In Jeremiah, chapter one, verse eleven, “Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree.” In ancient times, the almond tree was the first tree to bud in the spring in Israel. The vision implied two things: The Word of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah would be rapidly fulfilled, and the people would recognize that God was alive and was guiding the course of history to fulfill His purposes (such as Aaron’s rod that budded, as in Numbers seventeen, verses one through ten).
“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod according to the house of their fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their fathers twelve rods: write thou every man’s name upon his rod. And thou shalt write Aaron’s name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers. And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet with you. And it shall come to pass, that the man’s rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against you.”
“And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers’ houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. And Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness. 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. 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.”
What is the purpose of all this? Why? In Numbers sixteen, the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On, took men to go against Moses, along with two hundred and fifty recognized people within the congregation. Sad how people witness what God has done since they left Pharaoh and Egypt, and now they think they know better. God eventually consumed them and continued with the remaining people on the journey toward the promised land.
Aarod’s rod in Numbers seventeen, verses one through ten, explains and defends God’s choice of the tribe of Levi as ministers and Aaron as high priest. The Lord performed the miracle to demonstrate His choice of leadership for His people.