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NUMBERS
CHAPTER 20

1 Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there. 2 And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. 3 And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the LORD! 4 And why have ye brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there? 5 And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink. 6 And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto them. 7 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 8 Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink. 9 And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him. 10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? 11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. 12 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them. 13 This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them.

In Exodus 17 we are told of the first time Israel came to this same place; which was near
the beginning of their journey toward the promised land. Now, coming to this place again,
near the end of 40 years, the SAME THING occurs -- murmuring!
Mention is made of Miriam's death. She had served the Lord well, but as one of those who
rebelled against God's chosen leader, she would not get to see the promised land.
Sin, though forgiven when we ask, is not without consequence. And it is appointed by
our God that one consequence of sin is death (Hebrews 9:27).
Sometimes, unjust murmurings provoke leaders to irrational and costly behavior.
Indeed Moses went before God with desire for an answer of help. And God's glory shone
brightly (verse 6). And God told them what to do. But their listening power was
dulled with provoked anger.
There are some major lessons for us here:
1) When we come before God, we should leave our anger and pay attention closely.
2) What God directs we should do exactly.

Moses is told to take "the rod" (that famous rod of his) to the rock and gather
the people. Last time Moses was told to strike the rock. But this time his is
only to speak to the rock.
This "rock" is a type of Christ (1Corinthians 10:1-4). He is once "smitten" for all
people. He dies for their sins and provides the "water of life" freely to all who will
come. But once Christ was smitten, it is only for us then to "speak" to Him and
receive!
Moses and Aaron both will died before entering Canaan because of this sin of irrational
behavior. Let me be so bold as to say that even when provoked, sin is sin.
And it has consequences!
Do we EVER learn? God promises to care for us if we'll only believe. Somehow we'd
rather gripe about how bad things are than to focus on the good.
Notice verse 13 says that God was "sanctified in them." Even though this was water of
strife (Meribah), yet God was pleased to have mercy and provide them with what
they needed - water.
Because of the people's rebellious attitude, Moses and Aaron acted in anger and
robbed God of His glory in the miracle (Verse 10).
There are two ways of looking at this statement. First, "sanctified" may mean
"set apart." God was set apart from them because He did not receive the glory for
His miracle.
Second, "sanctified" may mean to be holy. God acted in holiness within
them, even though He did not receive glory from them!
God is merciful to us beyond our imagination! He was in them by His Divine
choice, not because of their willingness. (See 1Peter 4:18)

14 And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us: 15 How our fathers went down into Egypt, and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians vexed us, and our fathers: 16 And when we cried unto the LORD, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt: and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border: 17 Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country: we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king's high way, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders. 18 And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword. 19 And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go by the high way: and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it: I will only, without doing any thing else, go through on my feet. 20 And he said, Thou shalt not go through. And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand. 21 Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border: wherefore Israel turned away from him.

Before traveling onward toward Canaan, Moses sends Ambassadors to the king of Edom
asking permission to cross their land. Moses promises a straight march which will
not affect the land.
But the king of Edom refused, and sent an army out to stop Israel. Now, are these not
God's chosen people? Didn't God promise safe passage? Then why didn't
Israel just go to war with Edom, and beat them down, then go on?
Notice that Moses said they were Edom's brothers (verse 14).
We are not to think ill of our blood brethren even if they treat us with disrespect! 1Timothy 6:2-5, 2Timothy 2:13-16, and 2Timothy 2:23-24).

22 And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh, and came unto mount Hor. 23 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in mount Hor, by the coast of the land of Edom, saying, 24 Aaron shall be gathered unto his people: for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah. 25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto mount Hor: 26 And strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son: and Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, and shall die there. 27 And Moses did as the LORD commanded: and they went up into mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 28 And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there in the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount. 29 And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they mourned for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.

Aaron is now going to die, and Moses is given explicit instructions concerning replacement.
Notice that Aaron's death is a time of honor. Though he had sinned, and the consequences
of death and never entering Canaan are upon him, yet he died with dignity and honor from God and
from the people. They mourned Aaron for 30 days.

Remember that Aaron (the High Priest) represents Christ taking the sacrifice
and making atonement for the people. Aaron is stripped of his clothing and
it is placed on his son. Jesus died in the flesh and is now seated at the
right hand of God. But the "sons of God" through Jesus (the church) are to
carry on His work!

While Jesus was in the world, He was holding back the wrath of God as He
preached salvation by repentance. When the church preaches the cross
(the symbol of Christ's death), people MOURN (verse 29), and then repent.
It is the preaching of the cross that brings people to repentance, and also
restrains evil in the world today.

One day, God will remove the church (rapture), and then restraint will be
taken away. Then God's wrath will be poured out on the world.

Please continue to follow along in Bible study with us.