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.