Aaron's staff speak of life out of death. Christ was "constituted... according to the power of an indestructible life" (Heb. 7:16). It was a matter of God's grace working where man could not work, bringing life and fruit where there was only death.
One staff was missing from the twelve: Moses' own.
Moses' rod was the expression of power and authority. Aaron's rod was the lovely expression of the grace that gives life to the dead... Power could crush the rebel. Authority might strike the sinner. But only mercy and grace could serve an assembly of needy, helpless, sinful men, women and children. The grace that could bring almonds out of a dead stick could bring Israel through the wilderness... The rod of authority could take away the murmurers; but the rod of grace could take away the murmurs.
The same principle settles where ministry comes from today.
So it was with priesthood of old; and so it is with ministry now. All ministry in the Church of God is the fruit of divine grace — the gift of Christ, the Church's Head. There is no other source of ministry at all. From apostles down to the very smallest gifts, all come from Christ.
- Laid down. Moses put all twelve rods in the tent and withdrew. With no chance of human management, the outcome could only be God's.
- Dead alike. Every rod was a stick cut from a living tree, so nothing in the twelve could explain what happened to one of them.
- Before the testimony. God answered at the exact spot where He met Moses and made His mind known.
- Life out of death. Buds, blossoms and almonds on a dead branch picture a priesthood built on resurrection. Grace worked where man could not.
- Grace, not force. Moses' rod of authority could remove the murmurers. Aaron's rod of grace removed the murmuring. That same grace still supplies every gift for service.
And it came to pass, when on the morrow Moses went into the tent of the testimony, behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and ripened almonds.
Israel had just rebelled against Moses and Aaron. God settled the dispute with a miracle, not an argument. Twelve dead sticks lay before Him overnight, and one was alive by morning. Who does God choose to stand between Himself and a murmuring people? The answer came as buds, blossoms and ripe fruit on a branch that should have stayed dead.
Each tribal leader brought a rod with his own name on it. When Moses handed the rods back, the contrast showed what human standing is worth before God.
The twelve chief princes, in full view of their tribes, each brought his rod to Moses with his name written on it, and Moses wrote "Aaron's name on the rod of Levi." Moses laid these before the ark inside the Most Holy Place, where the tablets of the law were kept... Later he showed the rods to the princes. They looked, and each man took his rod — his lifeless stick of authority with his name on it. It was the declaration that mere human rule is useless in the things between man and God.
The tree chosen for the sign was not random. Commentators read its Hebrew name in different ways, but each sense fits what happened overnight.
The same word stands for both the tree and its fruit. It comes from a root meaning "to hasten." That fits, since it is the first tree to blossom, a forerunner of spring... Aaron's rod budded, blossomed, and yielded almonds in one night (Numbers 17:8). It is a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus coming out of His grave, perfect for His priestly work.
The rods were all equally dead. What separated Aaron's was not its quality but the God who acted on it.
Striking and beautiful figure of Him who was "declared to be the Son of God in power... by his resurrection from the dead"! All twelve rods were equally lifeless. But God, the living God, stepped in. By that power which belongs to Him alone, He put life into Aaron's rod and brought it out to view, bearing the fragrant fruits of resurrection.
Three stages of growth showed up together on one branch. The timing carries a meaning far beyond Aaron.
All these were present at the same time. There was not only the promise of resurrection, but the full ripe fruit of resurrection. The almond (meaning "wakeful") is the earliest fruit to appear in Israel's springtime, and it points to the resurrection of Christ — "Christ the firstfruits" (1 Cor. 15:23). The almond is also the start of a great harvest. In the same way, the resurrection of Christ is the promise of the great resurrection of His saints. When He is called "the firstfruits," that verse at once adds, "then at his coming those who belong to Christ."
The budding rod did more than name the right man for that moment. It settled for good where acceptable fruit comes from.
It was an undeniable sign that God had chosen the man. It was also a deeply meaningful token of the true place of priesthood, which was pictured here as founded on death and resurrection... The rod was not merely a way of stopping the plague when God's judgment was plain. It was the constant witness that real fruit fit for the sanctuary of God springs only from the priesthood God chose.
Moses had a rod of his own. The difference between the two rods is the difference between judgment and mercy.
Moses' rod was the expression of power and authority. Aaron's rod was the lovely expression of the grace that gives life to the dead. That grace calls the things that do not exist as though they did... Power could crush the rebel. Authority might strike the sinner. But only mercy and grace could meet the case of an assembly of needy, helpless, sinful men, women and children. The grace that could bring almonds out of a dead stick could bring Israel through the wilderness... The rod of authority could take away the murmurers; but the rod of grace could take away the murmurs.
Later the rod went back before the testimony. It carried two messages at once.
It was a confirmation of Aaron in his office; it was also, as bearing blossoms and almonds, the assurance of mercy... But the rod had another side, for it was laid up as a token against the rebels (Num. 17:10). If it declares God's goodness, it also brings their sin to mind... The people saw the token, but not the grace of God.
- Dead — All twelve rods were cut, lifeless sticks. Eleven stayed dry, and that showed how little human authority counts before God.
- Chosen — Life on Aaron's rod alone was God's own verdict on who may draw near. The argument was over.
- Risen — A dead branch bearing fruit in one night pictures Christ, declared Son of God in power by resurrection and marked out as the true Priest.
- Fruitful — Buds, blossoms and ripe almonds speak of firstfruits and a harvest to follow. No fruit fit for God's sanctuary grows any other way than through the Priest He chose.
- Gracious — Moses' rod of authority could remove the murmurers. Aaron's rod of grace removed the murmuring, and that grace carries a failing people home.
And Moses brought out all the staves from before Jehovah to all the children of Israel, and they looked and took each one his staff.
Israel's leaders had just challenged who may come near to God, and the argument had cost lives. In verse 9 Moses carries God's verdict out of the tent into the daylight. Every man can see his own staff and compare it with Aaron's.
The twelve staffs went in together and came out together. So the people whose murmuring had caused the trial could check the result for themselves.
He tells them to speak to the children of Israel. Each of them was to take a rod, one rod for each father's house: twelve rods. They were to write every man's name on his rod, and Aaron's name on the rod of Levi. These were put in the tabernacle, before the testimony, where Jehovah met with Moses and made His mind known. The answer was soon given... It was an undeniable sign that God had chosen the person. It was also a deeply significant token of the true place of priesthood, pictured here as founded on death and resurrection.
All twelve staffs went in as dead wood. Eleven came out as they went in, and that silence is part of the message.
So God settled the question. Priesthood rests on that precious grace of God which brings life out of death. This is the source of priesthood. It would be no use at all for man to take one of the eleven dead rods and make it the badge of the priestly office. All the human authority under the sun could not put life into a dead stick, or make that stick a channel of blessing to souls. And take all eleven rods together; there was not so much as a single bud or blossom among them.
Every staff had a name on it. When each prince took his back, he took back his own claim — and it had produced nothing.
He showed the rods to the princes, and "they looked, and each man took his staff." Each took back his lifeless stick of authority, with his name on it. It declared that mere human rule is useless in the things between man and God. Then they returned to their tents.
Witherby draws the lesson wider than Israel's camp:
No element in religion is more worthless than earthly rule without heavenly fruitfulness. It would be well for this earth if its "princes" who hold authority were as silent as the twelve princes were when they received their staves from the most holy place where Jehovah dwelt.
One famous staff is missing from the twelve, and its absence shapes the meaning of the one that bloomed.
What about Moses' rod? Why was it not among the twelve? The reason is simple. Moses' rod was the expression of power and authority. Aaron's rod was the lovely expression of that grace which gives life to the dead, and calls things that are not as though they were. Now mere power or authority could not bring the congregation through the wilderness. Power could crush the rebel. Authority might strike the sinner. But only mercy and grace could serve an assembly of needy, helpless, sinful men, women and children... The rod of authority could take away the murmurers; but the rod of grace could take away the murmurs.
The fruit on Aaron's staff was not random. The kind of tree carries meaning, and so does the timing: buds, blossom and ripe nuts appeared at once.
All of these were present at the same time, not only with the promise of resurrection, but with the full ripe fruit of resurrection. The almond (meaning "wakeful") is the first fruit to appear in Israel's springtime. It points to the resurrection of Christ — "Christ the firstfruits" (1 Cor. 15:23). Also, just as the almond is the beginning of a great harvest, the resurrection of Christ is the promise of the great resurrection of His saints.
The sign was not meant for one day only:
Clearly there is no bearing of fruit except according to the priesthood which Jehovah chose for them. It was not merely to be the means of stopping the plague in the face of an obvious divine judgment, but the constant witness that real fruit-bearing, fit for the sanctuary of God, springs only from the priesthood that Jehovah has chosen.
- Twelve rods in. The dispute was over who may draw near. God put the evidence where all Israel could inspect it — an undeniable sign of His own choice.
- Eleven rods out. No amount of human authority can put life into a dead stick, and eleven staffs together produced not one bud.
- One rod alive. Priesthood rests on the grace of God that brings life out of death. Aaron's rod showed it: bud, blossom and ripe almonds at once.
- Names taken back. Each prince carried home his own lifeless stick with his own name on it. Earthly rule without heavenly fruitfulness is worthless before God.
- Grace, not force. Moses' rod of authority could remove the murmurers. Aaron's rod of grace removed the murmuring, and carried a helpless people through the wilderness.
And Jehovah said to Moses, Bring Aaron's staff again before the testimony, to be kept as a token for the sons of rebellion, that thou mayest put an end to their murmurings before me, that they may not die.
Eleven rods stayed dead overnight. Aaron's alone came back alive, bearing blossoms and almonds — and now God orders that living rod back inside, for two reasons: it stands as a sign against the rebels, and it ends the grumbling that was killing them.
The rod carries both an accusation and a promise:
For them it confirmed Aaron in his office. Bearing blossoms and almonds, it was also the assurance of mercy... But the rod had another aspect, for it was laid up for a token against the rebels. If it declares God's goodness, it also brings to mind their sin... The people saw the token, but not the grace of God. They knew not the full import of its being laid up in the ark. It was standing proof that none but Aaron and his sons should come near. But it was also the pledge that God would quite take away their murmurings.
The living rod shows where priesthood comes from:
Priesthood is founded upon that precious grace of God which brings life out of death. This is the source of priesthood. It could be of no possible use for man to take any one of the eleven dead rods and make it the badge of the priestly office. All the human authority under the sun could not put life into a dead stick, or make that stick the channel of blessing to souls.
Even the kind of wood is part of the message:
The rod of Aaron was cut from the almond tree. Its name means "wakeful" in Hebrew, because among the trees it wakes quickest after the winter to bear the blossoms of its new life. This rod is a poetic figure of resurrection. The dead branch is cut off from its source of life. Yet it lives to bear its buds, bloom its blossoms, and yield its fruit in the very presence of the unfailing word of God.
Moses carried a rod too. Comparing the two shows why grace, not power, makes an end of the grumbling (older translations: "quite take away their murmurings"):
Moses' rod was the expression of power and authority. Aaron's rod was the lovely expression of that grace that quickens the dead... Power could crush the rebel. Authority might strike the sinner. But only mercy and grace could meet the need of an assembly of needy, helpless, sinful men, women, and children... The rod of authority could take away the murmurers; but the rod of grace could take away the murmurs.
Was the rod inside the ark, or only in front of it? One writer weighs how much the wording settles:
Reading Exodus 16:34 and Numbers 17:10, we might not have understood that the pot of manna and Aaron's rod were in the ark. Yet we cannot say those passages could not mean it... the words of Exodus 16 and of Numbers 17, "before the Testimony," may imply that they were placed where the tables were kept. That is all that we can say. Had it been written "before the ark of the Testimony," we should have known that they were never inside it.
Later, at Meribah, God told Moses to take a rod to the rock. Which rod it was changes what the scene teaches:
The rod ordered to be taken in this scene at Meribah was the rod which was before the Lord, which was Aaron's rod, and teaches us not about smiting, but about the resurrection and priesthood of Christ... How blessed now to know Jesus in resurrection glory! He is the Rock once smitten to save His people from death, but now before the Lord. We have only to look at Him, and adoring gratitude fills us; only to speak to Him, and His blessings flow with abundant refreshment.
One writer carries the hidden rod forward to Christ:
"Laid up in the ark," it is Christ abiding for them. Hidden from their view now because they rejected Him... Christ is in heaven on the Father's throne, and He remains a token against them until the present work of gathering out His church from among the Gentiles is complete. When the church is taken, then Christ will appear for them and the "token against" will be gone for ever. He will come forth as the living fruitful Rod, and then they shall bear fruit to God. Then their murmurings will be quite taken away.
- Rebellion. God keeps the rod as a token against the rebels. It is standing proof that no one but Aaron's house may come near.
- Resurrection. Eleven rods stayed dead. The almond rod — the "wakeful" tree — budded, blossomed and bore fruit. Priesthood rests on grace that brings life out of death.
- Grace. Moses' rod could remove the murmurers; only Aaron's rod could remove the murmurs. Authority crushes rebels. Only mercy meets the need of a helpless people.
- Kept. The rod sat where the tables of the law were. Commentators say the wording leaves open just how the ark held it.
- Coming. Hidden now, the living Rod will one day come out again, and the murmurings will be quite taken away.
And Moses did so as Jehovah had commanded him, so did he.
Numbers 17 ends a bitter fight over who may serve as priest: God makes one dead stick bud, blossom and bear almonds overnight. That rod is now ordered back into the sanctuary, and Moses does exactly what he was told — but why keep a dead stick at all?
Commentators draw a rule from this for anyone who faces doubts about what God has said:
So we would say to the Christian reader, and especially to the young Christian, never admit questions when God has spoken. If you do, Satan will have you under his foot in a moment. Your only security against him is that one unbreakable, immortal sentence: "It is written." It will never do to argue with him from experience, from feeling, or from what you observe. It must rest absolutely and only on this — that God is, and that God has spoken.
Moses had a rod of his own. The difference between the two rods explains why only Aaron's could carry the promise that the people would not die:
Moses' rod was the expression of power and authority. Aaron's rod was the lovely expression of that grace which gives life to the dead, and calls things that do not exist as though they did. Power or authority alone could not lead the people through the wilderness. Power could crush the rebel. Authority might strike the sinner. But only mercy and grace could serve an assembly of needy, helpless, sinful men, women, and children. The grace that could bring almonds out on a dead stick could bring Israel through the wilderness. Only with Aaron's budding rod could the Lord say, "You shall completely take away the murmurings of the children of Israel from me, so that they do not die." The rod of authority could take away the murmurers. The rod of grace could take away the murmurs.
(The older translation he quotes reads "murmurings" where the ESV has "grumblings.")
The rod was stored for a reason that cuts both ways, and Israel took in only half of it:
For Israel the rod confirmed Aaron in his office. Bearing blossoms and almonds, it was also the assurance of mercy. But the rod had another aspect, for it was laid up for a token against the rebels. If it declares God's goodness, it also brings their sin to mind... The people saw the token, but not the grace of God... There in the ark it had a place with the golden pot of manna and the two tables of the law, a wondrous combination of law, grace, and priesthood.
The same writer sees the hidden rod as a picture still running today:
"Laid up in the ark," it is Christ remaining for them. Hidden from their view now because they rejected Him... He will come forth as the living fruitful Rod, and then they shall bear fruit to God. Then their murmurings will be completely taken away.
The budded rod settled more than who was priest:
It was more than an unarguable sign that God had chosen the man. It was a deeply significant token of the true place of priesthood, pictured here as founded on death and resurrection. Clearly there is no bearing of fruit except according to the priesthood which the Lord chose for them. The rod was not merely the means of stopping the plague under an obvious divine judgment. It was the ongoing witness that real fruit fit for God's sanctuary springs only from the priesthood the Lord chose.
The rod was kept for use, not for display. It points to how blessing reaches God's people now:
Blessing flows to us only on the ground of the Lord's death. But He died only once. So the first time the people needed water, the rock was to be struck — a picture of the Lord's death on the cross. But blessing ever after would, and does, flow from His intercession as our High Priest on high... The rod spoke to God of the future high priesthood of His Son. The whole scene pictured in advance the blessedness of the Lord's active intercession for the people.
But the rod met a need that will one day end:
The preserved blossoming rod was a provision for the wilderness journey... When we reach our eternal home, the manna and the intercession of a merciful high priest are no longer needed.
- Rod of judgment — The rod is God's own verdict in a quarrel men could not settle. Moses carries out the command exactly as given.
- Rod of grace — Moses' rod could remove the murmurers. Aaron's living rod removes the murmurs. That is why it alone carries the promise that the people would not die.
- Rod of memory — Kept before the testimony, it speaks two things at once: a token against rebels and a pledge of mercy. Israel saw the first and missed the second.
- Rod of resurrection — Life came out of a dead stick. So all fruit fit for God's sanctuary traces back to the priesthood God chose — a priesthood founded on death and resurrection.
- Rod for the road — It was stored for the journey, not for eternity. A people kept alive now by priestly intercession will not need it at home.
And the children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, Lo, we expire, we perish, we all perish.
God had just settled who may serve Him as priest. Israel answered with terror, sure that anyone who came near God's tent would die. Why would people who had just seen God name His priest decide that nearness to God means death?
Not long before, these same people had claimed that the whole congregation was holy. One writer sets the two moments side by side. The quotes below use an older translation of the verse: "Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish."
The closing lines of chapter 17 give a remarkable illustration of how quickly the human mind passes from one extreme to another... In the previous chapter we see bold presumption in the very presence of the majesty of the Lord. There should have been deep humility. Here, in the presence of divine grace and its provisions, we see the fear and distrust that belong to law. So it always is. Mere nature understands neither holiness nor grace. One moment we hear words like these: "All the congregation are holy." The next moment the word is, "Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish." The natural mind presumes where it should hold back. It distrusts where it should trust.
Their conscience was awake, but it drew the wrong conclusion.
They were not forbidden access to God through the priest. They were only forbidden to take up the function of priesthood that belonged to Aaron and his sons. They expected death if they came near. Their unbelieving misreading of God's judgment brings on them the loss of privilege. They connected death with their access to God, not with their sin.
What makes the unbelief worse is its timing.
God had shown them that this grace existed, and they should have trusted it. They had already seen its power, when Aaron stood among the congregation and stopped the plague. They had ground for full assurance; but unbelief prevailed. They had no sense of the value of the priesthood, and their conscience was still under law. For they did not know God, though at that very moment He was acting for them in priestly grace.
The words are also a test of the person saying them.
If we are saying, "Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish. Whoever comes anything near to the tabernacle of the Lord shall die," we have got back under law. We are listening to the reasoning of our own hearts, and that is not faith. ... God's word does not know such a man as the one saying this; his saying it is just proof that he is not a "priest" at all. He does not know what righteousness is in coming into the presence of God. He does not know what grace is. He will neither come into the house nor perish — he is not in a condition to do either.
Israel got what they said. The next chapter turns their own words into a boundary line.
They said that anyone drawing near to the tabernacle would die. The result is that God now forbids them to draw near. "Neither must the children of Israel from now on come near the tent of meeting, lest they bear sin and die" (Num. 18:22). Their unbelief and mistrust of God damages their standing before God more than their earlier presumption did. It brings them down to the level of the stranger.
Their question — will we all perish? — gets its answer in the next chapter.
God's charge to Aaron and his sons to bear the iniquity of the sanctuary is clearly in answer to the question, "Shall we all perish?" (17:13)... The priesthood that had been the object of rebellion was to be their security. If it had not been for the priestly service they would all have been consumed by the wrath of God. Christ is again in view here. He always lives and intercedes for His own people. He is Jesus Christ the righteous, the propitiation for our sins. He bore the iniquity and the wrath Himself.
For the believer, the settled answer removes the cry altogether.
God loves us with the most perfect love. He cannot deal with us on any other ground. He loves us at this moment just as much as when He gave Christ to die for our sins... If it is all grace, the soul does not say "we die, we perish" — how can we die, where all is grace!
- Presumption — Chapter 16 claimed the whole congregation was holy; chapter 17 despairs. Nature swings between the two because it knows neither holiness nor grace.
- Misreading — They tied death to coming near God instead of to their sin. Access through the priest was never forbidden; taking the priest's place was.
- Law — "We perish" is the reasoning of the heart, not faith. Speak that way and you have stepped back under law.
- Loss — Their fear became their fence. Israel sank to the level of a stranger and lost the access mistrust refused to use.
- Priesthood — The answer to "shall we all perish?" is the priesthood they had rebelled against. Behind it stands Christ, who intercedes and bore the wrath Himself.
Every one that comes at all near to the tabernacle of Jehovah shall die shall we then expire altogether?
Numbers 17 ends in panic. God has just chosen Aaron by making a dead staff bud and bear almonds, and the people answer that they are all as good as dead. Their words raise the question the next chapter takes up: is God's presence among them a danger, or a gift they can trust?
This nation had just claimed that every Israelite was holy. Now it says nobody can come near at all. One commentator puts the two chapters side by side and sees the same human nature in both moods.
The closing lines of chapter 17 show in a striking way how quickly the human mind passes from one extreme to another... In the previous chapter we see bold presumption in the very presence of the majesty of the Lord, where there should have been deep humility. Here, in the presence of divine grace and its provisions, we see legal fear and distrust. So it always is. Mere nature understands neither holiness nor grace. One moment we hear words like these: "All in the congregation are holy"; the next moment the word is, "Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone." The carnal mind presumes where it ought to draw back; it distrusts where it ought to trust.
They had watched Aaron stand among the people and stop a plague. Their despair comes after the evidence, not before it.
God had shown them that this grace existed, and they should have trusted it. They had even seen its power when Aaron stood among the congregation and stopped the plague. They had grounds for full assurance; but unbelief won out. They were blind to the value of the priesthood, and their conscience was still under law. They did not know God, even at the very moment when He was acting for them in priestly grace.
Their fear had a cause, and a mistake at its heart. One writer hears their closing question as a fear of dying the way they had just watched others die.
The rod was there as a testimony, and Israel could not come near without remembering their sin and its judgment... Will we be consumed by fire, or by the earth opening and swallowing us up, the way we have seen? Blind unbelief! God had not forbidden them access to Him through the priest. He had only forbidden them to take up the priesthood that belonged to Aaron and his sons. Their unbelieving misreading of God's judgment costs them privilege. They connected death with access to God, rather than with their sin.
That misreading then shapes the law. What they said about themselves became their standing.
They said that anyone drawing near to the tabernacle would die. The result is that they may no longer draw near. "And henceforth the people of Israel shall not come near the tent of meeting, lest they bear sin and die" (Num. 18:22). Their unbelief and mistrust of God harms their standing before Him more than their earlier presumption did. They sink to the level of an outsider.
The next chapter answers this cry. The office they had despised turns out to be the reason they will not be consumed.
Here we have a divine answer to the question raised by the people of Israel, "Are we all to perish?" "No," says the God of all grace and mercy. And why not? Because Aaron and his sons "shall keep guard over the sanctuary and over the altar, that there may never again be wrath on the people of Israel." So the people learn that their security lay in the very priesthood they had despised and spoken against.
The same words can still be said today. One writer takes them as proof that the speaker has not grasped his place in God's house.
If God has people in His house, He will have them there as priests. If we are saying, "Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone. Everyone who comes near to the tabernacle of the LORD shall die," we have gone back under law. We are listening to the reasoning of our own hearts, and that is not faith... Talking like this only proves he is no priest at all. He does not know what righteousness is, in coming into the presence of God. He does not know what grace is. He will neither come into the house, nor perish — he is not in a condition to do either.
- Presumption flips. The crowd that claimed all were holy now says all will die. Human nature swings between the two and understands neither holiness nor grace.
- Grace refused. The rod and the stopped plague gave them solid ground for assurance. Unbelief won instead, and their conscience stayed under law.
- Wrong diagnosis. They linked death to drawing near, not to their sin. God had never closed access through the priest.
- Privilege lost. God takes them at their word. Israel may no longer come near, and their mistrust costs more than their earlier boldness did.
- Real answer. The despised priesthood is what keeps wrath away. Their security lay in the office they had fought against. Anyone still saying "we perish" has slipped back under law.