October 8, 2025 - Numbers 17:1-10 - "The Budding of Aaron's Rod"

Numbers 17:1-10

"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod according to the house of their fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their fathers twelve rods: write thou every man's name upon his rod. And thou shalt write Aaron's name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers. And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet with you. And it shall come to pass, that the man's rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against you. And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers' houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. And Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness. And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds. And Moses brought out all the rods from before the LORD unto all the children of Israel: and they looked, and took every man his rod. And the LORD said unto Moses, Bring Aaron's rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not."

“And the LORD spake unto Moses.” It is the LORD Who speaks. Salvation begins not with man, but with God Who reveals His will, Who appoints His Mediator, Who confirms His own righteousness before all the congregation. In this passage, the LORD commands that twelve rods be taken, one for each house of their fathers, and that Aaron’s name be written upon the rod of Levi. Each rod was but a dry stick — lifeless, fruitless, dead. Yet the LORD would make one rod to live, that all murmuring might cease, and that His chosen priest be made known.

This is a picture of the Gospel. It is the LORD’s doing, not man’s. “I will make to cease from me the murmurings,” He says. The test of the rods was not for Moses’ sake, nor for Aaron’s, but for Israel’s — that they might see the difference between that which God has chosen and that which man would presume to offer. “No man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron” (Hebrews 5:4).

The LORD’s appointed Mediator stands in contrast to every false claimant. The rod of Aaron was laid up among the rest in the tabernacle before the testimony, in the presence of God. And it was there, in that place of death, that life sprang forth. “And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds” (Numbers 17:8). From death came life. A dead rod — a symbol of man’s helplessness — became fruitful. This is the Gospel: life from death. Christ Himself, the greater Aaron, was made to die, yet in Him was life. “As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous” (Romans 5:19). His resurrection is the budding of the rod, the divine proof that He is the appointed High Priest over the house of God.

The LORD would have His people know that salvation is through His chosen Priest alone. “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). The murmuring of Israel against God’s way of salvation is the murmuring of every natural heart. Men want another priest, another way, another means of acceptance. But God will have none of it. He puts an end to all self-righteous effort by exalting His own Priest — the One He has chosen, the One Who lives though He was dead. When Moses brought out the rods, each man’s rod was as it was — dry, dead, unchanged. Only one bore fruit. So it is with all who stand before God apart from Christ. They remain as they are, lifeless, under condemnation. But in the rod of Aaron, in Christ, there is fruit — the fruit of righteousness, of life everlasting. “Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth” (Isaiah 42:1).

And the LORD said unto Moses, “Bring Aaron’s rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels” (Numbers 17:10). The token remains — a continual witness that life is found only in God’s chosen Mediator. The budding rod was laid before the ark, beside the tables of the law and the golden pot of manna (Hebrews 9:4). Yet in time, when Solomon brought the ark into the temple, “there was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone” (1 Kings 8:9). The law remained because the law must be fulfilled. The rod had served its purpose — the Priest had come, and the promise had been fulfilled in Christ.

Here is the end of all murmuring. Here is the peace of the Gospel. The dead rod has blossomed. Christ has risen. God’s Priest lives and reigns forever (Acts 2:31-37). Life has come from death, righteousness from substitution, peace through the blood of the cross. “That they die not,” says the LORD — for in His chosen Priest, death has been taken away, and everlasting life has been brought to light.