The children of Israel should have been subdued by God’s threefold judgment on the rebels in ch. 16 and by God’s vindication in this chapter. However, they still complained. This shows the perverseness of the rebellious nature of fallen mankind (cf. Rev. 20:7-9). It is no wonder that none of these children of Israel, except Joshua and Caleb, were permitted to enter into the promised land (Num. 14:28-30).

The budding rod was placed in the Ark along with the hidden manna and the testimony of God, the law (Exo. 16:32-34; Deut. 10:5; Heb. 9:4). All three items are types of Christ. The three items placed in the Ark in the Holy of Holies also refer to the three of the Divine Trinity: the hidden manna in the golden pot refers to God the Father as the divine source of all supply (John 6:32), the budding rod signifies Christ as the resurrection (John 11:25), and the tablets of the law refer to the Spirit of life as the inner law (Rom. 8:2). Thus, the Holy of Holies is the dwelling place of God in His Divine Trinity. When we enter into the Holy of Holies, i.e., into our regenerated spirit (see note Heb. 10:19^1b), we enter into God and meet the Father as the source of supply, the Son as the resurrection, and the Spirit as the law of life.

A rod is a piece of dead wood that has not only been cut but is also dried up. Yet such a dead and dried-up piece of wood budded! A bud is something organic, something of life. The budding rod of Aaron typifies not a dead Christ but the resurrected Christ, the budding Christ, who not only buds but also blossoms and bears fruit to maturity. Such a Christ imparts life to others (John 12:24; 1 Pet. 1:3). Today He is still budding, and we are the fruit, the almonds, of His budding.

Since the rebellion of Korah and his company in ch. 16 was related to the priesthood (Num. 16:3, 8-10), the budding of Aaron’s rod was a vindication indicating that Aaron was the one accepted by God as having authority in the God-given ministry of the priesthood.

The testimony is the Ten Commandments in the Ark, which typifies Christ and was the place where God met with His people (see note Exo. 16:34^1a and note Exo. 25:10^1b). This signifies that everything had to be brought into the presence of God to allow God to make the real situation clear by speaking the truth to all the people through His vindication.

A rod signifies authority (cf. Rev. 2:26-27; 19:15).