God was tired of the children of Israel complaining about being led by Moses and Aaron. So He instructed Moses to collect a wooden rod, or walking stick, from each of the tribes with their name written on it. God said, “it shall be that the rod of the man whom I choose [to lead this people] will blossom” (Num. 17:5). Aaron’s rod, representing the tribe of priests, was set next to the rods from each of the other tribes. The following morning Aaron\u2019s rod had not only blossomed, it had miraculously produced mature, ripe almonds. God was again speaking very clearly to His people so that there could be no doubt in their minds as to whom He had chosen for leadership. The sight of that fruit-filled bough must have been a great surprise to everyone who witnessed it.<\/p>\n
Aaron’s rod was a dry, dead stick, but at the touch of God it had literally come back to life. We could say it was resurrected from the dead, which is exactly the sort of thing God still does today with men and women who come to Him. Although every person in the world has been born physically full of life, they are in fact, spiritually dead. The good news is that through the touch of God, everyone can be born again. The miracle performed on Aaron’s dead staff looked forward to the ultimate miracle of Jesus’ resurrection on that special morning 14 centuries later. And that<\/em> miracle looks forward to the morning when all who know Him will be made new, and will rise to meet Him in the air.<\/p>\n Benjamin Franklin, founding father and signer of the Declaration of Independence, penned his own epitaph filled with this great truth. He wrote:<\/p>\n The Body of B. Franklin, Printer, We need to remember the same is true for all of us.<\/p>\n “LORD, help us to live this day in light of the coming resurrection.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n =============================================================<\/p>\n\n\n\n Numbers 17 KJV<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1<\/sup>\u00a0And the\u00a0LORD\u00a0spake unto Moses, saying,\u00a02<\/sup>\u00a0Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod according to the house of\u00a0their\u00a0<\/em>fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their fathers twelve rods: write thou every man\u2019s name upon his rod.\u00a03<\/sup>\u00a0And thou shalt write Aaron\u2019s name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod\u00a0shall be\u00a0<\/em>for the head of the house of their fathers.\u00a04<\/sup>\u00a0And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet with you.\u00a05<\/sup>\u00a0And it shall come to pass,\u00a0that\u00a0<\/em>the man\u2019s 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<\/sup>\u00a0And 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\u2019 houses,\u00a0even<\/em>twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron\u00a0was\u00a0<\/em>among their rods.\u00a0\u00a07<\/sup>\u00a0And Moses laid up the rods before the\u00a0LORD\u00a0in the tabernacle of witness. 8<\/sup>\u00a0And 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.\u00a09<\/sup>\u00a0And Moses brought out all the rods from before the\u00a0LORD\u00a0unto all the children of Israel: and they looked, and took every man his rod. 10<\/sup>\u00a0And the\u00a0LORD\u00a0said unto Moses, Bring Aaron\u2019s 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.\u00a0\u00a011<\/sup>\u00a0And Moses did so:\u00a0<\/em>as the\u00a0LORDcommanded him, so did he.\u00a012<\/sup>\u00a0And the children of Israel spake unto Moses, saying, Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish.\u00a013<\/sup>\u00a0Whosoever cometh any thing near unto the tabernacle of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0shall die: shall we be consumed with dying?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" God was tired of the children of Israel complaining about being led by Moses and Aaron. So He instructed Moses to collect a wooden rod, or walking stick, from each of the tribes with their name written on it. 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\nLike the Cover of an old Book,
\nIts Contents torn out,
\nAnd stripped of its Lettering and Gilding,
\nLies here, Food for Worms.
\nBut the Work shall not be wholly lost:
\nFor it will, as he believed, appear once more,
\nIn a new & more perfect Edition,
\nCorrected and Amended By the Author.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n