Numbers · Chapter 17

V. 2. Of every one-Not of every person, but of every tribe. A rod-That staff, or rod, which the princes carried in their hands as tokens of their dignity and authority. Every man’s name-Every prince’s: for they being the first-born, and the chief of their tribes might above all others pretend to the priesthood, if it was communicable to any of their tribes, and besides each prince represented all his tribe: so that this was a full decision of the question. And this place seems to confirm, that not only Korah and the Levites, but also those of other tribes contested with Moses and Aaron about the priesthood, as that which belonged to all the congregation they being all holy.

Verse 2. And take of every one of them a rod] hcm matteh, the staff or sceptre, which the prince or chief of each tribe bore, and which was the sign of office or royalty among almost all the people of the earth.

Verse 2. Take of every one — Not of every person, but of every tribe. A rod — A twig, or branch, from one and the same almond-tree, as some infer from verse 8. Or, according to others, the ordinary rods which the princes of the tribes carried in their hands, as tokens of their dignity and authority, Numbers 21:18. And indeed the miracle would appear the greater, if neither Aaron’s rod, nor any of the rest, was of the almond-tree. But the miracle was sufficiently great either way to demonstrate the extraordinary interposition of Providence. Every man’s name — Every prince’s: for they being the firstborn, and the chief of their tribes, might, above all others, pretend to the priesthood, if it was communicable to any of their tribes; and besides, the prince represented all his tribe: so that this was a full decision of the question. And this place seems to confirm the opinion, that not only Korah and the Levites, but also those of other tribes, contended with Moses and Aaron about the priesthood, as that which belonged to all the congregation, they being all holy.

2. A rod — Each chief prince of the twelve tribes bore a staff or sceptre as the sign of office. Such rods were often hereditary, and of great antiquity. That such dry staves should blossom and bear fruit again is so improbable that the Greeks were accustomed to swear by their sceptres. Thus Achilles: “But hearken, I will swear a solemn oath,

By this sceptre, which shall never bud,

Nor boughs bring forth, as once.”

Write… every man’s name — To identify beyond dispute the rod of Aaron after the trial. The illiteracy of Moses and his generation as alleged by some modern writers is here abundantly confuted. Since there were twelve rods, including Levi’s, it is evident that the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim are here counted as one tribe — that of Joseph.

V. 3. Aaron’s name-Rather than Levi’s, for that would have left the controversy undecided between Aaron and the other Levites, whereas this would justify the appropriation of the priesthood to Aaron’s family. One rod-There shall be in this, as there is in all the other tribes, only one rod, and that for the head of their tribe, who is Aaron in this tribe: whereas it might have been expected that there should have been two rods, one for Aaron, and another for his competitors of the same tribe. But Aaron’s name was sufficient to determine both the tribe, and that branch or family of the tribe, to whom this dignity should be affixed.

Verse 3. Aaron’s name — Rather than Levi’s, for that would have left the controversy undecided between Aaron and the other Levites, whereas this would justify the appropriation of the priesthood to Aaron’s family. One rod — There shall be in this, as there is in all the other tribes, only one rod, and that for the head of their tribe, who is Aaron in this tribe: whereas it might have been expected that there should have been two rods, one for Aaron and another for his competitors of the same tribe. But Aaron’s name was sufficient to determine both the tribe, and that branch or family of the tribe to whom this dignity should be affixed.

V. 4. Before the testimony-That is, before the ark of the testimony, close by the ark. I will meet with you-And manifest my mind to you, for the ending of this dispute.

Verse 4. Before the testimony — That is, before the ark of the testimony, close by the ark. I will meet with you — And manifest my mind to you, for the ending of this dispute.

4. Before the testimony — Or, ark of the covenant containing the testimony of Jehovah. Exodus 25:21.

Verse 5. The man’s rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom] It was necessary that something farther should be done to quiet the minds of the people, and for ever to settle the dispute, in what tribe the priesthood should be fixed. God therefore took the method described in the text, and it had the desired effect; the Aaronical priesthood was never after disputed.

5. Whom I shall choose — That is, select for the priesthood. Cease… murmurings — Suppress them beyond all possibility of a revival. Jehovah’s claims are set forth in his word with such cogency that there is no just ground for gainsaying. On all questions of duty there is a redundancy of evidence.

V. 6. Among their rods-Was laid up with the rest, being either one of the twelve, as the Hebrews affirm, or the thirteenth, as others think.

Verse 6. The rod of Aaron was among their rods — Was laid up with the rest, being either one of the twelve, as the Hebrews affirm, or the thirteenth, as others think.

7. Witness — The Hebrew is the same as that for testimony in verse 4. The reason for choosing this place may have been that no one would suspect the performance of any legerdemain or jugglery in the holy of holies, a sanctuary too awful for any man to enter but the high priest one day in the year. Moses entered on this occasion by express command.

V. 8. Into the tabernacle-Into the most holy place, which he might safely do under the protection of God’s command, though otherwise none but the high-priest might enter there, and that once in a year.

Verse 8. The rod of Aaron-was budded, &c.] That is, on the same rod or staff were found buds, blossoms, and ripe fruit. This fact was so unquestionably miraculous, as to decide the business for ever; and probably this was intended to show that in the priesthood, represented by that of Aaron, the beginning, middle, and end of every good work must be found. The buds of good desires, the blossoms of holy resolutions and promising professions, and the ripe fruit of faith, love, and obedience, all spring from the priesthood of the Lord Jesus. It has been thought by some that Aaron’s staff (and perhaps the staves of all the tribes) was made out of the amygdala communis, or common almond tree. In a favourable soil and climate it grows to twenty feet in height; is one of the most noble, flourishing trees in nature: its flowers are of a delicate red, and it puts them forth early in March, having begun to bud in January. It has its name dqv shaked from shakad, to awake, because it buds and flowers sooner than most other trees. And it is very likely that the staves of office, borne by the chiefs of all the tribes, were made of this tree, merely to signify that watchfulness and assiduous care which the chiefs should take of the persons committed, in the course of the Divine providence, to their keeping.

Every thing in this miracle is so far beyond the power of nature, that no doubt could remain on the minds of the people, or the envious chiefs, of the Divine appointment of Aaron, and of the especial interference of God in this case. To see a piece of wood long cut off from the parent stock, without bark or moisture remaining, laid up in a dry place for a single night, with others in the same circumstances-to see such a piece of wood resume and evince the perfection of vegetative life, budding, blossoming, and bringing forth ripe fruit at the same time, must be such a demonstration of the peculiar interference of God, as to silence every doubt and satisfy every scruple. It is worthy of remark that a sceptre, or staff of office, resuming its vegetative life, was considered an absolute impossibility among the ancients; and as they were accustomed to swear by their sceptres, this circumstance was added to establish and confirm the oath. A remarkable instance of this we have in HOMER, Iliad, lib. i., ver. 233, &c., where Achilles, in his rage against Agamemnon, thus speaks:— AllJ ek toi erew, kai epi megan orkon omoumai\

Nai ma tode skhptron, to men oupote fulla kai ozouv

Fusei, epeidh prwta tomhn en opessi leloipen,

OudJ anaqhlhsei\ peri gar ra e calkov eleye

Fulla te kai floion\ . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

o de toi megav essetai orkov.

But hearken: I shall swear a solemn oath:

By this same sceptre which shall never bud,

Nor boughs bring forth, as once; which, having left

Its parent on the mountain top, what time

The woodman’s axe lopp’d off its foliage green,

And stripp’d its bark, shall never grow again.

COWPER.

VIRGIL represents King Latinus swearing in the same way, to confirm his covenant with Æneas:—

Ut SCEPTRUM hoc (dextra sceptrum nam forte gerebat)

Nunquam fronde levi fundet virgulta neque umbras,

Cum semel in silvis imo de stirpe recisum.

Matre caret, posuitque comas et brachia ferro;

Olim arbos, nunc artificis manus ære decoro

Inclusit, patribusque dedit gestare Latinis,

Talibus inter se firmabant fœdera dictis.

Æn., lib. xii., ver. 206-12.

Even as this royal SCEPTRE (for he bore

A sceptre in his hand) shall never more

Shoot out in branches, or renew the birth;

An orphan now, cut from the mother earth

By the keen axe, dishonour’d of its hair,

And cased in brass, for Latian kings to bear.

And thus in public view the peace was tied

With solemn vows, and sworn on either side.

DRYDEN.

When the circumstance of the rod or sceptre being used anciently in this way, and the absolute impossibility of its revivescence so strongly appealed to, is considered, it appears to have been a very proper instrument for the present occasion, for the change that passed on it must be acknowledged as an immediate and incontestable miracle.

Verse 8. Into the tabernacle — Into the most holy place, which he might safely do under the protection of God’s command, though otherwise none but the high-priest might enter there, and that only once in a year.

Verse 8. The rod of Aaron was budded. In this sign there could be no imposition. The sedition was suppressed by the decision of God, who graciously in this way condescended to settle forever all future disputes. On the one hand we see that the aspiring of wicked men to the sanctuary, is highly displeasing to God; and on the other, ministers may learn to bud and bloom, and bear fruit in the sanctuary, by that power which could make the dry rod flourish. God will not forsake the faithful pastor, when an arrogant faction is formed against him.

8. Budded… bloomed… almonds — The miracle consisted in the sudden vegetation of a dry rod in different stages of growth — buds just appearing, full blossoms, and mature fruit, “ripe almonds,” R.V. That this effect should have been produced upon Aaron’s lifeless rod must have been deemed an indisputable designation of Aaron. “Sure he could not but think, Who am I, O God, that thou shouldest choose me out of all the tribes of Israel? My weakness has been more worthy of the rod of correction than my rod has been worthy of these blossoms. How able art thou to defend my imbecility with the rod of thy support! How able art thou to defend me with the rod of thy power, who hast thus brought fruit out of the rod of my profession!” — Bishop Hall. Ewald feebly attempts to reduce this miracle to the effect of natural causes by suggesting that the rods had just been freshly cut, and that Moses laid them away during the night, to see which of them would flower the best during the night. To this we reply that there is no hint of a recent cutting of the rods; that if freshly cut they would not bud, blossom, and bear fruit in a dry place in a few hours; and that nature has no power to discriminate in favor of the rod of Aaron, and to pour into it extraordinary life and fruitfulness. The entire account strongly implies that the other rods were unchanged. In this fact lies the proof of Aaron’s election.

V. 10. To be kept for a token-it is probable, the buds and blossoms and fruit, all which could never have grown together, but by miracle, continued fresh, the same which produced them in a night preserving them for ages.

Verse 10. To be kept for a token — It is probable, the buds, and blossoms, and fruit, (all which could never have grown together, but by miracle,) continued fresh, the same power which produced them in a night, preserving them for ages.

10. To be kept for a token — Probably the buds, blossoms, and fruit remained upon the rod fresh from age to age, a standing miracle and token of the presence and inworking of the Spirit of God in the priestly office, making its ministrations efficacious for the salvation of obedient Israel.

V. 12. We perish-Words of consternation, arising from the remembrance of these severe and repeated judgments, from the threatening of death upon any succeeding murmurings, and from the sense of their own guilt and weakness, which made them fear lest they should relapse into the same miscarriages, and thereby bring the vengeance of God upon themselves.

Verse 12. Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish.] גוענו gavaenu signifies not so much to die simply, as to feel an extreme difficulty of breathing, which, producing suffocation, ends at last in death. See the folly and extravagance of this sinful people. At first, every person might come near to God, for all, they thought, were sufficiently holy, and every way qualified to minister in holy things. Now, no one, in their apprehension, can come near to the tabernacle without being consumed, Numbers 17:13. In both cases they were wrong; some there were who might approach, others there were who might not. God had put the difference. His decision should have been final with them; but sinners are ever running into extremes.

NUMBERS

Verses 12, 13. Behold we die, we perish — Words of consternation, arising from the remembrance of these severe and repeated judgments, from the threatening of death upon any succeeding murmurings, and from the sense of their own guilt and weakness, which made them fear lest they should relapse into the same miscarriages, and thereby bring the vengeance of God upon themselves. Near — Nearer than he should do; an error which we may easily commit. Will God proceed with us according to his strict justice, till all the people be cut off?

12. We all perish — This miracle made a deeper impression upon the people than any other wrought in the wilderness except the terrific display of power at the giving of the law on Mount Sinai. Nor were they so alarmed by the supernatural judgments of Jehovah: such as the slaying of Nadab and Abihu, of the ten faithless spies, the engulfing of a part of Korah’s conspirators, and the burning of the 250 at the tabernacle, and the recent plague-stroke that swept away 14,700 of Israel at once.

V. 13. Near-Nearer than he should do; an error which we may easily commit. Will God proceed with us according to his strict justice, till all the people be cut off?

Verses 12, 13. Behold we die, we perish — Words of consternation, arising from the remembrance of these severe and repeated judgments, from the threatening of death upon any succeeding murmurings, and from the sense of their own guilt and weakness, which made them fear lest they should relapse into the same miscarriages, and thereby bring the vengeance of God upon themselves. Near — Nearer than he should do; an error which we may easily commit. Will God proceed with us according to his strict justice, till all the people be cut off?

13. Shall we be consumed — Where God cannot awaken genuine faith and obedience, as he could not in this rejected generation, he inspires a salutary dread as a preventive of renewed rebellion. Terror must restrain those whom love fails to win. Yet at this point lay the chief danger to faith in the theocracy, the difficulty of realizing the invisible presence of God, and of conceiving a communion with him which should not crush or absorb the finite creature. This shrinking back from joyful communion by reason of the divine majesty appears very often in thoughtful Hebrews, as in Deuteronomy 5:24-27; Numbers 17:12, 13; Isaiah 45:15. See also Job 9:32-35; 13:21, 22. Hence arose idolatry, which is an attempt to commune with superior powers by visible symbols or images. The incarnation of the Godhead in one true and visible man has removed all excuse for idolatry arising from the inconceivable infinity and awfulness of Jehovah.