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.
Carl Purple served with us here on the Ranch for many, many years. He was a navy veteran, and every year, if we happened to be gathered together for staff devotions on December 7, he would always raise his hand at the end of devotions and remind us of what had happened on December 7, 1941. Now most of us were not alive in 1941, and most of us on the Ranch had not been to Pearl Harbor. The fact was that Mr. Purple had not been at Pearl Harbor in 1941, but he had been alive and the event had shaped the country, shaped him, and affected his life.
So, is it possible to remember something you have not experienced? Well, Mr. Purple didn’t remember it in first person. He wasn’t actually at Pearl Harbor, but it affected him. I was not at Pearl Harbor, but because my country was brought into the war by the attack on Pearl Harbor, it has affected me as well, whether I realize it or not. So, remembering such an event is something that has some importance in the life of a person, nation, or group of people.
Numbers 17 is a reminder of just how important reminders are. After the rebellion and subsequent destruction of Korah and his company, God told Moses to take twelve rods, one from each tribe, and lay them up in the tabernacle. With these rods God would demonstrate whom He had specifically chosen to be the priest. That was, of course, Aaron. The Bible tells us that each tribe took a rod “according to the house of their fathers.”
The word “rod” just means “a branch” or “a staff,” and by extension it meant “a tribe” because a company was led by a chief who oftentimes had a staff. The staff was a symbol of his power and became the symbol of the tribe. The Bible sometimes talks about the “rod of…” and names the tribe because that is what is meant.
Well, an amazing thing happened. The Bible 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.” So, they looked, and then took the rods back.
Well, verse 10 is the reason for the story. It says, “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.” I can only imagine. Here is a rod, a staff, a branch, a walking stick, and it is bearing almonds! God had very obviously indicated that Aaron was in the position that God had given to him. It was a token meant to be a sign and memorial to the children of Israel as it also is for us.
Now, I wasn’t there and you weren’t there, but we need to remember the rebellion of Korah because people with a short memory commit the same offense twice. Everything is new to people who do not pay attention to history. Sometimes my children will think something is really in style, and I think, “No, not so much.” I remember the first time it was in style, and then it went out of style. In my mind it is still out of style, but the truth is that it is back in style again!
Well, everything is new, whether it is style or an occurrence, when we do not remember history. Today, God would have us remember that when we complain about our lot, we are complaining against the God Who has provided for us. This story is given as a token, a sign, and a memorial of those who sinned against their own souls, so that we would not repeat their sin.
Philippians 2:14 says that we are to “do all things without murmurings or disputings.” We are to do all things that ought to be done, but we are to do them without murmuring and disputing. Thankfully, I don’t have to experience what Korah experienced or what Moses experienced in order to learn the lesson that their lives teach here in the Bible.