AARON'S ROD 1) Since some of the people wanted to extort the priesthood by revolting against Moses and Aaron, God confirmed His choice of Aaron as the High Priest in a tangible way to set him apart from the false priesthood (Heb 5:4). Moses took a rod from each tribe and wrote on it the name of its leader, by this making these rods were the symbol of leadership and paternity for each tribe. As for the rod of Levi, he wrote on it Aaron's name, each time it was brought forth before the Tabernacle, it germinated and sprouted blossoms and as well produced almonds. Hence the suspicions that Korah and his followers carried for Aaron along with the revolts of the people were transformed to praise for Aaron and confirmation of his designation. God Himself, declared His divine choice and the rod became a symbol of the crucifixion of the Lord of glory who produced a fruitful section of the Gentiles (the dessicated Rod) to become living members in the New Testament Church.It also symbolizes the Virgin Mary who presented us with Christ our Lord the divine fruit and Life-Giver. 2) The almonds is a symbol for the word of God, the appetizing spiritual food, it has an outer bitter shell (the literal meaning of the word). Another brittle shell (the Ethical meaning with respect to honesty) and then there is the inner almond (the spiritual or the delving deep beyond the literal meaning to meet with Christ the Word). 3) The moisture of the rod that germinated almonds, points out to the believers, since by faith, our souls are set free from a state of death to a living state. The leaves refer to the new life, or the second birth, the flowers to the life of continuous growth after the spiritual birth and the almonds refer to the fruitful results in other's lives. Therefore we conclude that the believer passes through four phases: [the root (beginning of life) the leaves, the flowers, the fruits]. This correlates to St. John's words: [OH children; Oh teenagers; Oh youth, Oh fathers (1 John 2). 4) Placing the rod before the testimony will remind Aaron and his sons that whatever they are granted is a gift from God, so they should not become arrogant. It also reminds the people that they should not grumble against the priests. Besides, the rod is a symbol of the divine incarnation.
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