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Edom’s Refusal, Aaron’s Death

찬송 : 찬송가 421장 (새찬송가 375장)
2017-07-26 [민수기(Numbers) 20:14 - 20:29]

God directed the Israelites’ passage to the land of Edom. On that part of the journey, God appointed Eleazar high priest in Aaron’s place.

14	Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: "Thus says your brother Israel: You know all the hardship that we have met:
15	how our fathers went down to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time. And the Egyptians dealt harshly with us and our fathers.
16	And when we cried to the LORD, he heard our voice and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. And here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory.
17	Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard, or drink water from a well. 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	But Edom said to him, "You shall not pass through, lest I come out with the sword against you."
19	And the people of Israel said to him, "We will go up by the highway, and if we drink of your water, I and my livestock, then I will pay for it. Let me only pass through on foot, nothing more."
20	But he said, "You shall not pass through." And Edom came out against them with a large army and with a strong force.
21	Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory, so Israel turned away from him.
22	And they journeyed from Kadesh, and the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor.
23	And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor, on the border of the land of Edom,
24	"Let Aaron be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land that I have given to the people of Israel, because you rebelled against my command at the waters 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. And Aaron shall be gathered to his people and shall die there."
27	Moses did as the LORD commanded. And they went up Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation.
28	And 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	And when all the congregation saw that Aaron had perished, all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days.

Thinking & Understanding
In the first part of the Israelites’ journey from the wilderness into Canaan, they were confronted with trouble. Although the Israelites asked to pass through Edom, promising not to harm the people there, their request was rejected. In that moment, God told the Israelites not to fight the people of Edom, as they were a relative nation, and made them take a detour (vv. 14-21). When the Israelites reached Mount Hor on the border of Edom, God took Aaron from the world and appointed Eleazar to take his place. As the Israelites drew nearer to Canaan, the leaders of the old generation began to pass away and new leaders were appointed to take their place (vv. 22-29).

What lesson is God teaching me?
Vv. 18-21 As the house of Edom prevented the people of Israel from passing through their land, the Israelites had to take a detour. Even in our lives, whether God tells us to stay on course or go around, we must consider his will and obey.

Vv. 22-29 Because of his sin of disobedience at the waters of Meribah, Aaron lost his life, and the Israelites mourned his death for 30 days. The people of Israel, seeing that even Aaron could not evade the price for disobedience, needed to depart from their reproach and disbelief in Kadesh and go toward the promised land. They needed to learn how to rely only on God and not on Aaron or Moses.

Prayer
Help us, Lord, to keep our faith in you, even if things to do work out well and our paths in life are difficult.