CONTEXT:
PART
5: Travelling North
Part
five sees them travelling north up the east side of the
Dead Sea and three battles.
Ch.20:
[Action]
Water
from the Rock & encounter with Edom
•
Miriam's death, Moses' failure
& Aaron's death
Ch.21:
[Action]
Battles
physical & spiritual & travel
•
battle with Arad, snakes
and defeating Sihon & Og
|
FRAMEWORKS:
Numbers 20: Water from the Rock & encounter with Edom
v.1-6
The People complain at lack of water
v.7,8
The Lord Instructs Moses
v.9-13
Moses Oversteps the mark
v.14-21
Edom Denies Israel Passage
v.22-29
The Death of Aaron
[Preliminary
Notes: This chapter starts the third Phase of Israel's
journey from Egypt to the point of entering the Promised Land.
[Phase 1 was the journey from Egypt to Sinai, Phase 2 from Sinai
to Kadesh, Phase 2A might be considered as the forty years of
wandering in the desert to the south of Canaan, and Phase 3 is
travelling up the east side of the Dead Sea until they are eventually
able to cross the Jordan near Jericho.]
This
chapter is monumental in that in it Miriam and Aaron both die
and Moses is told he also won't enter the Land. Then the journey
up the east side of the Dead Sea begins until they will eventually
reach the area often referred to as ‘Trans Jordan', the land to
the east of the river Jordan (which flowed from what we later
call the Sea of Galilee down to the Dead Sea) where, on the Plains
of Moab, Moses addresses the nation before he dies and they enter
the Land – found in Deuteronomy.]
v.1-6
The People complain at lack of water
v.1
In
the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert
of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.
v.2
Now
there was no water for the community, and the people gathered
in opposition to Moses and Aaron.
v.3
They
quarrelled with Moses
and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before
the Lord!
v.4
Why
did you bring the Lord 's community into this wilderness, that
we and our livestock should die here?
v.5
Why
did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has
no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no
water to drink!”
v.6
Moses
and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of
meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared
to them.
[Notes:
People in the leadership (who are simply getting old)
start dying. Miriam, Moses' sister is the first. It is at Kadesh
on the southern boundary of Canaan. There, yet again, the people
find fault with Moses because again they find a shortage of water.]
v.7,8
The Lord Instructs Moses
v.7
The
Lord said to Moses,
v.8
“Take
the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly
together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour
out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community
so they and their livestock can drink.”
[Notes:
Again the Lord instructs Moses to produce water from
the rock, but this time not by striking the rock as happened previously
[Ex 17:6] but simply to speak to the rock.]
v.9-13
Moses Oversteps the mark
v.9
So
Moses took the staff from the Lord 's presence, just as he commanded
him.
v.10
He
and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock
and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you
water out of this rock?”
v.11
Then
Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff.
Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
v.12
But
the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not
trust in me enough to honour me as holy in the sight of the Israelites,
you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”
v.13
These
were the waters of Meribah, [ Meribah means quarreling]
where the Israelites quarrelled with the Lord and where he was
proved holy among them.
[Notes:
Now whether Moses is stressed by the loss of his sister
or he is just fed up with the people and his grace has run low,
we don't know but instead of following the Lord's instructions,
he aggressively addresses and chastises the people and TWICE strikes
the rock with his staff. Faith would have simply spoken to
the rock but Moses just relied on his own authority and even though
the Lord does give the water, He chastises Moses who has failed
to properly represent Him and tells both he and Aaron that they
will not enter the Land. At the age of 120 one wonders if ‘going
home' and being released from shepherding this unruly nation was
in fact a relief! Almost more of a reward than a discipline.]
v.14-21
Edom Denies Israel Passage
v.14-17
Moses requests passage through Edom
v.14
Moses
sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, saying:
“This
is what your brother Israel says: You know about all the hardships
that have come on us.
v.15
Our
ancestors went down into Egypt, and we lived there many years.
The Egyptians mistreated us and our ancestors,
v.16
but
when we cried out to the Lord , he heard our cry and sent an angel
and brought us out of Egypt.
“Now
we are here at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory.
v.17
Please
let us pass through your country. We will not go through any field
or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along
the King's Highway and not turn to the right or to the left until
we have passed through your territory.”
v.18
Edom refuse them
v.18
But
Edom answered: “You may not pass through here; if you try, we
will march out and attack you with the sword.”
v.19
Israel appeal to them again
v.19
The
Israelites replied: “We will go along the main road, and if we
or our livestock drink any of your water, we will pay for it.
We only want to pass through on foot—nothing else.”
v.20
Again Edom refuse and send out their army
v.20
Again they
answered: “You may not pass through.” Then Edom came out against
them with a large and powerful army.
v.21
Israel simply skirt their territory
v.21
Since
Edom refused to let them go through their territory, Israel turned
away from them.
[Notes:
Now Edom was the territory immediately to the north
and the east of Kadesh and the shortest route to Canaan would
have been directly north through Edom. The Edomites, however,
presumably feel threatened by this large body of people on their
southern border and refuse to let them through. Israel therefore
decide to skirt round to the east, thus taking the route up the
east side of the Dead Sea.]
v.22-29
The Death of Aaron
v.22
The
whole Israelite community set out from Kadesh and came to Mount
Hor.
v.23
At
Mount Hor, near the border of Edom, the Lord
said to Moses and Aaron,
v.24
“Aaron
will be gathered to his people. He will not enter the land I give
the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against my
command at the waters of Meribah.
v.25
Get
Aaron and his son Eleazar and take them up Mount Hor.
v.26
Remove
Aaron's garments and put them on his son Eleazar, for Aaron will
be gathered to his people; he will die there.”
v.27
Moses
did as the Lord commanded: They went up Mount Hor in the sight
of the whole community.
v.28
Moses
removed Aaron's garments and put them on his son Eleazar. And
Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar
came down from the mountain,
v.29
and
when the whole community learned that Aaron had died, all the
Israelites mourned for him thirty days.
[Notes:
According to 33:38 this occurs in the 40th year after
the exodus from Egypt. On the mountain to the north of Kadesh,
Aaron, Eleazar and Moses conduct a poignant ritual of handing
over the role of chief priest when the Lord tells Moses and Aaron
that Aaron's time on earth is also coming to an end. Aaron is
123 years old [Num 33:39]. Yet he had been of one heart with Moses
at the rock in wanting to angrily chastise the people. Together
they had failed to properly represent the Lord before the people.
Now Aaron simply dies, presumably of old age.]