Numbers 17

Wot more hardened was the heart of Pharaoh himself than that of these desperate rebels. On the morrow, still persisting to lay all their calamities on Moses and Aaron, “all the congregation murmured” against them, saying, “Ye have killed the people of the Lord!” And they all gathered together against Moses and Aaron, determined, no doubt, to put down their authority, and, most likely, to stone them, as they before threatened: but turning to look toward the tabernacle, they are suddenly appalled by the awful appearance of the cloud of glory. We may note here, by the way, that when an insurrection arises on popular grounds, as was here pretended, the whole multitude appear in general to side with it; partly from the enthusiasm of the moment, and partly from the fear of singularity.

Hence Moses speaks of but “one man” as the primary offender, whose eloquence and pretended patriotism had led away the multitude. We should not, however, “follow a multitude to do evil.” They who unite in crime must expect to share in punishment. Wrath was now gone forth from the Lord—“the plague (whatever was its nature) was begun.” And Moses, who first perceived it, directed Aaron to take a censer, to offer an atonement for the rebels. Aaron, whose life was but just now in danger from them, runs hastily into the midst of the congregation, and stands “between the living and the dead,” to intercede for them. How beautiful a representation this of the conduct of our great High Priest above, who “ever liveth to make intercession for us.” “Kind Intercessor!

there he stands, And loves, and pleads, and prays.” Chap. XVII. Ver. 1—13. The priesthood confirmed by miracle to Aaron. The custom of writing on rods or staves, mentioned here and in (Ezekiel 37:16-20), was once very common in various countries, even among our ancestors. The rods here named were the staves or sceptres of the different tribes, and were probably all cut from the almond tree: but as none of these could again bud or blossom without a miracle, the budding of Aaron’s rod gave a miraculous testimony to his claim, and so satisfactorily settled it, that it does not appear ever afterwards to have been disputed; his rod being laid up in the ark of testimony as a memorial. The effect which this had was, indeed, singular and striking.

This rod being there deposited, they imagined would be fatal to them, in case any future rebellion or disturbance should arise. “Behold, we die, (say they,) we perish!—we are perish! Whosoever cometh any t near the tabernacle of the Lord shall die:” but it is added, “Shall we be consumed with dying?” On this strange alteration in the feelings and sentiments of the people, Boothroyd has the following practical observation:—“We here see the weakness and folly of this ‘people’ again displayed. They lately maintained, that all the Lord’s people were holy, and just to have a right to approach the sanctuary, even the most holy place! Now, no one can come near the tabernacle, without being consumed! They are terrified, and expect to perish, if they do but draw near.

Thus are men at one time guilty of rashness and presumption, and at another, of fear and trembling. Let us learn to make God our fear, so as not to offend him; but to avoid that dread, which implies a want of confidence in his mercy and kindness. Alas! what base ingratitude, murmuring, and disobedience, are we guilty of! But the last clause seems to us not to be sufficiently noticed by any commentators we have examined. “Shall we be consumed with dying?” The words seem to imply two distinct questions: 1. Shall we all die? They had seen Korah and his company swallowed by an earthquake, the 250 chiefs destroyed by fire from the Lord, and, subsequently, between fourteen and fifteen thousand destroyed by plague: will the Lord go on till the nation is utterly extinct?

Or, 2. If we die, “Shall we be utterly consumed?”—consumed as smoke that vanisheth for ever?—Is there not here an anticipation of an hereafter? So Job, ((Numbers 14:10).) “Man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?” A question that should always be connected with our thoughts of dying. “The dust shall return unto the earth as it was; but the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” ((Ecclesiastes 12:7).)

Notes on the verses

Chap. XVII. Ver. 2. Take of every one…… a rod.—(Metzeth) a staff of office. See (Genesis 49:10). and Note. Dr. E. Clarke, when in Sweden, saw several staves made like flat straight swords, with Runic inscriptions on both sides; and by several such as these, they formed an almanack. The ancient Britons wrote verses on their staves, which were made triangular or square, according to the metre. Similar to this was the mode of keeping accounts by tallies, (still used for milk,) and it is curious to observe, that they were used, and (it is said) still are, in the Court of Exchequer, London: the teller of the Exchequer was, in fact, the tally-keeper. Ver. 8. The rod of Aaron.—It has been thought, that Aaron’s staff, and perhaps the staves of all the tribes, were made out of the amygdalus communis, or common almond tree.

A sceptre or staff of office resuming its vegetative life, was considered an absolute impossibility among the ancients; and, as they were accustomed to swear by their sceptres, this circumstance was added to establish and confirm the oath. A remarkable instance of this we have in Homer, where Achilles, in his rage against Agamemnon, thus speaks: “But hearken: I shall swear a solemn oath: By this same sceptre, which shall never bud; Nor boughs bring forth, as once: which having left Its parent on the mountain top, what time The woodman’s axe lopp’d off its foliage green, And stripp’d its bark, shall never grow again.”—Cowper’s Homer. Ver. 12. We die.—[Gaetano, ‘we expire:’ it signifies not so much to die simply, as to feel an extreme difficulty in breathing, which producing suffocation, ends at last in death.

See the folly and extravagance of this sinful people, in thus rebelling against the authority of those whom Jehovah had appointed to be their rulers.—Bagster.