A staff belonging to Aaron, the brother of Moses. It symbolizes the authority of Moses and Aaron in Israel.
When the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness, some people led by Korah, Dathan, and Abiram argued against Moses and Aaron's leadership (Numbers 16:1–40). God punished these rebels, but the other Israelites blamed Moses and Aaron for their deaths (16:41).
To show everyone that God chose Moses and Aaron as leaders, God told Moses to do something special. The Lord told Moses to collect a wooden rod from each tribe and have the leader of the tribe write his name on it. Aaron was told to write his name on the rod of Levi. The rods were placed in the inner room of the tabernacle, in front of the ark (of the covenant).
In the morning, Aaron’s rod had sprouted blossoms and had produced ripe almonds. Aaron's rod was kept in the tabernacle to remind the Israelites that God chose Aaron and Moses as leaders (Numbers 17:1–11; compare Hebrews 9:4).
After that, the people of Israel entered the Wilderness of Zin, but there was no water for them and their flocks. Again the people argued with Moses and Aaron. The Lord told Moses to get Aaron's rod and, in front of Aaron and the rest of the people, command a particular rock to bring forth water.
Moses got angry and said, “Listen now, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” (Numbers 20:10). Then he hit the rock twice with the rod. Water came out and the people drank.
Yet Moses and Aaron were forbidden to enter the land God promised to Abraham's descendants. This was because they did not honor God properly in front of the people (Numbers 20:12–13). An earlier event had shown that God was able to provide water from a rock in a similar way (Exodus 17:1–7).