Prepare to be Amazed
Sometimes people in the Old Testament are types of Christ, and now we look at objects that picture Christ. The concept may seem odd, but some of the clearest pictures of Christ are objects. Today it’s the rod.
There are three main rods in the Old Testament: the rod of Moses, the rod of Aaron, and the rod of David. Altogether, this represents Christ as prophet (Moses), priest (Aaron), and king (David).
God’s use of the rod in Moses’ hand was what he would use to convince/prove to the people his (God’s) power. This physical manifestation of God’s power is like Christ. He was the physical manifestation of God’s power.
Here’s some proof that the rod represents Christ:
The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Psa 110:2
And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: Isa 11:1
As a representation of Christ, Aaron’s rod was kept in the Ark of the Covenant, and each item kept in the ark represented Christ. Read the column on the left, then go to the matching commentary on the right.
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Old Testament |
Notes |
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Exo 4:1-5 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee. (2) And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. (3) And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. (4) And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: (5) That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee. Exo 7:10-12 And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. (11) Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. (12) For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.
Num 17:1-13 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, (2) Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod according to the house of their fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their fathers twelve rods: write thou every man's name upon his rod. (3) And thou shalt write Aaron's name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers. (4) And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet with you. (5) And it shall come to pass, that the man's rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against you. (6) And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers' houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. (7) And Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness. (8) And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds. (9) And Moses brought out all the rods from before the LORD unto all the children of Israel: and they looked, and took every man his rod. (10) And the LORD said unto Moses, Bring Aaron's rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not. (11) And Moses did so: as the LORD commanded him, so did he. |
The fact that this first mention of the word rod in the Bible is connected to it becoming a serpent parallels the other time that a serpent was used to save: And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. (Numbers 21:8) And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: (John 3:14) People just have to believe. Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. When Aaron cast down the rod and it became a serpent (representing Christ, as we see above), it’s no surprise that the magicians of Egypt were also able to come up with serpents. But theirs were anti-Christs. And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. (1 John 4:3) Notice that Christ wins in the end. “But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.” Remember that not just any rod represents Christ. Only Moses’, Aaron’s and David’s. There are many examples of their rods connected to salvation, but this final story is worth telling. The Israelites wandering in the wilderness had once again spoken against Moses and Aaron, and God was so angry, he began to kill them all with a plague until Aaron intervened. Yet 14,700 died. (See Num. 16:41-50). Now God wanted to prove to the people his choice of leaders. He requested a rod from each of the 12 tribes and Aaron’s rod for the tribe of Levi. God would cause the rod of his chosen person to bud. Remember, Aaron’s rod represents Christ as priest. It was the one that budded, bringing forth blossoms and yielding almonds. The dead piece of wood became alive again as Christ also became alive again. He rose from the grave as our high priest. Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; Heb 8:1 The significance of Aaron’s rod blooming is vast. God requested that the budded rod be kept in the Ark of the Covenant as a token. There were only three things in the ark. Each represented Christ or his word: The budded rod, the manna, and the tables of stone on which were the 10 commandments. We’ve only scratched the surface on these rods. Now you can take off and do your own study.
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Why Did the Rod Become a Serpent?
Believe it or not, the first five books of the Old Testament, traditionally called “the law” or “the books of Moses” aren’t merely a history lesson. Much of it actually points to Christ. Jesus said so himself. And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. (Luke 24:27)
It would be interesting to hear which of the things in the books of Moses Jesus showed them that related to him. But I have one. Go back to that rod in Exodus 4.
God told Moses how he would use him to deliver the Israelites. After God laid out his big plan, Moses said “But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee. And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand and caught it and it became a rod in his hand. That they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.” (4:1-5)
We saw in my last blog post that elsewhere the Bible says…And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: (Isaiah 11:1)
The rod is Christ.
In Exodus, the rod (Christ), becomes a serpent. That’s not the only time Christ is pictured as a serpent. And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. (Numbers 21:8) We know that was representative of Christ because Jesus said so himself. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: (John 3:14)
But wait. I know in Genesis that the serpent was Satan? How come the rod becomes a serpent, and this time represents Christ?
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The First Serpent |
Christ |
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And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: (Genesis 3:13-14)
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Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3:13-14)
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The serpent was cursed for causing the woman to sin
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Christ was made a curse for us, that blessings might come on us through Christ.
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The Application Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand and caught it and it became a rod in his hand. That they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee. (Ex. 4:4-5) He had to grab hold of that cursed thing, and it became a rod. He had to personally take it. |
The Application …that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.(Gal. 3:14b) We have to believe.
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In light of all this, look here again:
Moses said to God: But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee. And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.(Ex 4:1-2)
The sign that God chose to answer that dilemma (that the people wouldn’t believe the Lord had appeared to Moses) was the rod/Christ prophetically. Christ was the physical manifestation of God. He was God in the flesh, and he became sin and all we have to do is believe.
What if people don’t believe? Show them Christ (the rod). He became sin (cursed, like the serpent) on their behalf. All they have to do is look and believe.
Jody