In Exodus 4:1-5, we read of Moses’ rod. In Exodus 4:20, we read of the rod of God.  In Exodus 7:9, we read of Aaron’s rod.  It was Aaron’s rod that played such an important part in bringing some of the plagues the Lord brought upon the Egyptians during Israel’s time of slavery there.  Some suggest that this is the same rod in each incident, and that is a possibility, however for our purpose here, there is no need to look into that. 

Let’s read Numbers 16:1-3, “Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men: And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?”  There was an insurrection and murmuring among the different tribes of Israel against Moses and Aaron.  It was the men of notoriety and fame that spoke to Moses and Aaron on behalf of the people.  They questioned why the Lord worked through them when there were twelve different tribes that the Lord could use.  In their rebellion they said, “Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy.” 

We read in Numbers 17:1-5, “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.”  The Lord would manifest His will to His people by using different rods from each tribe.  Each tribe was to bring to the tabernacle a rod with the name of their tribe imbedded upon each one.  Aaron’s name would be used for the tribe of Levi. 

Each tribe would bring a rod, or stick.  The rod, of course, was a simple piece of dead wood, much like a walking stick or hiking stick.  To signify His perfect will before the people, the Lord would cause the rod of His chosen one to produce buds.  Now no rod, even freshly cut off, when laid in a dry place, would bear ripe fruit in a single night. As a severed branch, the rod could not put forth shoots and blossom in a natural way. But Aaron’s priesthood was not founded upon natural qualifications and gifts but upon the power of the Spirit.

Numbers 17:8-9 tells us, “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.”  What happened to Aaron’s rod was beyond expectation.  Not only did his rod produce buds, but it also “bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds.”  God had spoken in no uncertain way and manifested that Moses and Aaron were His chosen leaders.  From a dead stick, the Lord produced living elements.  Once again, the Lord used Aaron’s rod to manifest His power and His will to His people.  This is surely a type of resurrection, and thus a type of the Lord Jesus Christ in His resurrection.  Today, our resurrected savior continues to work on our behalf as our High Priest as we read in Hebrews 4:14, “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.” 

Whatever became of Aaron’s rod?  We are told in Numbers 17:10, “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.”  As a continuing witness before the people, the rod was placed in the testimony, or ark.  This reminder was to cause the people to cease their murmuring against the will of God.  In describing the tabernacle, we read in Hebrews 9:4, “Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and AARON’S ROD THAT BUDDED, and the tables of the covenant.”  (CC)  (605.2)