Lesson date: 09/13/5860AA

It is very ironic that we have this chapter shown to us not even two weeks since the November 5^th presidential election. Over the past four years we have a leader that has grown so unpopular that it is estimated, by some who know a lot more than I do, that as many as 20 million members of the same party as the sitting president voted for the opposing presidential candidate. Some say a lot fewer than 20 million but whatever the case, a sizable number did.

Right now, today, the new Republican Senate Leader is trying to figure out how to block the President elect’s cabinet appointments before the new president is even sworn in. What was that? Oh, I thought I heard a grumble somewhere in the distance. In light of this, let’s look at Chapters 16(again) and 17.

In Chapter 16 there was a rebellion against the leadership of Mosheh and Aharon by Qorah and others. After the rebels’ camp is swallowed up by the Earth and then covered up once again the 250 ringleaders of the rebellion were consumed by fire. One thing that I may have failed to point out is this key phrase, “Num 16:26 And he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Please turn away from the tents of these wrong men! Do not touch whatever belongs to them, lest you be consumed in all their sins.”

Now compare to these verses: Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from the heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.

Jer 51:6 Flee from the midst of Baḇel, and let each one save his life! Do not be cut off in her crookedness, for this is the time of the vengeance of יהוה, the recompense He is repaying her.

Jer 51:9 We would have healed Baḇel, but she is not healed. Let us leave her and each go to his own land, for her judgment reaches to the heavens and is lifted up to the clouds.

2Co 6:17 Therefore, “Come out from among them and be separate, says יהוה, and do not touch what is unclean, and I shall receive you.

Isa 52:11 Turn aside! Turn aside! Come out from there, touch not the unclean. Come out of her midst, be clean, you who bear the vessels of יהוה.

If I did not I should have pointed out this prophetic warning.

After the rebellion has been put down the first thing the Children of Yisra’el do is moan and groan again. Now a plague runs through the camp and because of Mosheh’s quick thinking and Aharon’s ability to run ahead of the plague with his fireholder, he stops the plague. At this point, Chapter 17,  YHVH takes preventative action. He commands Mosheh to collect a “rod” from the leader of each tribe, 12 in all, and have their names put on it. I want you to see the word chosen for rod: H4294 – מטּה / מטּה – maṭṭeh / maṭṭâh – BDB Definition: 1) staff, branch, tribe 1a) staff, rod, shaft 1b) branch (of vine) 1c) tribe

Mosheh could have used the word “shebet” – H7626; “choter” – H2415; “maqel/maqelah” – H4731; or, as we find in Revelation 11 H7070 – “qaneh”, but instead H4294 was used because it also has the connotation of tribe. Please notice this verse in Psalms: Psa 2:9 Break them with a rod of iron, Dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ ”

The word used here is “Shebet” – H7626 which also has the connotation of sceptre, a symbol of being the annointed King.

Look at this little oddity in Verse 2: Num 17:2 “Speak to the children of Yisra’ěl, and take from them a rod from each father’s house, all their leaders according to their fathers’ houses, twelve rods. Write (H853) each one’s name on his rod,

Aharon’s name is written on the rod for the Tribe of Levi and all the rods are collected and placed in the Tabernacle in front of the Ark of the Witness where no one can go, except Aharon on Yom Kippur, and Mosheh is the only other person that will have access to the rods. Anyone else will be struck dead!

Verse 5 – YHVH shows us that He will cause the rod to “parach” blossom or bud in order to cause the people to cease their murmuring/grumbling – H8519 – telunnah – which comes from H3885 – loon/leen. We have seen this word before. Remember, its primary meaning is “to stop – usually overnight”. In other words if you are murmuring your forward spiritual progress, or growth, has ceased until you stop murmuring.

and I shall rid Myself (H853) of the grumblings (H8519) of the children of Yisra’ěl, which they grumble (H3885) against you.”

Joh_6:43 Then יהושע answered and said to them, “Do not grumble with one another.

1Co_10:10 neither grumble, as some of them also grumbled, and were destroyed by the destroyer.

Jas_5:9 Do not grumble against each other, brothers, lest you be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the door!

I was never taught that grumbling or murmuring was a sin but it is easy to see that it is. Notice in John 6:43 and James 5:9 We are being told not to grumble with one another. This has nothing to do with grumbling against YHVH or does it?

Did you notice that YHVH did not say, “Mosheh, have everyone put a ballot in for the person they want for their leader.”? Everyone wants a sign so YHVH is going to give them a sign. Look: Luk 11:29 And while the crowds were thronging, He began to say, “This generation is wicked. It seeks a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Yonah the prophet.

Luk 11:30 “For as Yonah became a sign to the Ninewites, so also the Son of Aḏam shall be to this generation.

Yeshu’a had already turned water into wine, healed the sick, made the lame to walk, cast out demons and many other signs but that wasn’t good enough. What is the difference between what the Pharisees wanted and what Hasatan wanted: Mat 4:6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of Elohim, throw Yourself down. For it has been written, ‘He shall command His messengers concerning you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, so that you do not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”

Verse 8 – We see that not only did the staff bud out but it also blossomed and also bore ripe almonds. Almonds are in the peach tree family and most fruit trees are not hardwoods but are flexible and resilient as well as durable. This staff may have been Aharon’s staff for many years: Eze 17:24 “And all the trees of the field shall know that I, יהוה, have brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree, dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish. I, יהוה, have spoken and shall do it.

Mic 6:9 The voice of יהוה cries to the city – and let sound wisdom see Your Name! “Hear the Rod (H4294 – matteh) and Him who appointed it!

Are we really talking about trees here?

Yeshu’a is the walking, talking everlasting Torah and He is the Rod and intercessor, now in Chapter 17 we have a type and shadow of what is to come in the Messiah with Aharon – “the light bringer”.

Stop and think about what had just happened. Aharon’s rod and the other 11 were placed before the Witness and of the 12 rods only one budded, blossomed and bore fruit. Like I said it wasn’t an oak or a hickory or an ironwood but rather a fruit bearing tree. It bore witness to the Truth that Aharon was indeed the high priest and Mosheh was indeed the leader and that the tribe of Levi was His Chosen. Bearing fruit is an important characteristic of a leader: Mat 7:15 “But beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are savage wolves.

Mat 7:16 “By their fruits you shall know them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles?

Mat 7:17 “So every good tree yields good fruit, but a rotten tree yields wicked fruit.

Mat 7:18 “A good tree is unable to yield wicked fruit, and a rotten tree to yield good fruit.

Mat 7:19 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Mat 7:20 “So then, by their fruits you shall know them

The fruit borne by the rod was almonds. Here is where the beauty of the Hebrew language shines a bright light in the darkness of English only, watch: H8247 – שׁקד – shâqêd – BDB Definition: 1) almond tree, almonds 1a) almond (the nut) 1b) almond-tree and comes from the root word H8245 – shaqad – it is spelled the same just different vowelization and it means – to keep watch, to watch, to lie awake. Now look how they go together: Jer 1:11 And the word of יהוה came to me, saying, “What do you see, Yirmeyahu?” And I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree (H8247).”

Jer 1:12 And יהוה said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over (H8245) My word to do it.”

Do you see how the branch of the almond tree was synonymous with watching over the Word.

Where else do we see shaqad used in Scripture: Mat 24:42 “Watch (H8245) therefore, for you do not know what hour your Master is coming.

Mat 25:13 “Watch (H8245) therefore, because you do not know the day nor the hour in which the Son of Aḏam is coming,

Mat 26:41 “Watch (H8245) and pray, lest you enter into trial. The spirit indeed is eager, but the flesh is weak.”

Mar 13:33 “Take heed, watch (H8245) and pray, for you do not know when the time is

and there are many other places in the B’rit Hadasha including Revelation 3:2-3 where you can find the the word Shaqad in the Hebrew Scriptures.

The almond tree is one of the first trees to bloom and it blooms before there are any leaves on the tree. I was living about 350 miles from Israel in ’77-79 and we had a common area and in that common area was an almond-tree, which looks just like a peach tree when it blooms, since they are cousins, as is the cherry, but, long after peaches and other fruits are harvested you still have to wait on the almonds to develop on the tree. It is one of the last trees to bear its fruit (7 to 8 months after flowering) and because of this it is often called the Resurrection Tree. Here we saw a dead stick resurrect to new life and bear fruit. Remember, there are 22 almond blossoms on the Menorah, representing, I believe, the 22 letters of the Hebrew aleph-beit. They may also represent the fact that we have to “keep watch” and observe the 7 lights (feasts) of the Menorah. ((Remember, Aharon means “light bearer”))

Verses 9-10 – The rods were brought out and each man was given his rod, except Aharon, whose rod was placed in front of the Ark of the Witness as a sign to any who grumbled. Since it was in front of the Ark of the Witness only the High Priest could go in and get it so everyone could view it as a warning about grumbling. Their obstinance had cost them about 15,000 lives. They could now see that there was a price for questioning the leadership of Mosheh and Aharon.

Verses 11-13 – Oh, my gosh, it sounds like they are complaining again.

Here is a random thought that occurred to me: The central shaft of the Menorah was called the Shamash position, also the Messiah position, and also called the plumbline. The plumbline establishes what is “True” or vertical. Imagine the young apprentice priest who was assigned the task of “truing up” the Menorah each time it was set up after a move. He probably held a weighted string out at arm’s length and sighted the Shamash shaft on both sides to make sure that it was “True”. How many times did he remove a rock or pebble from beneath the carpet that was beneath the Menorah so that the Menorah was plumb. If the terrain was sandy he probably smoothed the dips and rises with his hands in order to place the carpet that would hold the Menorah. That may be a fanciful thought. It was probably so important that an older, more experienced priest was placed in charge of the task of leveling the Menorah. Remember the bowls had to be level in order for the lights to burn evenly. If too far one way or another, it would fall over, and extinguish the lights. If just a little too far one way or the other the level of the olive oil would be uneven and flow out to one side or the other. We have to be on the level.

Amo 7:7 This is what He showed me, and see, יהוה stood on a wall made with a plumb-line, with a plumb-line in His hand,

Amo 7:8 and יהוה said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb-line.” And יהוה said, “See, I am setting a plumb-line in the midst of My people Yisra’ěl, no longer do I pardon them.

Amo 7:9 “And the high places of Yitsḥaq shall be laid waste, and the set-apart places of Yisra’ěl shall be destroyed. And I shall rise with the sword against the house of Yaroḇ‛am.”

I apologize if I am boring you but I have often imagined and even dreamed of what I may have done if I had been an Israelite in the Wilderness. Would I be doing the work of the Almighty? Even if I were a Danite, bringing up the rear of the congregation, would I be doing something to be found worthy or would I be grumbling? I wish I had gotten the first Israelite patent for the rake to rake the weeds in the outer courtyard so I could serve both our Creator and our fellow Israelites. I would have loved to have been the priest young or old, that levelled the Menorah. It would have been an honor to be the priest who counted the tent pegs or the rings for the curtains. I would have even been happy to be a tent peg.

Num 16:9 “Is it little to you that the Elohim of Yisra’ěl has separated you from the congregation of Yisra’ěl, to bring you near to Himself, to perform the service of the Dwelling Place of יהוה, and to stand before the congregation to serve them,

“Is it so little”, wow? What a privilege it would be to serve. Only when we become rebellious and prideful is it too little to serve.

Ahavah vberakhot,