Aaron's rod

The rod of Aaron is interesting in that it was God's sign to the other Israelites, many of whom wanted to democratise their nation's leadership structure and the God-ordained Levitical priesthood. 

Moses' and Aaron's cousin Korah, plus 249 co-conspirators, and two of Korah's Reubenite accomplices, Dathan and Abiram, said to both Moses and Aaron together:

“You guys have gone too far! For all in the congregation [of Israel] are saints, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?" (Num 16:3).

Well, you likely know the story. Korah and his 249 co-conspirators were all killed for their rebellion. God sent fire from heaven to consume them all. Dathan and Abiram, were also killed when Moses basically said, "Y'all and y'all's attitudes can go to Hades for all I care." God more or less said, "I was thinking the same thing," and He caused the ground to split open beneath their feet swallowing them, their families, and anyone associated with Korah. Even their possessions. I guess the big *question* was answered for them (שאול / SHEOL comes from the same root word as "ask" and "question.").

God is love! We need to adjust our concepts about God and His love to match what He has revealed about Himself, not just in first-advent Jesus Christ, but in such instances as how He dealt with Korah and his ilk. Christ is returning and he will kill people.

On top of that first showdown, a large group of Israelites who did not like what God had done to Korah, his 249 co-conspirators, Dathan and Abiram, and their families ... this large group complained to Moses. What did our God do then? He commanded the rattled Moses to separate himself from the multitude. Once Moses and all were safe, God immediately sent a plague that killed 14,700 on the spot as punishment for objecting to Korah's and friends' destructions. Only through Moses' and Aaron's gracious intervention did God stop the plague from killing more Israelites.

Aaron's rod was a sign to the remaining Israelites that God is not a Democrat or a Republican. He is a King, a despot in the word's most basic, not pejorative sense. He is an absolute ruler. The budding rod was His way of saying, "If you folks don't want what I did to Korah, his 249 co-conspirators, Dathan and Abiram, their families -- and now these 14,700 of your fellow 'saints' -- if you don't want something like that to happen to you, then heed the sign of the rod. I chose Aaron and his descendents to be My priests. Vote over." :) (See Numbers chps 16 and 17 for the full story).

-Michael Millier