Reading… and Thinking

    And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: “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. And you shall write Aaron’s name on the rod of Levi… And 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.” …
    Now 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.

— Numbers 17:1-8 (NKJV)

The book of Numbers is, to a great extent, a record of the grumbling of the people of Israel against God and the leader He chose, Moses. The budding of Aaron’s rod, we’re told, was intended by God to put a stop to the complaining. It appears to have had the intended effect—the next time we read of any grumbling it’s in the final year of their wilderness experience.

What is there about a budding rod, that silenced the grumbling, when seemingly much more spectacular miracles didn’t? (Consider the plagues in Egypt, the Passover, the parting of the Red Sea, manna, water from the rock, and others.) I’m not sure I can answer the question of why, but it does prompt me to think more deeply about this miracle.

First of all, it becomes plain that Aaron’s rod had been cut from an almond tree, since it produced ripe almonds. Is that meaningful? It could be. The lampstand (menorah) in the tabernacle was designed to resemble an almond tree, with branches and blossoms. (See Exodus 25:31-37.) A sub-part of the miracle is that the revived almond rod, now a living almond tree, had buds, blossoms, and ripe almonds simultaneously, which would never occur naturally. But why specifically an almond tree?

Many generations later, Jeremiah saw a vision: “The word of the LORD came to me saying, ‘What do you see, Jeremiah? And I said, ‘I see a rod of an almond tree.’ Then the LORD said to me, ‘You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it.’ ” (Jer 1:11-12) The footnotes in many versions tell us that the Hebrew words for almond and watching are almost identical (shaqed and shoqed). So, the almond rod is an emblem of the Lord’s watchfulness over His word, a guarantee that His word is not idle chatter—it will be performed.

As we think some more, we might ask, “Is there any other incident where a piece of dead wood becomes a living tree, or is referred to in that way?” And the answer is yes! Jesus was nailed to a stake or post (which may or may not have had a cross-piece). That is, a dead beam or log. But look how the apostles refer to the cross of our Lord:

• The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. (Peter, in Acts 5:30)
• And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. (Peter, in Acts 10:39)
• Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. (Paul, in Acts 13:29)
• Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.” (Paul, in Galatians 3:13)
• [Jesus] himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. (1 Peter 2:24)

Peter and Paul, on multiple occasions, refer to the cross (dead wood) as a (living) tree! This is surely not accidental, and just as surely is intended to have a meaning. For us, the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is a tree of life! It’s not just about his death, on a dead piece of wood. It’s about the eternal life he gained at his resurrection!

And this reveals the truth of God’s declaration to Jeremiah, that He was watching over His word to ensure it was fulfilled. Jesus had tried to explain to his disciples that he must die, and must rise again, in order to fulfill the Scriptures. After his resurrection, he explained again, and this time they got it: “Then he said to them, ‘These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning me.’ And he opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.” (Luke 24:44-45)

So, we can see that the almond rod blossoming is very significant, foreshadowing God’s plan for resurrection. Very likely this passage from Numbers was among the writings of Moses that Jesus brought to the disciples’ attention during that phenomenal Bible class. As God assured Jeremiah, His word was performed!

But what of the Israelites in the wilderness? Would they have been able to discern any of this? Perhaps a few truly grasped the concept of God bringing life out of death. For us, with the whole Bible available, it’s much clearer. And yet, even today, how many dismiss Numbers and the rest of the books of Law as irrelevant, or too boring to pay attention to?

Surely we can do at least as well as the Israelites, who apparently got enough of the lesson to silence their complaining: “But the LORD said to Moses, ‘Put back the rod of Aaron before the Testimony to be kept as a sign against the rebels, that you may put an end to their grumblings against Me, so that they will not die.’ ” (Num 17:10) It sounds as though the living rod of Aaron was to be brought out whenever the complaining started. And by stopping the grumbling against God, it saved their lives.

Can we take the lesson? We’re just as prone to complaining about things as the Israelites were. The solution, so that we won’t die, is to bring out the “tree” on which Jesus was crucified – that is, to remember not only that he died, but rose again, and that this is our salvation!