The purpose of Numbers 17 is to show us the way God dealt with Israel’s rebellion. In chapter sixteen there was an unprecedented rebellion, but chapter seventeen speaks of the termination of the rebellion; it shows the way to turn away from rebellion and death. What did God do? He vindicated to everyone that deputy authority is according to His appointment. He showed the Israelites His basis and reason for appointing authority. Such a basis is indispensable to every God-appointed authority. If a man is short in regard to this basis, he cannot be a deputy authority.
God commanded the twelve leaders to take twelve rods according to the twelve tribes of Israel, and put them in the tent of meeting before the ark. Then He said, “And the rod of the man whom I choose shall bud” (v. 5). A rod is a piece of wood. It is a branch that has been stripped of its leaves and roots. It once was living but now has become dead. It once derived its sap from the tree, being able to blossom and bear fruit, but now has become dead. All twelve rods were leafless, rootless, dry, and dead. Whichever one budded was the one that was chosen by God. Here we see that resurrection is the basis of God’s selection. It is also the basis of authority.
Chapter sixteen speaks of man’s rebellion against God’s deputy authority and how man opposed God’s appointed authority. Chapter seventeen speaks of God’s vindication of His appointed authority. The basis of God’s vindication of His appointed authority is resurrection. By resurrection He stopped man’s murmuring. Man, of course, has no right to question God in the first place, but God condescended Himself to tell man the reason and basis for His appointment of authority. The basis for His appointment of authority is resurrection. This shut the mouth of the Israelites.
Both Aaron and the Israelites were descendants of Adam and both were fleshly. By nature and according to their natural disposition, they were both sons of wrath; there was no difference between them. All twelve rods were the same. They were all leafless and rootless rods, dead and lifeless. This shows us that the basis of service is something apart from our natural life. It is the resurrection life we receive from God that gives us authority. Authority has nothing to do with man but with the resurrection that is manifested through man. Aaron was no different than all the other persons. His distinction was in God’s choosing and the resurrection life which God granted him. From this we see that the basis of authority is resurrection.
The twelve rods spent a night before the ark. God caused Aaron’s rod to bud, blossom, and bear ripe almonds. Here was a dead rod, yet God put the power of life into it. Moses took all the rods that were set before the ark and showed them to the Israelites. What did it mean for Aaron’s rod to bud? First, a budding rod humbles the owner of the rod. Second, it shuts up the mouth of the owners of the other rods. What would our reaction be if we took a dry rod like that of Aaron’s, which was dead and had no hope of budding, and found to our surprise that it had budded, blossomed, and borne fruit the next day? We would confess to God in tears that this was His doing. It would have nothing to do with us. It would be His glory, not our glory. Spontaneously, we would be humbled before God. This is what Paul meant when he said, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not out of us” (2 Cor. 4:7). Only foolish ones would try to be proud. A person who has received grace from God will surely fall down before Him, saying, “This is God’s doing. I have nothing to boast of. Everything depends on God’s mercy, not on man’s willing or running. There is nothing that I have which has not been received. Everything that I have comes from God’s selection.”
Here we see that the basis of authority does not depend on man; it has nothing to do with man. When Aaron served the Lord again with his authority, he would say to the Lord, “My rod was as dead as others’ rods. I can serve while they cannot serve. I have spiritual authority and they do not. But this has nothing to do with my rod. My rod was just as dry as theirs. None of our rods count; they are not the issue. They are not the reason. The only reason is God’s mercy. It is God who has chosen me.” From that time on, he could no longer serve by his rod, but by the budding of his rod.
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