“The rod
of Aaron… had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and yielded
ripe almonds.” Numbers 17:8
When we
read the Old Testament you can see a repeated cycle of God’s people
complaining, rebelling, being punished, and returning to God. I wonder why it
repeats the cycle so many times. It seems like we just cannot learn. I see that
with Sebin in our house. She seems to repeat things no matter what even when we
teach her not to do. For example, when it’s family worship time we gather
together to sing and read. Sebin loves holding her Bible. But when she is not
in a good mood, she throws the Bible! We would remind her that we shouldn’t
throw things, especially God’s Word. At first she seems to understand, but some
time later she would repeat that again!
Here in
Numbers 16 we see Korah and the people rebelling against Moses and Aaron. The
end of the chapter shows the consequences of the rebellion. In the following
chapter the Lord speaks to Moses. The Lord tells each tribe to bring out their
leader’s rod. The “rod of the man whom I [God] choose will blossom.” And it was
“The rod of Aaron… had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and
yielded ripe almonds.” Numbers 17:8. I like how the Andrews Study Bible
commentary describes this verse.
It says
the following: This was particularly
appropriate because the Hebrew term for “blossom” was also used for the high
priestly golden crown, rendered “plate” in Ex. 28:36. Moreover, the bowls of
the lampstand in the sanctuary were shaped like almond blossoms. This linked
them to the idea of “watchfulness,” the meaning of the root from which the
Hebrew word for “almond” is derived. Keeping the sanctuary lamps burning all
night emphasized that God is always watching over His people.
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