Deeper Commentary
Num 17:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying-
God's efforts here were so that the leadership of Moses and Aaron
would be accepted, so that others wouldn't be slain for pretending to the
priesthood (:9). We marvel at His grace. The people had returned to Egypt
in their hearts, and were looking to overthrow the leadership so they
could appoint a captain who would lead them back there. It was only God's
desire to finally save His resistant people that meant He went to this
effort to preserve the spiritual leadership of Aaron. Truly God has no
pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather ever seeks to save.
Num 17:2 Speak to the children of Israel, and take of them rods, one for
each father’s house, of all their princes according to their fathers’
families, twelve rods. Write every man’s name on his rod-
The names written were presumably the names of the heads of the
tribes (:3). "Rods" can also mean "tribes", so a rod was an appropriate
symbol for a tribe (Gen. 49:10). This incident is really a
commentary on the rebellion of chapter 16. Just as Korah and the rebels
had come "before Yahweh" to offer their incense, so the rods were placed
before Yahweh. Aaron's rod was chosen, and was returned to permanent
status "before Yahweh", just as Aaron and the Levites were confirmed as
the priestly tribe. The process with the budding rod took took two days
(Num. 17:33), just as the trial of Korah did (Num. 16:16).
Num 17:3 You shall write Aaron’s name on the rod of Levi; for there shall
be one rod for each head of their fathers’ families-
The exercise was in order to declare the spiritual leader of the
people, and so Aaron's name was placed on Levi's rod; for Aaron was, as it
were, the candidate God was putting forward.
Num 17:4 You shall lay them up in the Tent of Meeting before the
testimony, where I meet with you-
God met with Israel over the ark in the most holy place (Ex. 25:22;
30:6; Num. 17:4). But they were never allowed there. And so He also "met"
(s.w.) with Israel at the door of the tabernacle, and spoke with them
there (Ex. 29:42,43; 30:36). But the word for "meet" is used in Am. 3:3,
where God laments that Israel had not "met" with Him and therefore they
could not walk further together. The idea of the "meeting" was that God's
word might be revealed, so that the people could walk with Him in His
ways. It was an awesome invitation, to be able to meet with the God who
only otherwise met with His people in the glory of the most holy place,
over the ark. He as it were came out of that most holy place and met with
them at the door of the tabernacle. But they weren't interested. Just as
so many today.
Num 17:5 It shall happen, that the rod of the man whom I shall choose
shall bud; and I will make to cease from Me the murmurings of the children
of Israel, which they murmur against you-
See on Num. 26:9. Israel’s rejection of Moses was a rejection of the
God who was working through Moses to redeem them. Thus Korah and his
followers “strove against Moses... when they strove against Yahweh” (Num.
26:9 cp. 16:11). Moses understood that when Israel murmured against him,
they murmured against Yahweh (Ex. 16:2,7; Num. 17:5; 21:5). They
thrust Moses away from them (Acts 7:27,39) - yet the same
word is used in Rom. 11:2 concerning how God still has not cast away
Israel; He has not treated them as they treated Him through their
rejection of Moses and Jesus, who manifested Him.
The Hebrew for "murmur" is the word for "stop", and is usually
translated in that way. The idea is that they didn't want to go further on
the journey; they wanted to return to Egypt. Despite the wonder of the Red
Sea deliverance. Their hearts truly were in Egypt. This sense of not
wanting to go onwards towards the Kingdom, to put a brake on God's saving
process, is the same temptation which in essence afflicts all God's people
who have started the journey with Him. Their murmuring against Moses was a
murmuring against God; our attitude to our brethren is our attitude to
God.
Num 17:6 Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and all their princes gave
him rods, for each prince one, according to their fathers’ families, even
twelve rods; and the rod of Aaron was among their rods-
Or, 'was a part of their rods'. Perhaps to achieve fairness, one long
rod was cut up into twelve smaller sections. This meant that presumably
the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh were counted as one tribe, as there
were to be 12 rods. However, the fact the tribes were each invited to give
a rod suggests that the rods were the existing symbols of eldership
possessed by the princes of the tribes. Aaron's rod has featured
previously (Ex. 7:8-10,19-21; 8:5,6). And it could be argued that in the
Exodus record, Moses' rod is functionally the same as that of Aaron.
Num 17:7 Moses laid up the rods before Yahweh in the tent of the
testimony-
All the rods were cut off and dry, unable to produce fruit. The fact
Aaron's rod budded and bore fruit was therefore evidence of God's grace
through the Spirit, giving life and fruit to that which was otherwise
unable to bear fruit. The idea was that Aaron and his descendants were not
intrinsically better than the other tribes; for this was the impression
which the other tribes had. He was simply the chosen channel for the
Spirit in the particular work of priesthood. And it is the same with any
used by God in public ministry.
Num 17:8 It happened on the next day that Moses went into the tent of the
testimony, and behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded,
and put forth buds, and produced blossoms, and bore ripe almonds-
The language of budding, blossoming and bearing fruit is used in Is.
27:6 about all Israel. The
initial hearers of Isaiah’s words would have thought back to how Aaron’s
rod budded, blossomed and bore fruit as a sign that God had chosen that
family and not all Israel. However, Is. 27:6 makes it clear that God’s
ideal intention was that all Israel would be a nation of priests (Ex.
19:6). This came to fulfilment in essence with the end of the Levitical
priesthood and the establishment of all those in Christ as a new
priesthood (1 Pet. 2:5).
The “almond is the first tree of spring in the Near East” and “the last to shed its leaves”. The almond tree therefore suggested speed of judgment. This is a commentary upon the speed of judgment in Num. 16 upon those who resisted the choice of the Levites. We think too of how Uzziah was struck down immediately for offering incense when not a Levite (2 Chron. 26:18). The large white blossoms were the pattern for the bowls of the lamps on the candlestick (Ex. 25:33,34). It was perhaps seen as symbolic of the tree of life. The priesthood could be a tree of life to Israel, but only insofar as it pointed forward to the Lord Jesus, the ultimate priest.
The almond is the first tree in Palestine to bud, so it means literally the watching tree, as if it were alive and eager to come to life. The High Priests were to pronounce the blessing that Yahweh would blessand watch over His people (Num. 6:24). They were the channel for that blessing. The idea is that the fruit on the almond was a kind of firstfruit, with promise of further fruit amongst other trees. It had always been God's intention that all Israel should be a nation of priests. The fruit was a sign of what the work of the priests should achieve for all Israel; the essence was not the rod but the fruit. God wanted Israel as a whole to be fruitful; He wanted them all to blossom, bud and fill the earth with fruit (Is. 27:6). The priesthood were to be but a foretaste and firstfruit of a far greater blossoming of all Israel. And yet this remained God's intention only. The whole idea was reapplied and reinterpreted for fulfilment in the Lord Jesus and all in Him.
The candlestick is described in similar terms, having bowls like almonds, flowers [s.w. "buds"] and blossoms (Ex. 25:31-34). The idea was that the priesthood should be like the candlestick, giving light in the darkness of the tabernacle where there was no natural light, and illuminating the way towards the most holy place and fellowship with Yahweh Himself. The people were bidden see Aaron's budded, blossoming rod as a kind of candlestick. For that was how the priesthood was to be through the teaching of God's word to Israel and bringing them towards fellowship with God. Hence the imagery of the candlestick is later applied to all believers (the church is the candlestick, Rev. 1:20), for it is God's intention now that all believers are priests (1 Pet. 2:5).
Num 17:9 Moses brought out all the rods from before Yahweh to all the
children of Israel: and they looked, and took every man his rod-
God's interpretation of the almond rod in Jer. 1:11,12 was that "I
watch over My word to perform it". The word translated 'hasten' or "watch
over" is very similar to the word for 'almond'. Almonds are associated
with God's eyes; the bowls of the lampstands were almonds (Ex. 25:33,34).
Zech. 4:2 talks about these almond bowls on the candlestick, and Zech.
4:10 interprets them as the "eyes of Yahweh which run to and fro through
the whole earth". 2 Chron. 16:9 talks about the Angels in the same way;
"the eyes of Yahweh run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show
Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him".
Similarly in Rev. 4:5 the lamps in the bowls of almond are equated with
the "seven spirits (or Angels) of God". Rev. 5:6 equates the seven eyes
with the seven spirits. Thus the almond rod which Jeremiah saw represented
God's eyes or Angels who would watch over the word of God which Jeremiah
was to speak to perform it. Jeremiah was a priest, and this was to have
been true for all the priests. Their most important role was to teach
God's word. They are called elohim just as are the priests. All
Israel could have been priests, that was God's original intention; but
they failed, and so He had chosen a specific family to do this work. But
it was ever His intention to make all Israel blossom and bud (see on :8).
,
Num 17:10 Yahweh said to Moses, Put back the rod of Aaron before the
testimony, to be kept for a token against the children of rebellion; that
you may make an end of their murmurings against me, that they not die-
LXX "a sign for the children of the disobedient; and let their
murmuring cease from me". It seems that this is directed at the family
members of those slain in Korah's rebellion and the plague which followed.
Despite the dramatic deaths of around 15,000 people (Num. 16:32,49), it
seems that their relatives were still murmuring and were likely to also be
slain. Aaron had successfully interceded for the plague to be stopped and
for all Israel not to be destroyed as God had intended. And yet despite
such grace and all that empirical, visible evidence, they still wanted to
overthrow Moses and have a captain to take them back to Egypt. For they
had returned there in their hearts. It was only God's desire to ultimately
save His people which meant that He persevered with His plan, and
therefore went to the trouble of giving further evidence that Moses and
Aaron were His chosen leaders. And He did this "that they not die".
He didn't want to slay anyone.
The chosen rod was specifically that of Aaron, it had his name written on it, just as the other rods had the names of the tribal leaders and not the tribes written on them. The selected rod showed "the man I choose" (:5, not "the tribe"). The rod that blossomed was the chosen High Prist. Aaron had been the salvation of sinful Israel through his powerful intercession in the previous chapter. His rod represented that indeed he and his priesthood were the channel God had chosen rather than the rest of Israel. But Aaron was himself sinful. His rod had once become a serpent earlier (Ex. 7:8-10). But now it blossomed eternally [the blossoms apparently didn't wither] with the buds of new resurrection life coming from the dead wood. This all looked forward to the Lord Jesus, "the man I choose" (:5, not "the tribe") who was the ultimate high priest who would save. Despite having once been human [cp. the rod once being a serpent]. There were buds, blossom and fruit on the rod. We see in this the way the Lord had His own fruit but also promise of future fruit through us. Although there is also the idea of judgment: "Behold, the day, behold, it comes: your doom is gone forth; the rod has blossomed, pride has budded... The rod of My son condemns every tree" (Ez. 7:10; 21:10). So the rod was both a token of judgment to rebellious people, as :10 states, and also the guarantee of their salvation, "that they not perish". This is what we see in the Lord Jesus- the token of both judgment and salvation. It's why the cup of wine from the Lord's hand is a double symbol, of both judgment and salvation. For there shall only be one of two possible exits from the day of judgment. The Lord is called "the rod" from the stem of Jesse (Is. 11:1). The menorah lampstand likewise had buds and blosoms (Ex. 25:31-36) looking ahead to the Lord Jesus as the light / lampstand of the world (Jn. 8:12). The wood of blessing clearly also speaks of the stake of wood upon which the Lord was crucified.
Later in Num. 20:9 Moses is asked to take this rod from "before Yahweh" and speak to the rock, so that water would flow for them. The rod being "before Yahweh" refers back to how Aaron's rod that budded was placed before Yahweh (Num 17:22). So it was that rod which was used, and abused. The symbol of God's choice of Aaron was abused by Moses as if it had power of itself. We note that "his [Moses'] rod" in Num. 20:11 is lacking in the LXX and Vulgate, rendering simply "the rod". They used this symbolic piece of wood as if it had power in itself, just as some consider the physical wood of the Lord's cross to have some magic power. And they were condemned for doing so. The same error occured with the bronze serpent. Moses was asked to hold the rod because it was the symbol of warning to a rebellious people.
Num 17:11 Moses did so. As Yahweh commanded him, so he did-
The obedience of Moses is stressed throughout the records, and is
used to present him as a type of the Lord Jesus (Heb. 3:2,5). The point
here may be that Moses as a non priest, a Levite and not the High Priest,
had entered the most holy place before the "testimony" and the very
presence of God, and then re-entered it a second time- and had not been
slain. Because God is not a literalist nor legalist. It would not have
been appropriate if Aaron had done this, as he was as it were one of the
candidates. Constantly we see God overriding the letter of His own law in
order to keep the Spirit of it.
Num 17:12 The children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, Behold, we
perish! We are undone! We are all undone!-
Their sense that they are condemned and liable to destruction comes
right after the declaration of Aaron's family as the rightful priests. We
wonder why they now feared so much. Presumably they had continued some
plan to take over the tabernacle service and leadership; see on :5,13.
Isaiah quotes these words when he feels he has come too close to God's
presence (Is. 6:5). It would seem that despite the mass destruction of
15,000 such rebels in Num. 16, many still wanted to rebel, and had come
too close to the tabernacle; hence :13 LXX laments that whoever touched
the tabernacle would die. Perhaps there was yet another [unrecorded]
outbreak of judgment after Aaron's rod was revealed, and now the rest of
Israel are recoiling from it, fearing that they will "all perish" (:13).
Num 17:13 Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of
Yahweh, dies! Will we all perish?-
LXX "Who touches...". it would seem that they had touched the
tabernacle or had attempted to "come near" to Yahweh as the priests alone
were to "draw near" to Him.
The people feared they would perish after Aaron's rod was chosen because the whole congregation had backed Korah's attempt to share the priesthood amongst the whole people. But the comfort was that it was in fact through the mediation of a Levite, Aaron, that they were saved from this [repeated in Num. 18:1]. Although as with the Lord's sacrifice, they didn't appreciate this.
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