13 any who is at all drawing near unto the tabernacle of Jehovah dieth; have we not been consumed -- to expire?'
because at the first `it was' not ye, Jehovah our God made a breach upon us, because we sought Him not according to the ordinance.'
Having, therefore, brethren, boldness for the entrance into the holy places, in the blood of Jesus, which way he did initiate for us -- new and living, through the vail, that is, his flesh -- and a high priest over the house of God, may we draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having the hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and having the body bathed with pure water;
and great fear came upon all the assembly, and upon all who heard these things. And through the hands of the apostles came many signs and wonders among the people, and they were with one accord all in the porch of Solomon; and of the rest no one was daring to join himself to them, but the people were magnifying them, (and the more were believers added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women,)
and Ananias hearing these words, having fallen down, did expire, and great fear came upon all who heard these things,
If iniquities Thou dost observe, O Lord, who doth stand? But with Thee `is' forgiveness, that Thou mayest be feared.
For we were consumed in Thine anger, And in Thy fury we have been troubled.
and of the fruit of the tree which `is' in the midst of the garden God hath said, Ye do not eat of it, nor touch it, lest ye die.'
And it is displeasing to David, because Jehovah hath made a breach upon Uzza, and one calleth that place `Breach of Uzza' unto this day. And David feareth God on that day, saying, `How do I bring in unto me the ark of God?' And David hath not turned aside the ark unto himself, unto the city of David, and turneth it aside unto the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.
And they come unto the threshing-floor of Nachon, and Uzzah putteth forth `his hand' unto the ark of God, and layeth hold on it, for they released the oxen; and the anger of Jehovah burneth against Uzzah, and God smiteth him there for the error, and he dieth there by the ark of God. And it is displeasing to David, because that Jehovah hath broken forth a breach upon Uzzah, and `one' calleth that place Perez-Uzzah, unto this day; and David feareth Jehovah on that day, and saith, `How doth the ark of Jehovah come in unto me?' And David hath not been willing to turn aside unto himself the ark of Jehovah, to the city of David, and David turneth it aside to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite, and the ark of Jehovah doth inhabit the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite three months, and Jehovah blesseth Obed-Edom and all his house. And it is declared to king David, saying, `Jehovah hath blessed the house of Obed-Edom, and all that he hath, because of the ark of God;' and David goeth and bringeth up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the city of David with joy.
And He smiteth among the men of Beth-Shemesh, for they looked into the ark of Jehovah, yea, He smiteth among the people seventy men -- fifty chief men; and the people mourn, because Jehovah smote among the people -- a great smiting. And the men of Beth-Shemesh say, `Who is able to stand before Jehovah, this holy God? and unto whom doth He go up from us?' And they send messengers unto the inhabitants of Kirjath-Jearim, saying, `The Philistines have sent back the ark of Jehovah; come down, take it up unto you.'
`And it cometh to pass, when all the men of battle have finished dying from the midst of the people,
and they have been joined unto thee, and have kept the charge of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent; and a stranger doth not come near unto you; and ye have kept the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar, and there is no more wrath against the sons of Israel. `And I, lo, I have taken your brethren the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel; to you a gift they are given by Jehovah, to do the service of the tent of meeting; and thou, and thy sons with thee, do keep your priesthood, for everything of the altar, and within the vail, and ye have served; a service of gift I make your priesthood; and the stranger who is coming near is put to death.'
and he speaketh unto the company, saying, `Turn aside, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and come not against anything that they have, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.'
`And in the journeying of the tabernacle, the Levites take it down, and in the encamping of the tabernacle, the Levites raise it up; and the stranger who is coming near is put to death.' And the sons of Israel have encamped, each by his camp, and each by his standard, by their hosts; and the Levites encamp round about the tabernacle of the testimony; and there is no wrath on the company of the sons of Israel, and the Levites have kept the charge of the tabernacle of the testimony.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Numbers 17
Commentary on Numbers 17 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
(Or ch.17:16-28). Confirmation of the High-Priesthood of Aaron. - Whilst the Lord had thus given a practical proof to the people, that Aaron was the high priest appointed by Him for His congregation, by allowing the high-priestly incense offered by Aaron to expiate His wrath, and by removing the plague; He also gave them a still further confirmation of His priesthood, by a miracle which was well adapted to put to silence all the murmuring of the congregation.
Numbers 17:1-5
He commanded Moses to take twelve rods of the tribe-princes of Israel, one for the fathers' house of each of their tribes, and to write upon each the name of the tribe; but upon that of the tribe of Levi he was to write Aaron's name, because each rod was to stand for the head of their fathers' houses, i.e., for the existing head of the tribe; and in the case of Levi, the tribe-head was Aaron. As only twelve rods were taken for all the tribes of Israel, and Levi was included among them, Ephraim and Manasseh must have been reckoned as the one tribe of Joseph, as in Deuteronomy 27:12. These rods were to be laid by Moses in the tabernacle before the testimony, or ark of the covenant (Exodus 25:21; Exodus 29:42). And there the rod of the man whom Jehovah chose, i.e., entrusted with the priesthood (see Numbers 16:5), would put forth shoots, to quiet the murmuring of the people. שׁכך , Hiph ., to cause to sink, to bring to rest, construed with מעל in a pregnant signification, to quiet in such a way that it will not rise again.
Numbers 17:6-11
Moses carried out this command. And when he went into the tabernacle the following morning, behold Aaron's rod of the house of Levi had sprouted, and put forth shoots, and had borne blossoms and matured almonds. And Moses brought all the rods out of the sanctuary, and gave every man his own; the rest, as we may gather from the context, being all unchanged, so that the whole nation could satisfy itself that God had chosen Aaron. Thus was the word fulfilled which Moses had spoken at the commencement of the rebellion of the company of Korah (Numbers 16:5), and that in a way which could not fail to accredit him before the whole congregation as sent of God.
So far as the occurrence itself is concerned, there can hardly be any need to remark, that the natural interpretation which has lately been attempted by Ewald , viz., that Moses had laid several almond rods in the holy place, which had just been freshly cut off, that he might see the next day which of them would flower the best during the night, is directly at variance with the words of the text, and also with the fact, that a rod even freshly cut off, when laid in a dry place, would not bear ripe fruit in a single night. The miracle which God wrought here as the Creator of nature, was at the same time a significant symbol of the nature and meaning of the priesthood. The choice of the rods had also a bearing upon the object in question. A man's rod was the sign of his position as ruler in the house and congregation; with a prince the rod becomes a sceptre, the insignia of rule (Genesis 49:10). As a severed branch, the rod could not put forth shoots and blossom in a natural way. But God could impart new vital powers even to the dry rod. And so Aaron had naturally no pre-eminence above the heads of the other tribes. But the priesthood was founded not upon natural qualifications and gifts, but upon the power of the Spirit, which God communicates according to the choice of His wisdom, and which He had imparted to Aaron through his consecration with holy anointing oil. It was this which the Lord intended to show to the people, by causing Aaron's rod to put forth branches, blossom, and fruit, through a miracle of His omnipotence; whereas the rods of the other heads of the tribes remained as barren as before. In this way, therefore, it was not without deep significance that Aaron's rod not only put forth shoots, by which the divine election might be recognised, but bore even blossom and ripe fruit. This showed that Aaron was not only qualified for his calling, but administered his office in the full power of the Spirit, and bore the fruit expected of him. The almond rod was especially adapted to exhibit this, as an almond-tree flowers and bears fruit the earliest of all the trees, and has received its name of שׁקד , “awake,” from this very fact (cf. Jeremiah 1:11).
God then commanded (Numbers 17:10, Numbers 17:11) that Aaron's rod should be taken back into the sanctuary, and preserved before the testimony, “ for a sign for the rebellious, that thou puttest an end to their murmuring, and they die not .” The preservation of the rod before the ark of the covenant, in the immediate presence of the Lord, was a pledge to Aaron of the continuance of his election, and the permanent duration of his priesthood; though we have no need to assume, that through a perpetual miracle the staff continued green and blossoming. In this way the staff became a sign to the rebellious, which could not fail to stop their murmuring.
Numbers 17:12-13
This miracle awakened a salutary terror in all the people, so that they cried out to Moses in mortal anguish, “ behold, we die, we perish, we all perish! Every one who comes near to the dwelling of Jehovah dies; are we all to die? ” Even if this fear of death was no fruit of faith, it was fitted for all that to prevent any fresh outbreaks of rebellion on the part of the rejected generation.