The Wave-sheaf And Aaron's Rod

by Harry King, Kirkintilloch, Scotland | Category: Christ In Type And Shadow | Jul 1989

The Lord Jesus said to His disciples shortly before His ascension to heaven, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead the third dayt1 (Luke 24:46). He also chided the two on the road to Emmaus for not knowing this, calling them foolish and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets had spoken (Luke 24:25).

Yet when we examine the Old Testament Scriptures we can sympathize with those early disciples for not knowing these two fundamental truths about their promised Messiah, especially the truth of His resurrection. The Old Testament Scriptures speak to us through the actual words of those who wrote them, and also through types and shadows from things that happened.

For example, Psalm 16:9-11 speaks of the resurrection of Christ, but so also does the story of Jonah and the whale. The Lord Jesus said, "As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale; so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Mat. 12:40). Had the Lord not told us that, would we have been any wiser than the two on the road to Emmaus? Because we know the Lord Jesus Christ, we know the language of the types and shadows of the Old Testament. Therefore we have confidence, as we study the two subjects which are before us in this month's paper, to give their New Testament applications.

Chapter 23 of Leviticus describes what are called "the set feasts of the LORD", but they were not feasts in the sense of much eating and drinking. The~ were festivals, or festive gatherings, at which the people of Israel were called upon to appear before the Lord. The Hebrew word for these festivals is moed which means "a meeting together". The same word is used of the "tent of meeting", which refers to the "place" where the Lord met with His people.

One of these appointed seasons was at the beginning of the harvest when the first sheaf was reaped (Lev. 23:914). We can imagine the field of corn waving to and fro in the breeze until the reaper puts in his sickle and the first sheaf falls to the ground. It is gathered up and brought to the priest, who lifts it up and waves it to and fro before the Lord. This significant action clearly points to the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as this sheaf is called "the sheaf of the firstfruits of the harvest", so also the

Lord Jesus Christ, when He was raised from the dead, is called "the firstfruits of them that are asleep" (1 Cor. 15:20), implying, of course, that others will be raised too. The resurrection of Christ was a necessity, not only as part of the complete fulfilment of the atonement, as we read in Romans 4:25: "He was raised for our justification", but also to be the pledge or guarantee of the resurrection of others. All who have ever lived and died will be raised again for, "As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Cor. 15:22).

The waving of the sheaf of firstfruits before the Lord has a note of victory about it, but it is only a faint echo of the triumphant words of the apostle when he wrote, "Now hath Christ been raised from the dead, the firstfruits Of them that are asleep". Christ has conquered death. He made the claim, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (John 2:19), and He fulfilled it. On the cross He had the authority to lay down His life by dismissing His own spirit, which is an act of Deity. So also by the same authority He rose again from the dead, which is also an act of Deity (John 10:17-18). The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is a fact. The true believer does not spiritualize it into a nebulous theory which undermines the foundation of the Christian faith. The Word of God is abundantly clear as to the bodily resurrection of the One who died upon the cross and whose body was laid in the tomb. Because His resurrection is a fact, it has an effect upon those who believe on Him. The apostle speaks of "the power of His resurrection" (Phil. 3:10), but if Christ was not really raised from the dead there is neither power nor salvation in such a myth.

Returning t6 Leviticus 23:11, we read that the priest waved the sheaf before the Lord, but the next verse says, "when ye wave the sheaf'. This is significant, for it shows that the people were involved in what the priest was doing. They were entering into the experience of the waving of the sheaf. So also the believer today is reckoned to be raised together with Christ through faith in the working of God who raised Him from the dead (Col. 3:1). We have no doubt that believers will be raised at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to the air, for the Scripture says that the dead in Christ will rise. But are we sharing in the power of His resurrection now? This challenge is brought Out in verses 12-13 of Leviticus 23 which say, "In the day when ye wave the sheaf ye shall offer a he-lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt-offering unto the LORD". This burnt-offering is called, "the oblation of your God" (v.14). The lesson we would learn from this is that we must not be a people who take all God's blessings in Christ, but are not prepared to give Him something in return. We are thankful to Him and this should be expressed in thanksgiving both in what we say and what we do, for after all He has quickened us in Christ. The oblation of our God, in our case, is expressed in the words of Romans 12:1 "present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service". In Israel, "the morrow after the Sabbath" is simply the beginning of another week. For the Christian it is "the first day of the week", the day of the resurrection of Christ, when He sealed His claim to be the Saviour of the world as well as its appointed Judge and Ruler.

Aaron's Rod that Budded

The story of Aaron's rod that budded and blossomed and bore ripe almonds is recorded in Numbers 17. It was the climax to a very sad chapter in the history of the people of God, namely chapter 16. There we have the exposure of the pride and jealousy of the human heart. These features are bad enough in anybody, but when they are manifest in people who have a prominent place in the service of God they are a thousand times worse.

A man named Korah, a Levite, a prominent and privileged man in the congregation of Israel was not content with his high position. He wanted higher and he spread his discontent to others, who in turn raised their voices against Moses and Aaron. Korah's complaint was that Aaron, who was the high priest, had privileges above what he had, and he wanted the priesthood too, along with Aaron. He also complained about the authority that Moses had, and the Lord dealt with that matter first. The Lord vindicated His servant Moses into a most dramatic and terrifying manner that would leave no doubt in anyone's mind that

Moses was God's chosen leader of His people. The earth opened her mouth and swallowed up Korah and all that pertained unto him, and Dathan and Abiram and all that pertained unto them. They went down alive into Sheol, and the people fled at the cry of them. "Notwithstanding the sons of Korah died not" (Num. 26:11). What a mercy this is inserted, for obviously Korah's sons withdrew from their proud father.

When we come to chapter 17 of Numbers we have the Lord's vindication of the priesthood of Aaron, to put an end to the murmurings of the people. Each of the twelve tribes of Israel chose a prince, and each prince took a rod: The prince's name was written on his rod, including the rod of Aaron, who was of the tribe of Levi. The twelve "dead" rods were laid up in the tent of meeting before the Lord; and it came to pass in the morning that the rod of Aaron budded and blossomed and bare ripe almonds. It had come to life. This was the Lord's sign to His people that the man whose name was written on that rod which had come to life was His chosen priest.

This incident is surely a pointer to the fundamental New Testament truth that the priestly office of the Lord Jesus Christ is based on the fact that He ever liveth in the presence of God in heaven. He could not be a priest while He was on earth because He was born of the tribe of Judah. To be a priest over the people of God today it was essential that He be raised from the dead and enter into the holy place in heaven. We are told in Hebrews 6:20 and 7:16 that it was when the Lord rose from the dead and entered into the holy place in heaven that He became a high priest. Aaron's rod that budded and blossomed and bare ripe almonds is typical of the One who ever liveth in the presence of God.

The epistle to the Hebrews, which deals with this subject in great detail, does not speak specifically of the resurrection of Christ in the way it is dealt with in 1 Corinthians 15. Hebrews speaks of Him, "who ever liveth" (7:8, 16,24-25). It speaks of Him who passed through the heavens (4:14) and also of Him who entered into heaven itself (9:24). Then finally in chapter 13:20 we read that lovely expression, "the God of peace brought again from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep", which is the most direct reference to the actual resurrection in the epistle.

The fact that the Lord is spoken of as the great Shepherd of the sheep in this epistle, which speaks so much of the Lord as a priest, is an interesting point. Aaron's rod was a shepherd's rod as well as a priest's rod. These two beautiful characteristics are combined in Christ the Shepherd-Priest, who gathers His worshipping people before the throne of God.

Harry King, Kirkintilloch, Scotland | Jul 1989
Christ In Type And Shadow