The Way
Aaron on Mount Hor
The high priest's robes pass to his son
Story
The whole community of Israel left Kadesh and came to Mount Hor, on the border of the land of Edom. The red rock mountain caught the evening sun and glowed as if on fire. There the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron. Aaron will now be gathered to his people. Because you rebelled against my word at the waters of Meribah, he will not enter the land I have given Israel.
Moses took Aaron and his son Eleazar and climbed the mountain while the whole community watched. Behind the three men, climbing the stony slope, the shadows stretched long. On the summit Moses took the high priest's garments off his brother one by one and put them on Eleazar. They were the robes in which Aaron had stood before the altar for nearly forty years, bearing the sins of the people.
And there on the mountaintop Aaron died. Only two came down the mountain, Moses and Eleazar. When all Israel learned that Aaron was dead, they mourned for him thirty days. The wilderness wind swept through the camp, and in the midst of the weeping stood Eleazar, wearing the high priest's robes.
Walk this scene on the map →God's Words
Aaron will now be gathered to his ancestors. Because you rebelled against my word at the waters of Meribah, he will not enter the land I have given the Israelites.
Remove Aaron's garments and put them on his son Eleazar. Aaron will die there and be gathered to his ancestors.
The sayings are fresh renderings of the original meaning in today's language. Text: Num 20:22–29
Background
Numbers 33 says Aaron died on the first day of the fifth month of the fortieth year after the exodus, at the age of one hundred and twenty-three. Tradition identifies Mount Hor with Jebel Harun near Petra, where a shrine to Aaron's tomb stands, but others place it at a mountain nearer Kadesh, so the location is uncertain.
Pause and Reflect
Can I be glad that God's work goes on after I step aside?