As we learned in the previous chapter, Korah had challenged Moses’ and Aaron’s authority over the people. His prideful rebellion resulted in the deaths of many people because they had not only challenged Moses & Aaron, but also God who had placed Moses & Aaron in their positions of authority. To challenge them was to also challenge God Himself. God clearly found it necessary to reestablish the authority of the Aaronic priesthood before the people with whom Korah had influence. In doing so, we see Aaron as a picture of Jesus Christ.
1. Jesus has a special name (Phil. 2:9-11).
Num. 17:1-5 “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.”
2. Jesus came back to life and bore fruit (Rom. 8:9-11).
V8-9 “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.”
3. Jesus was the ONLY way to God (Jn. 14:6).
V10 “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.”
LESSON - Jesus was God’s chosen deliberate action for both providing an acceptable sacrifice for sin while also bringing man back into fellowship with God. Mt. 1:21 “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”
Heb. 4:14–16 “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Whenever we seek to exalt ourselves, we follow the path of Korah, as well as Satan. Exalt Jesus instead! It is He that gives our names value for He is the one that put our names in the Lamb’s Book of Life. We who were once dead in our sins was made a live through His death, burial , and resurrection. Our self righteous acts will never remove our sin. We must look to the only one able to reconcile us to God. He is our only Prophet, Priest, & King! SO... if I am anything at all, it’s because of Him!
~Mike