B'Midbar/Numbers
CHAPTER 17
1. [16:36 in many English versions] Then YHWH told Moshe and Aharon,
2. "Tell El'azar, the son of Aharon, the priest, to remove the firepans from among [what was] burning, but scatter the fire out beyond, because they have become set apart.
After Qorakh brought 253 other men of the second tier of leadership who thought they should be the first tier, Moshe had set them up to recognize their error by telling them to bring firepans with incense to the Tabernacle, hoping this would remind them of what befell Nadav and Avihu, and nip their rebellion in the bud. But they insisted on exercising their perceived “rights”, and even slapped YHWH in the face by calling Egypt, the land from which He had delivered them, “a land flowing with milk and honey” (16:13), conveniently forgetting the whips and backbreaking labor in their romanticized rhetoric as they each lobbied to be the leader who the people would choose to take them back to Egypt. YHWH had had enough, and they were destroyed in a uniquely dramatic way. Here YHWH shows us what to do in the aftermath of such a disruption in the community life of Israel:
3. "Let the firepans of these who sinned against their own souls be made into platings beaten thin to overlay the altar, since they have brought them near [to offer] before YHWH, so they are set apart. That way they shall serve as a warning to the descendants of Israel."
4. So El'azar the priest took the bronze firepans which those who were burned up had brought near, and they were made beaten thin to form a plating for the altar,
5. as a reminder to the descendants of Israel, in order that no outsider, who is not of the seed of Aharon, would come near to cause incense to smoke before YHWH, so he would not become like Qorakh and his party, just as YHWH had told him under Moshe's direction.
Bronze highlights the stubborn side of our nature, and would serve as a somber, negative reminder of what not to do. One would think this was the end of the matter, but it was not:
6. Yet the very next day the whole assembly of the descendants of Israel [again] complained against Moshe and Aharon, saying, "You had the people of YHWH put to death!"
Even after the earth had swallowed up the other complainers, they keep complaining. They had accused Moshe or taking too much authority on himself, but it had been tested and proven valid. Yet somehow they still kept blaming Moshe rather than giving YHWH credit for cleaning house. They just cannot seem to accept the fact that it was YHWH who had brought the judgment, thinking Moshe had somehow done another magic trick. They think YHWH would never do something like this, so Moshe must have sent El’azar to retrieve the censers so that no one else would see the gunpowder he had put into them to make them explode! This highlights our twisted human tendency to, during the times when it is most important to stand behind our leaders, we stand up to them and bring accusations instead! This is beyond all comprehensibility and certainly not profitable, yet this extraordinary man Moshe still found it in his heart to stand up for them, so that the nations around them would not deduce that YHWH kills the people He loves. We might not have such patience and magnanimity , but he did, showing how worthy he is to be their shepherd. The people of YHWH: Just because they had been called by YHWH at one point, the people assumed they remained so, even though they had removed themselves from that calling and no longer deserved respect. But a day later, the fire was still burning; they should have kept their mouths shut. The problems stemmed from their mouths, not their actions. But YHWH’s words are harsher than people want to accept; we cannot take one piece and leave the rest on the table. When we know better, we must do better.
7. But as the group was assembling against Moshe and Aharon, they turned and faced the Tent of Appointment, and, lo and behold, the cloud had spread over it [concealing it], and the [weighty] splendor of YHWH became visible.
8. Then Moshe and Aharon came to the front of the Tent of Appointment.
9. But YHWH told Moshe,
10. "Pull up [and get] away from being in the same crowd as this company, so that I can put an end to them in [one] instant." But they fell on their faces,
11. and Moshe told Aharon, "Take the firepan and put on it fire from the altar, lay incense on it, and go--quickly--to the assembly, and effect a covering over them, because [fierce] fury has gone out from the face of YHWH; the [deadly] plague has begun [to strike]!"
Moshe did not do this alone, but, though he was in authority over Aharon, he respected Aharon’s position and let him operate in the area that was assigned to him. Whether this was a pestilence that the incense was to ward off or whether it was poisonous gas coming up from the breach in the earth’s crust (possibly also what caused the contents of the censers to flare up and kill the 250), people were dying again. Like people who shout “Fire!” in a crowded theatre, disorder has cost many people’s lives through history because of the panic it puts people in. By remaining calm (but not lackadaisical) and keeping his mind clear, Moshe could see immediately what needed to be done.
12. So Aharon did just as Moshe had said, and ran into the middle of the assembly, and, indeed the plague had begun among the people. So he set the incense [on the firepan] and made atonement for the people.
13. That is, he stationed himself between the dead and the living, and the plague was restrained.
Everyone who tried to confront him face to face died; those who stood behind him stayed alive. He was the "door". But how did he stop the plague? Was this some kind of magic incense that repels YHWH’s wrath? Was it the ingredients in the incense? When a cache of ancient Temple incense was found recently, it was tested and found to be a natural insect repellant; on the physical level it may be that it warded off some kind of pestilence. Maybe the soothing aroma calmed down the people who had turned on each other in anger. But what actually stopped the plague was that Aharon simply returned everything to its proper order. The very beginning of the Torah speaks of bringing order out of chaos. he rebellion had again caused chaos and destruction (tohu v’bohu, the very conditions into which YHWH introduced a new creation in Genesis 1:1-2). He had offered to replace all of Israel with their own descendants alone. The new creation this time would consist only of Levites. Again, Moshe was more concerned for YHWH’s reputation than his own well-being. But we cannot have true shalom until there is order. Israel had been out of order for days, but now the right man again had the right incense in the right pan. Moshe was giving the orders and Aharon was doing his job. The restoration of order had to start with the leaders. They simply went back to doing their job; they became the example of doing things in the right order, and YHWH relaxed, saying, in essence, “Okay, you’ve got the point.” Things could now get back to normal, with the demonstration fresh in mind of the fact that we cannot allow everyone to say what they want to say. As we return to the proper order as outlined by the Torah, many lives can again be saved as well. David did the same by building an altar on the place that would later become the Temple Mount. (2 Shmuel 24). Efrayim's king did not stoke up the fire (as per Hoshea), so the northern Kingdom went astray. But in Yahshua we now have a king who went to the point of death to intervene for us. The plague of lawlessness is already at work today. It is a scientific rule that without the application of energy, anything that is in order will return to chaos. This whole book is about establishing and tending to the proper order so we do not fall back into situations like this.
14. But those who had died by the plague [numbered] 14,700 besides those who had died in the Qorakh affair.
15. Then Aharon returned to Moshe at the entrance to the Tent of Appointment, and the plague was kept under restraint.
16. [17:1 in most English Bibles] Then YHWH told Moshe,
17. "Speak to the descendants of Israel, and get a rod from each of them--a rod per patriarch's household, from every one of their leaders: twelve rods. You shall write each one’s name on his rod,
Despite all their complaints about Moshe, YHWH is still speaking through him. Even the Egyptians had held him in high esteem, but now his popularity ratings have gone down. But YHWH does not care; He is not going to give that job to someone else. Only YHWH’s choice of leader counts for anything; no other opinion matters. But since the people do not automatically recognize His choice of who is to rule all of Israel, He will go ahead and do a “trick” to prove it to them, since they are one of those evil generations that Yahshua said demanded a sign. (Luke 11:29) For Moshe and Aharon’s sake He will show them definitively who is in charge. It is easy to point the finger, but many people today who claim to love YHWH also try to override Moshe’s authority, but Moshe is still the vessel YHWH has chosen to communicate His will. (Yahshua simply calls the Torah “Moshe”. ) Yes, He says He will communicate more by dreams and visions in the latter days, but maybe it is because we still aren’t listening. The rest of Scripture and the Renewed Covenant may be profitable, but only insomuch as the interpretation is founded in Torah. Even the prophets only point us back to it. To end all controversy, YHWH commands Moshe to give orders—to treat them like an army, not just a flock—giving them no choice but to take this test with the rods. The Hebrew word for “rod” also means a branch, as it was often cut from a tree, and the root word means “to spread out” as branches do. By extension, then, the term can also mean a tribe, as a branch of the family “tree”. Israel is a nation of shepherds, and a rod was thus very important to them: “Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23) They were used to beat off predators, but also to goad the sheep or goats in the right direction, or even protect the other sheep by clubbing one that goes mad. The Hebrew word for “teach” also carries this sense of prodding. David says in Psalm 119, “Do not hide your commandments from me.” (“Whatever it takes to straighten me out, let me have it!”) The rod therefore represents the bearer’s authority to correct and lead. YHWH’s chosen king will rule with a rod of iron (Psalm 2), signifiying an unbending standard—a strengthening, rather than a relaxing of the Torah, as he demonstrates in Mat. 5-7. When he comes to rule and judge, there will no longer be any room for complaining about the Torah—or about his position as king. A shepherd’s rod typically had the most significant events in his life carved into it. This is still common among Bedouins today. They may have brought the rod that actually belonged to each son of Yaaqov himself—what a treasure! Imagine finding Yosef’s staff! It was basically the tribe’s historybook. Or the rod may have simply belonged to the greatest person in the tribe’s history. But since they entered Egypt, they have been involved in other kinds of work, so there probably have not been many great shepherds—except for one (Moshe). But writing their names on the patriarch’s rod would be like writing on George Washington’s own walking stick! After some of Re’uven’s leaders had just been swallowed up, there was probably little campaigning going on now, but YHWH tells them to choose a particular head and put it in writing this time—whoever best represented the reputation of their tribe’s forefather. Someone specific would need to take responsibility for the outcome of these proceedings, because the earlier rebellion should have been quenched at the ground level—by the rulers of ten. Qorakh should have been put outside the camp while the rebellion was still a tiny murmur. But since there were rulers of 50, 100, and 1,000 as well, they apparently passed the buck all the way up to Moshe. This time YHWH wants someone specific to hold accountable. They would pick someone with a name worthy to go on a patriarch’s rod, but most were probably not volunteering this time; those chosen probably assumed it was their death sentence being sealed. It must have been sobering indeed.
18. "and you shall write Aharon's name on the rod of Levi, because [there is] one rod per head of the patriarch’s household.
The leader’s name is also important. In Israel, one’s name has meaning in regard to his life. For example, David means “beloved”, and this is borne out by how YHWH favored him and chastised him. Levi’s name means "my joining". It appears that YHWH was actually the one who named him, in contrast to the mothers naming all of the rest of Yaaqov’s sons. (Gen. 29:34) His tribe is indeed joined to YHWH in a special way, as is borne out by his being singled out here. If we follow the history of Aharon’s rod carefully, we can see that it was once Moshe’s rod (Ex. 4:1ff). When Aharon was named as Moshe’s spokesman, he ended up using the rod himself. (4:13ff) By Exodus 7:8, the same rod is called Aharon’s. So Moshe and Aharon shared the rulership of the tribe of Levi. Aharon’s authority is that of Moshe; the High Priest’s authority is the Torah. He cannot officiate without it. One rod per head: There can only be one leader in each position, or YHWH’s order will not work. This is just like the old adage, “Too many cooks spoil the broth!” or “all chiefs and no Indians”.
19. "Then set them inside the Tent of Appointment, in front of the Testimony where I will meet you.
20. "Then this is what will take place: the rod belonging to the man whom I select will blossom; that way I will cause the [obstinate] complaints of the descendants of Israel (which they are making against you) to subside from [before] Me."
21. So Moshe told the descendants of Israel, and every [one of] their [tribal] chiefs each brought him a rod--one rod per ruler, for the household of their father: twelve rods, with the rod of Aharon among their rods.
22. Then Moshe placed the rods in front of YHWH, in the Tent of the Testimony.
23. And, sure enough, the next day when Moshe went into the Tent of the Testimony, lo and behold, Aharon's rod had [not only] sprouted, [but also] put forth buds, produced blossoms, and yielded ripe almonds!
A stick that might have been severed from the tree hundreds of years before now has not just buds, not just blooms, but fruit! And all in one night! This was more than He said would take place. But this is the key: the leadership of Aharon produced fruit, while the others did not. This is how we measure one another as leaders. “A tree is known by its fruit” and so is a leader. Ripe: the same word as "weaned"; i.e., they were ready to be picked. A tree is known by its fruit, so this rod was the branch of an almond tree, the first tree to bloom in the spring in the Middle East, sometimes even before the last snow. In Yirmeyahu 1:11-12 we see a play on the word "almond" and "stay alert" (from the same root in Hebrew). The appearance of its flowers "alerted" the nation that it was time to plant barley. The next full moon might be the time to celebrate Passover, if the barley was in the aviv stage by then. The new festival year would begin. This type of rod was very specifically chosen by YHWH to remind them not to lapse into easier, more comfortable ways of thinking which come more naturally. Yahshua’s most frequent command to His followers was to “stay alert” or “be watchful”, and often in regard to the changing of YHWH’s “seasons”. (e.g., Mat. 24:42; 25:13; 26:41; Mark 13:33-37; Luke 21:36; Rev. 3:3) We need to pay attention, or we will not be in the place we need to be at the right time.
24. So Moshe brought all the rods out from before YHWH toward all the sons of Israel, and they saw it. So each took up his rod.
Saw it: also means "took it into consideration". Took up his rod: They passed the test this time, and let the confrontation drop. The point had been proven, and they no longer disputed it. But it also means each "accepted his tribe" (since a tribe is a "branch" of the family), so they recognized their sphere of responsibility and no longer tried to go beyond it. He took responsibility for the well-being of whomever he was in charge of. Maybe they were not of the caliber of Moshe and Aharon, but that did not mean they were not responsible to lead where they did have authority. They recognized that this was a big enough job, and to be faithful in it, and no one was killed here. Aharon’s leadership over the Dwelling Place did not diminish their tribal authority. They all took up their authority again, but knew their limits.
25. Then YHWH told Moshe, "Put Aharon's rod back in front of the Testimony to be preserved as a warning to the sons of rebellion, to bring their complaints to an end from [being] upon Me, so they will not die."
YHWH was tired of killing Israelites. Now if someone grumbled, all Moshe would have to do was bring out Aharon’s rod as a reminder of his authority and ask if they really wanted to argue with the sign YHWH had given. When their fruit surpassed Aharon’s, they might have something worth saying! Until it did, if they did not stay quiet, they would feel the rod! This was not so much to commemorate the miracle as to preclude further deaths of the same sort as Qorakh’s. They might be “sons of rebellion” (and some might specifically be sons of the rebel himself, for they would be reminded of this rod when they went to cover the ark, as this was their responsibility – 3:30-31; 4:4-6), but they could survive if they did not give expression to what was latent within them. But they could not just walk in there and see it; this place was off limits to most. But this also gave it more appeal and made it more powerful in a way, because it was not a common thing they saw every day and would take for granted. It was more “mystical”. Yet each new generation that did not see this event still had to understand authority and proper order so that they would not again fall into chaos, so this underlines the responsibility of teaching the next generaration that it is there and what it is about.
26. So Moshe did so; he did [it] just as YHWH had ordered him.
27. But the descendants of Israel told Moshe, "We're about to perish! We're being exterminated, and every one of us has given up [hope]!
28. "Whoever comes near--who approaches the Dwelling Place--is put to death! What if we are completely consumed to [the point of] extinction?
I.e., “What if this continues until every last one of us is gone?” But this is a breakthrough. It means that after a very long time they finally recognize that they are guilty and that their actions have consequences—that if they get what they really deserve, they are in big trouble. This puts all their petty reasons for complaining into perspective as a deterrent to further foolishness. They aren’t dying of starvation as they imagined they would, but they think it is the end of the world when they find out they are not going to get what they wanted; no one got an extra cut, and no one got Moshe or Aharon to step down. But this is simply the way of an immature child. They cannot even insist on seeing the fruitful rod for themselves; they have to take the word of their authorities that it is there without having to have it proven, because that would hurt them. The only way they will ever understand it is to walk in it. If we wait to embrace another’s authority until we understand the matter fully, someone will get hurt again. They would do best to simply embrace the leaders YHWH has given authority, find the proper order, then respect it, walk in it, and support it. This is a large part of restoring Israel.
Commentary on
Parashat Qorakh
Restoring Order:
The Aftermath of Rebellion
