Numbers 20:14-29
Passage Through Edom Refused
14 Now Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom. “Thus says your brother Israel: ‘You know all the hardship that has befallen us, 15 how our fathers went down to Egypt, and we dwelt in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians afflicted us and our fathers. 16 When we cried out to the LORD, He heard our voice and sent the Angel and brought us up out of Egypt; now here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your border. 17 Please let us pass through your country. We will not pass through fields or vineyards, nor will we drink water from wells; we will go along the King’s Highway; we will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.’”
18 Then Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through my land, lest I come out against you with the sword.”
19 So the children of Israel said to him, “We will go by the Highway, and if I or my livestock drink any of your water, then I will pay for it; let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.”
20 Then he said, “You shall not pass through.” So Edom came out against them with many men and with a strong hand. 21 Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory; so Israel turned away from him.
Death of Aaron
22 Now the children of Israel, the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor. 23 And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying: 24 “Aaron shall be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you rebelled against My word at the water of Meribah. 25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up to Mount Hor; 26 and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; for Aaron shall be gathered to his people and die there.” 27 So Moses did just as the LORD commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 28 Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. 29 Now when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, all the house of Israel mourned for Aaron thirty days.
The people of Israel were refused passage through the land of Edom due to past conflicts between Jacob (Israel) and his brother Esau (Edom) that led to this enmity. They had to travel another route towards Mount Hor on the eastern side of the valley of Arabah, the highest of the whole range of the mountains there. Because Aaron was one who rebelled against the LORD at Meribah, he was refused passage to enter the promised land and died there on that mountain. His son Eleazar took his place as priest afterwards, just as the sons of the original rebellion when spying out the promised land were the only ones of the rest of the people to be allowed to enter in (except Joshua and Caleb who remained faithful and true to the LORD in what they saw). The people mourned Aaron for a whole month before continuing on. This shows there is a price for accountability for we as God’s chosen people now, yet it does not keep us from the promised heavenly land (1 Corinthians 3:11, 12-13, 14-15). May we then be true and faithful to build on the foundation of faith in Jesus Christ our Lord and follow in willing obedience to His word until we hear (Matthew 25:23), “well done, good and faithful servant.” We have been promised the heavenly land and will enter whether we rebel as at our own Meribah or in hesitancy to suffer or die for our Lord or whether we remain faithful, but why would we not desire to be pleasing children and trust Him while doing what we know as revealed in His word to us, especially knowing we will not be refused passage into (Luke 23:43, Revelation 2:7) paradise with Him? This then gives us the example of Refused Passage to the promised land by those who refused to trust and believe God, knowing we who believe the gospel in Jesus Christ are not so denied the promised heavenly land to come.
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