Why does God make Aaron’s rod blossom, and why must Moses keep it in the tabernacle?

Atlas of Saints · Chapter summary

God makes the chosen man’s rod blossom to answer Israel’s complaints against Moses and Aaron. Aaron’s rod for Levi buds, blossoms and forms almonds. God tells Moses to keep it as a warning so that the complaints may cease and the people may not die.

Chapter breakdown

The Lord tells Moses to speak to the children of Israel and take rods from the princes of the tribes according to their kindreds: twelve rods, with each man’s name written on his rod. Aaron’s name is to stand for the tribe of Levi, and one rod is to represent all its families. Moses must place the rods in the tabernacle of the covenant before the testimony, where the Lord says he will speak to Moses. The rod of the man God chooses will blossom. God states the purpose: to make Israel’s complaints against Moses and Aaron cease from him.

Moses speaks to Israel, and the princes give him rods, one for each tribe. At this point the account says there are twelve rods besides Aaron’s rod. Moses places them before the Lord in the tabernacle of the testimony. When he returns the following day, Aaron’s rod for the house of Levi has budded. Its swelling buds have bloomed into blossoms, and the spreading leaves have formed into almonds.

Challoner’s note reads Aaron’s rod, which miraculously brought forth fruit, as a figure of the Blessed Virgin conceiving and bringing forth her Son without harm to her virginity. This is the commentator’s reading of the sign.

Moses brings all the rods out from before the Lord to the children of Israel. They see them, and everyone receives their rods. The Lord commands Moses to carry Aaron’s rod back into the tabernacle of the testimony and keep it there as a token—a warning sign—for the rebellious children of Israel. Their complaints are to cease from the Lord lest they die. Moses does as commanded.

The children of Israel tell Moses that they are consumed and all perish. They say that whoever approaches the Lord’s tabernacle dies, and ask whether every last one of them is to be destroyed. The chapter closes with their words; it does not report that they stop rebelling or come to understand priestly mediation.

The story inside

The chapter separates a promised sign, its appearance, and its purpose as a warning. Before the rods are placed, God states that the chosen man’s rod will blossom. On the following day Moses finds the described growth on Aaron’s rod for Levi. He then brings all the rods before Israel, so the account moves from a sign in the tabernacle to something the people see.

God does not tell Moses merely to display the rod and finish. He orders it carried back and kept as a token for the rebellious people, tying the sign to the complaints and the danger of death. The closing speech still asks about destruction. The stated purpose of the sign and the people’s recorded response must therefore be kept distinct: the chapter gives the warning and their question, without reporting a lasting change in their conduct.

Lessons worth keeping

1
Keep the promise and the result together. God says the chosen man’s rod will blossom, and the next day Aaron’s rod for Levi shows buds, blossoms and almonds. Those details identify the sign the chapter records.
2
The kept rod has a stated purpose. God orders it retained as a token for the rebellious people so their complaints may cease lest they die. The chapter does not assign it a permanent duration or describe other uses.
3
A spoken fear is not a recorded resolution. Israel’s final words ask whether everyone will perish. Reporting that question accurately leaves room for what the text does not say about their later conduct.

Test your recall

How does the sign Moses finds lead to the command to keep Aaron’s rod, and what response does Israel give at the end?

Source edition and notes

Douay–Rheims, revised by Richard Challoner (1749–1752). Project Gutenberg no. 1581. Locators refer to lines in the admitted pg1581.txt edition. Source notes may include Challoner commentary.

Lines 16168–16188
Numbers Chapter 17 The priesthood is confirmed to Aaron by the miracle of the blooming of his rod, which is kept for a monument in the tabernacle. 17:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 17:2. Speak to the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod by their kindreds, of all the princes of the tribes, twelve rods, and write the name of every man upon his rod. 17:3. And the name of Aaron shall be for the tribe of Levi, and one rod shall contain all their families: 17:4. And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the covenant before the testimony, where I will speak to thee. 17:5. Whomsoever of these I shall choose, his rod shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, wherewith they murmur against you.
Lines 16189–16199
17:6. And Moses spoke to the children of Israel: and all the princes gave him rods one for every tribe: and there were twelve rods besides the rod of Aaron. 17:7. And when Moses had Laid them up before the Lord in the tabernacle of the testimony: 17:8. He returned on the following day, and found that the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi, was budded: and that the buds swelling it had bloomed blossoms, which spreading the leaves, were formed into almonds.
Lines 16200–16204
The rod of Aaron for the house of Levi, was budded, etc.... This rod of Aaron which thus miraculously brought forth fruit, was a figure of the blessed Virgin conceiving and bringing forth her Son without any prejudice to her virginity.
Lines 16205–16215
17:9. Moses therefore brought out all the rods from before the Lord to all the children of Israel: and they saw, and every one received their rods. 17:10. And the Lord said to Moses: Carry back the rod of Aaron into the tabernacle of the testimony, that it may be kept there for a token of the rebellious children of Israel, and that their complaints may cease from me lest they die. 17:11. And Moses did as the Lord had commanded.
Lines 16216–16222
17:12. And the children of Israel said to Moses: Behold we are consumed, we all perish. 17:13. Whosoever approacheth to the tabernacle of the Lord, he dieth. Are we all to a man to be utterly destroyed?