Aaron's Rod, Easter Message

Numbers 17:1-8 (KJV) 1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 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. 3 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. 4 And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet with you. 5 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. 6 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. 7 And Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness. 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 all of the Old covenant there is not a better example of Easter than that which we have read in our text. Some would say that the story of Jonah is a more fitting one and while that portrays His ultimate victory over death, it doesn’t show the resurrection as beautifully as this. In the story of Aaron’s Rod we see a mighty tool that has been instrumental in so many miracles. Aaron is more than just the Brother of Moses, representing the Law and the Prophets, he is the embodiment of the Priesthood. Remember, the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. It is a revelation of types and shadows, Hebrews chapter 9. I don’t have time to get into this but Exodus 7 tells us that Aaron was older than Moses! The Priesthood was older than the Law!

Before Abraham was, I am!

Whereas Moses brought the revelation of the Law, Aaron carried the power of the Priesthood. While it was the Law that showed us our inability to please God, Galatians 3:24 says: Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. We would have died in our sins had their not been a deeper revelation and that was the revelation of the Priesthood. The word that is used is pedagogue, is not simply the schoolmaster, but also the servant who had the care of the children to lead them to and bring them back from school, and had the care of them out of school hours. Thus the law did not teach us the living, saving knowledge; but, by its rites and ceremonies, and especially by its sacrifices, it directed us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

Let me say it this way, The Law was the book , the instruction and the instructor, but without the Priesthood all that is written therein is unattainable. This is a beautiful metaphor. Paul goes on to say in verse 25, But, after that faith is come—When Christ was manifested in the flesh, and the Gospel was preached, we were no longer under the pedagogue; we came to Christ, learned of him, became wise unto salvation, had our fruit unto holiness, and the end eternal life. It is worthy of remark that, as the Law, is used by Paul to signify the whole of the Mosaic economy, so the Faith, is used by him to express, not merely the act of believing in Christ, but the whole of the Gospel.

It is the Priesthood of Christ whereby we gain access into the presence of God. (Hebrews 4:14,15). Under the Law of Moses, when a priest entered the Holy of Holies on the day of atonement he became detached from everything that was happening outside of that holy place. He literally could not be touched, but we have a high priest who can be touched. Praise God!

The Law made God unapproachable, but the Priesthood gives man access to this thrice holy God! The throne of the Law was condemnation but we have a high priest who is aware of what is going on outside the Holy Place because He was tempted in all points like as we are yet without sin, one who now says in verse 16, Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.