The Dead Came back to Life

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Num. 17:8 “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.”

In Numbers 16 and 17, Korah leads a rebellion against Moses’ authority because he (and others) thought that they should be allowed to be Priests. Now the Priesthood was restricted to those from the tribe of Levi and Korah was not from this tribe! In chapter 17 God brings forth a test to show who was the one (and line) that He had chosen. It was a simple test – each of the tribes had to place their rod before Him and the rod that brought forth life (almonds) was the one that He had chosen. This test confirmed that Aaron was the true High Priest.

The test is no different today. You want to know who God’s chosen one is? Well, it’s simple. That which was dead must bring forth life. And if that is the test then I would suggest to you that the true High Priest today is the one who was dead but came back to life… Jesus Christ!

Just as an extra note, you may ask why almonds? Sure, they’re tasty, but why would God bring forth almonds on Aaron’s rod and what has that got to do with Jesus Christ? Well, thanks for asking… a good question indeed! William MacDonald in the Believers Bible Commentary writes: “Just as the almond tree is the first to blossom in the spring, so Christ is the firstfruits of resurrection (1Co 15:20, 1Co 15:23). The golden lampstand in the holy place was “made like almond blossoms, each with its ornamental knob and flower” (Exo 25:33-34). It was a priestly function to take care of the lampstand daily. Aaron’s rod corresponded in design and fruit to the lampstand, thus signifying that the household of Aaron had been divinely chosen to minister as priests.”