Numbers 17
Aaron’s Rod
1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2"Speak to the children of Israel, and get from them a rod from each father’s house, all their leaders according to their fathers’ houses--twelve rods. Write each man’s name on his rod. 3And you shall write Aaron’s name on the rod of Levi. For there shall be one rod for the head of each father’s house. 4Then you shall place them in the tabernacle of meeting before the Testimony, where I meet with you. 5And it shall be that the rod of the man whom I choose will blossom; thus I will rid Myself of the complaints of the children of Israel, which they make against you."
6So Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and each of their leaders gave him a rod apiece, for each leader according to their fathers’ houses, twelve rods; and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. 7And Moses placed the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness.
8Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses went into the tabernacle of witness, and behold, the rod of Aaron, of the house of Levi, had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds.
9Then Moses brought out all the rods from before the LORD to all the children of Israel; and they looked, and each man took his rod.
10And the LORD said to Moses, "Bring Aaron’s rod back before the Testimony, to be kept as a sign against the rebels, that you may put their complaints away from Me, lest they die." 11Thus did Moses; just as the LORD had commanded him, so he did.
After the service last Sunday I was wondering what passage to preach on this week. I seemed to be hearing Numbers 17 in my mind. This is the story of how the rod of Aaron miraculously buds. I wondered what was so significant about this passage that the Lord highlighted it in mind. As I reflected on it this week, I began to see some profound truths in this passage.
The background of this chapter is that the people of Israel have challenged the authority of Aaron. In Numbers 17 we read of how God had quelled the rebellion of Korah and his followers. Even after God destroyed the rebels against Moses and Aaron, there were still challenges against their authority. There were especially challenges to Aaron’s position as high priest.
In Numbers 17, God establishes a test. All of the leaders of the twelve tribes were to submit a rod from their leaders. The names of each leader were to be written on the rods and then these were to be placed before the Ark of the Covenant. The rod that would bud would be the one that would indicate the one chosen to be the High Priest.
Let us examine some details of this story at this point. The Hebrew word for rod in this passage is mattah. It is no accident that God chose the Hebrew language for the Old Testament. What we often find in the Old Testament is that God often uses words with double meanings to prove a point.
This word, mattah, has several meanings. It can mean a rod or a branch. It can have the meaning of chastisement as with a rod or governing as with a scepter. It can be a walking staff and it can also represent the support of life. This word mattah is used in the following verse out of Ezekiel 4:16:
Ezekiel 4
16 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment: (King James)
The word mattah can also mean tribe.
In this passage we see that twelve rods are chosen to represent twelve tribes. As we have mentioned, mattah is the same word used for tribe and rod.
The rod of Aaron in this story has two qualities:
1. It is alive
2. It is fruitful
I. It is alive
We read in this account that it is the staff representing the tribe of Levi that buds. I once wondered why God chose the tribe of Levi to provide spiritual leadership for the nation of Israel.
In the book of Genesis we see that Levi was one of Jacob’s worse sons. Consider Jacob’s last words to Levi:
Genesis 49
5"Simeon and Levi are brothers;
Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place.
6Let not my soul enter their council;
Let not my honor be united to their assembly;
For in their anger they slew a man,
And in their self-will they hamstrung an ox.
7Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;
And their wrath, for it is cruel!
I will divide them in Jacob
And scatter them in Israel.
(New King James)
From reading this passage it seems that Levi would be on the bottom of the list to be chosen to lead the spiritual life in Israel. This, however, was not the case. So why Levi? Why not Judah or one of the other tribes? I believe the answer to this question is in the meaning of the name of Levi.
The name Levi means “attached.” I believe this meaning is significant. In the Old Testament names have great meaning. I believe that God in choosing Levi is saying that He is seeking a people who would be attached to Him.
What did all the twelve staffs have in common before they were brought before the Testimony? They were all dead pieces of wood that had been broken off from their life source. In this story we see that the staff of Aaron blooms. If a normal staff cannot bloom because it has been severed from its life source, then the staff of Aaron blooms because it is attached to a life source—God Himself.
I believe God chose the tribe of Levi to be the spiritual leader of Israel to show that such a position is not based on personal ability or merit, but rather on one’s attachment to Him. If we have life at all in our lives it is only because we are attached to Christ!
In John 15:5-8, Jesus speaks of branches:
John 15
5"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will[1] ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
God does not intend for His church or His children to be dead branches, but rather alive! When people saw Aaron’s branch they took notice of it because it was different than the other rods everyone else carried. They weren’t just dead sticks! Where those rods were dead and barren, Aaron’s rod was full of life!
Just as the rod resurrected with life confirmed Aaron’s position over the other tribal leaders, so the resurrection of Christ confirms Him as the True Messiah over false religious leaders such as Buddha or Mohammed.
I believe that the reason why many churches are in decline today is because they are just dead sticks. They once may have been alive, but somewhere in their history they became broken from their Life Source. Many churches and denominations start out as great movements of God and then become monuments to those movements.
After time, those monuments become mausoleums. Such is also true of individual believers who have fallen away. They have allowed themselves to be broken away from the Life Source and thus have the appearance of every other dead stick in the world. We must ask ourselves: When people see us what do they see? Do we look like all the other dead sticks in the world or do we manifest the life of Jesus?
II. It is fruitful
The great thing about the rod of Aaron is that it is not just alive, but fruitful. It has almonds growing on it. Now something about a fruitful plant is that it has something to give away. I can imagine that when Aaron was walking about the Israelite camp with his rod that children must have run up to him asking for almonds.
I don’t know if Aaron actually gave away any of the almonds on his staff, but thinking about this made me think about our own spiritual lives. When I consider our position as believers, God certainly desires that we would have fruit to give away.
God does not desire that we as believers would just keep the life of God to ourselves, but that we would be able to share His presence with other people. What is the fruit of the Christian life?
Galatians 5
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
Have you ever seen ripe apples on a neighbor’s tree that you wanted to partake of? May the spiritual fruit in our lives be so tantalizing to those in the world that they would want to partake of it! May the peace and love in our lives be so real that others would desire to partake of that fruit!
As I was preparing this lesson, I reflected on the different purposes that staffs had in the time of Aaron.
I. Identity
In Numbers 17, we see that Aaron’s staff was a source of identity for him. It was certainly the most famous staff mentioned in the Bible. It was the staff of Aaron that was cast down before Pharaoh and transformed into a serpent.
It was the raised staff of Aaron that the waters of the Nile were turned red and other miracles were wrought. In Numbers 17, we see that a budding staff would confirm his position as the spiritual leader of Israel. When Aaron walked about the camp of Israel, he carried with him life and spiritual authority!
As I reflected on this I felt challenged. We as believers need to spiritual authority everywhere we go. This isn’t something just for Old Testament priests or modern day clergy, but something for all believers. Those of you who have secular jobs come into contact with lost people everyday.
In what ways do you represent Christ to the people you work with? Do they sense a real spiritual authority governing your life? What many people in the world are seeking is genuine spiritual authority. Consider Matthew 7:28-29:
“And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”
We as believers are called to be Jesus to a lost and dying world. For those of us genuinely saved, we are the authority on spiritual matters when relating to lost people. God would desire that we would carry that authority as confidently as Aaron carried his rod.
II. Security
It seemed that staffs during the time of Aaron were often used as weapons or to stave off wild animals. It was likely with a staff that Moses drove off the shepherds that challenged the daughters of the priest of Midian in Exodus 2.
When people looked upon the rod of Aaron perhaps they were reminded in how they trusted in their own rods for security. They saw something different with Aaron’s rod, however, from their own. His rod alive with the presence of God.
Aaron in carrying the living staff reminded the Israelites that they were to put their trust in a living God and not in the dead wood or metal of idols. God repeatedly reminded the Israelites that their military successes were not due to their own prowess, but in His power—a power He often manifested through Moses and Aaron.
David in writing the twenty-third found comfort in the strength of God, symbolized by a staff.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4
These days many people look to different things for their security. They look to the things of the world. They look to the dead stick instead of the living vine.
What do we put our security in times of difficulty? Is it in the dead wood of this world or in a living and loving God?
III. Support
As Aaron was getting along in years I imagine that he leaned onto his rod for support. As I mentioned before, one of the places we see staff or mattah mentioned in scripture is Ezekiel 4:16.
Ezekiel 4
16 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment: (King James)
Staffs, indeed, seem to hold great significance for the ancient Hebrews. Here staff is used figuratively to speak of the support of life. As I reflect on the staff being something that one leans on to as a support of life, I have to ask what is that we often lean on? Do we lean on that which is living or that which is dead?
The Apostle Paul faced many difficult circumstances in his life—situations that would have shattered him if he had relied on his own strength. We read in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 of a time in his life when he had to especially lean on the presence of God.
“And lest I should be exalted above all measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” –2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NKJV
Paul in one of His most difficult hours leaned upon the Living Vine—Jesus Christ. What is it that we lean on in the most difficult circumstances? The world? Our own resources? All of that is only dead sticks compared to Jesus Christ. A dead stick will break under certain pressure, but the Living Vine will support us no matter what!
What is it we carry in the world we live in? Is it barren and ordinary much like the staffs of other people? Or is it the living and fruitful? Do people see that you carry that which is living or that which dead? Does your life bear fruit that others would want to partake of?
What do you identify yourself with? That which is worldly and dead or that which is living and eternal? What do you look to for your security? What do you look to for your support?
This morning there are some of you who have never made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. I want to tell you that you can experience a love and transformation by God that you have never experienced before.
You may feel like a dead stick. I want to tell you this morning that there is hope. I want to tell you that the Spirit of God in you can transform you to become all that He has intended you to be. I believe that God is interceding for you now and that you need only respond to what He is telling you to do this morning.
