Neville Goddard on Numbers 17:1-13 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Numbers 17 in context

Scripture Focus

1And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

2Speak 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.

3And 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.

4And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet with you.

5And 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.

6And 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.

7And Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness.

8And 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.

9And 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.

10And 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.

11And Moses did so: as the LORD commanded him, so did he.

12And the children of Israel spake unto Moses, saying, Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish.

13Whosoever cometh any thing near unto the tabernacle of the LORD shall die: shall we be consumed with dying?

Numbers 17:1-13

Biblical Context

Moses gathers twelve rods, one for each prince; Aaron's rod is chosen and blossoms, signaling a single inner state approved by God. The sign quiets the murmuring and reveals the presence of the I AM within.

Neville's Inner Vision

Think of the twelve rods as the twelve states of awareness that each prince represents. The tabernacle is the inner meeting place where God, the I AM, inspects our heart. When God says 'the rod I shall choose shall blossom,' He is not selecting a man in time but revealing the state of consciousness you are entertaining in this moment. Aaron's rod, chosen and placed among the others, becomes the living symbol of your most faithful inner posture—the quiet, stewarding awareness that does not murmur against the good. The blossoming, buds, and almonds are a vivid sign that the inner assumption has taken root and is now producing tangible effects in your life; the other rods lie flat because they have not been assumed. The threat of dying near the tabernacle is your inner consent to limitation; turn away from it by affirming the chosen state through feeling-it-real. When you accept the inner "rod" God has made alive, you cease the murmuring within and awaken to the presence of your true self.