Death of Aaron

MONDAY November 23

Death of Aaron

Read Numbers 20:23–29. What points seem pertinent here in the depiction of the death of Aaron? What lessons can we take away from this for ourselves and whatever work we are doing for the Lord?

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Chapter 20 opened with the death of Miriam and ended with the death of Aaron. It’s clear that the older generation was passing on, and the new one was to take up where they had left off. We see the same thing in our church today. One generation goes, and a new one arises to pick up the mantle. The crucial question remains: How much will the new generation learn from the mistakes, as well as the successes, of the older one?

Notice the difference in the accounts of the death of Miriam and Aaron. Her death was mentioned in just one short verse. It’s almost as if her death came suddenly and unexpectedly. What a contrast to Aaron’s, which is clearly foretold.

Before Aaron’s death, Aaron, Moses, and Aaron’s son, Eleazar, go to the top of Mount Hor, where in the sight of the congregation Moses takes off his brother’s priestly garments and puts them on his nephew, Eleazar, a powerful symbol of the transference of the role of one generation to another. Though Aaron was soon to be “gathered unto his people,” the work of the high priest must go on. In other words, the work and mission of the church is greater than any one man or woman. If we chose, we can do our duty faithfully, but sooner or later we pass from the scene, and others pick up where we have left off.

It’s hard to imagine just how emotional this incident must have been for everyone involved. Moses, knowing that his death would surely soon follow, strips his brother of the sacred garments and places them on his nephew, Aaron’s son; Aaron, no doubt remorseful over some of his failures, knows that he is soon to die; and Eleazar, standing before his father, who will soon die, now bears the heavy responsibility of the high priest. Meanwhile, down below, the children of Israel watch the whole thing unfold.

If you were to die tomorrow, what legacy would you leave? What have you done for the Lord’s work? How can you better use the little time that you, as do any of us (James 4:4–15), have left?