And they removed from Kadesh; and the children of Israel, the whole assembly, came to mount Hor.
Israel leaves Kadesh, and the whole nation moves on to Mount Hor. The verse reads like a bare travel note, yet this is the mountain where Aaron dies and where his robes pass to his son.
The march is short, and the mountain at the end of it is known for a grave.
From Kadesh they travelled to Mount Hor. No stopping place is mentioned between them, unless Beeroth in Deuteronomy 10:6 comes in here. At Mount Hor Aaron died and was buried. Numbers 33:37-38.
Where was this mountain, and when did Israel reach it?
The mountain on which Aaron died when the Israelites were near the end of their wanderings. Numbers 20:22-28; Numbers 21:4; Numbers 33:37-41; Deuteronomy 32:50. It is the range of mountains on the eastern side of the wady Arabah.
This verse also marks a dividing line in the journey.
And now in Numbers 20:22 they begin the fourth and last stage of their journey, which took about a year or so.
They reached Hor by a longer road. Edom would not let them pass, and Israel turned aside instead of fighting. That restraint becomes a rule for dealing with opponents who are also relations.
Edom, full of jealousy, will not let the way be shortened; Israel turns away from him. Some people oppose us, and it is right to turn away from them. The reason is some outward relationship between them and ourselves. They may be driven by relentless hatred. Still, we must know how to tell them apart. God will judge them in His own time. Our hand must not be on them. The enemies of God must be our enemies. Where the enemy's power is clear, the war is God's. But on the road we meet people who came from the line of promise, though only in a natural way, and who are marked by the flesh. We leave them to God. It is His right to judge them.
The verse stresses that the whole congregation came. They were there as witnesses: the high priest's office passed from father to son in front of them.
The time had now come for Aaron to disappear. As happened with Moses a little later, his death was announced in advance. He had no period of weakness and no sickbed, for he could climb to the top of a mountain in full view of the people. There, stripped of his garments, which were placed on his son, he died. The Aaronic priesthood was for earth, so it could be handed on, "because they were prevented by death from continuing in office" (Hebrews 7:23). This was the first time the priesthood had to be handed on. By God's appointment it happened in a very public way, so that no one could challenge Eleazar's new position.
Aaron does not simply die of old age. He and Moses were both kept out of the land. This march brings him to the place where he dies.
Aaron dies, and the time is not far off when Moses too must die. It is a solemn thought that these two honoured servants of God had to die in the wilderness like the generation God said would not enter His rest. God is righteous, and He maintains His government according to His righteousness.
The garments moved to another man because the wearer died. Writers read that as the very thing that sets Christ's priesthood apart.
At Mount Hor Aaron was stripped of his priestly garments, and they were put on his son Eleazar, for Aaron had to die. Death removed high priest after high priest of the Levitical order. But Christ's priesthood cannot be handed on. And "he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:24-25).
Commentators differ over Eleazar himself. Some see him as a picture of Christ:
His priestly garments of glory and beauty are transferred to his son Eleazar. Eleazar is a type of Christ in resurrection, the only power for true priesthood. It is the risen Lord who is our Priest.
Others hold back: "The priestly robes are put on Eleazar, but he is never presented like Aaron as a type of Christ's priesthood" (The Bible Treasury).
- Leave. The people set out from Kadesh, with no recorded stop before Mount Hor.
- Turn. Edom's refusal made the road longer. Israel turned aside instead of striking a hostile relative, and left the judging to God.
- Arrive. Mount Hor lies at the end of that road, and the whole congregation came there as witnesses.
- Strip. In full view of the people, Aaron's garments passed to Eleazar. He died under God's righteous government, and the handover was public.
- Abide. Aaron's robes passed on because he died. Christ's priesthood passes to no one, because He always lives to intercede.
And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron in mount Hor, on the border of the land of Edom, saying,
God speaks to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor, on the edge of Edom's land. Edom, Israel's own relatives, had just refused to let them pass. What God says next is not about Edom at all, but about Aaron: the sentence passed at Meribah is now due.
Israel is at Mount Hor because Edom, their own relatives, refused them the road. Writers see a pattern here: opposition from people tied to God's people by blood.
But Israel's wandering is drawing to its close, and we now come to the enemies who oppose its ending, and the people's entry into the land they longed for. Edom, full of jealousy, will not let the way be shortened; Israel turns away from him. Some people oppose us, driven by relentless hatred. Yet it is right to turn away from them, because of some outward relationship between them and ourselves. We must know how to recognise them. God will judge them in His own time; our hand must not be on them.
The opposition here comes from closer to home than before.
At this stage of the journey (Num. 20:14) Satan's opposition shows itself — not in the hatred of strangers, nor in their own rebellion, but in the open hostility of relatives. When the issue lies between God and the world, natural relationships are no guarantee against hatred. We find it here, as in the gospel. "And a person's enemies will be those of his own household" (Matt. 10:36). Moses sent to the king of Edom saying, "your brother Israel," and Edom's answer is a threat.
The next verse points back to the waters of Meribah. What Moses said at the rock put himself and Aaron where God should have been.
And it was not only a matter of what he did but also of what he said. It was true enough that the people were sadly rebellious in heart. He was not wrong to address them as "you rebels." But he also said, "shall we bring water for you out of this rock?" With those words he presented himself and Aaron as the doers of the miracle, instead of lifting the people's thoughts up to God Himself. God did not fail: He gave a generous response. Even so, His disciplinary action fell on both Moses and Aaron. Neither of them would be allowed to lead the people into the land.
Why should two men so honoured be shut out of Canaan? Writers answer by separating God's grace from His government of His people on earth.
The reader will do well to ponder deeply the subject of grace and government. It may seem astonishing to us, hard to understand, that one so loved as Moses should be refused entrance into the promised land. But in this we see the solemn working of divine government, and we have to bow our heads and worship.
High office gave no shelter. The same writer sets Aaron beside two others who lost what they held for the same reason.
Weighty words were spoken to Saul, when he had failed to obey the word of the Lord. So we have before us examples of a prophet, a priest and a king, all judged under the government of God for an act of disobedience. The prophet and the priest lost their entrance into the land of Canaan, and the king lost his throne. The reason was simple: they disobeyed the word of the Lord.
The way Aaron leaves is unusual.
The time had now come for Aaron to disappear. As with Moses a little later, God gave notice of his death in advance. He had no period of weakness and no sickbed, for he could climb to the top of a mountain in the sight of the people. There, stripped of his garments, which were placed on his son, he died. The Aaronic priesthood was for earth, so it could be handed on, "because they were prevented by death from continuing in office" (Heb. 7:23).
The priesthood does not end at Mount Hor. It passes to a son who stands for someone greater.
Next, Aaron passes away. His priestly garments of glory and beauty pass to his son Eleazar. Eleazar is a picture of Christ in resurrection, and only a risen Christ gives power for true priesthood. It is the risen Lord who is our Priest.
- Place — God speaks at Mount Hor because Edom, a relative by blood, has barred the road. Hostility can come from those nearest. Israel turns aside instead of fighting.
- Cause — Aaron dies outside the land because of Meribah. There he and Moses put themselves forward as the ones fetching the water, instead of pointing the people to God.
- Government — God governs His own people on earth. A prophet, a priest and a king each lost their place for disobeying His word.
- Manner — no illness and no surprise: Aaron is told beforehand and walks up the mountain in full view of the people.
- Continuation — the garments pass to Eleazar. Death cuts short the earthly priesthood, so it must be handed on. It points to a Priest death cannot replace.
Aaron shall be gathered unto his peoples; for he shall not enter into the land that I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my commandment at the waters of Meribah.
God tells Moses and Aaron that Aaron's life is over, and that he will die outside the land promised to Israel. The reason reaches back to an old failure at the waters of Meribah, so why does one moment cost a lifelong servant the land?
God's sentence came long after the sin, not on the day of it:
At the water of Meribah Moses and Aaron sinned seriously. They committed a very serious offence. They struck the rock and challenged the congregation. But the water came out, and it came at once and abundantly, as though everything were fine. The whole congregation drank it. As far as anyone could see at the time, the Lord had no dispute with anyone. But afterwards the Lord let them know that He had not overlooked their offence. Because of it, they would come short of the land of Canaan and die on the wilderness side of the Jordan.
God says "you rebelled" — the charge falls on both leaders. It came down to a rod:
In Numbers 20 the people, wanting water, contend with Moses. When appealed to, Jehovah directs Moses to take the rod and speak to the rock, and the rock would give its water. Here Moses and Aaron quite fail to represent Jehovah's grace. For instead of speaking with Aaron's rod of priestly grace, Moses struck the rock with his own rod of power. The waters flowed; but Moses and Aaron were doomed to die outside the land, as they did.
Aaron is not the only one who lost a place this way:
Adam was driven out of paradise. Aaron was stripped of his priestly robes. Moses was refused entrance into Canaan. Saul was deprived of his kingdom. And for what? Was it for what men would call a grave moral offence — some scandalous sin? No; it was, in each case, for neglecting the word of the Lord.
God states the failure openly in His own record of Aaron's life. There is a reason for that:
We see here the way in which the Lord is able to tell of the sins of the saints — to record the failures of the saints. Let man write the life of his fellow man, and he tries to hide his failures, and why? Because he wants to exalt the man. Let the Holy Spirit write the life of a saint, and He records the sins and failures of that saint, and why? Because He exalts the grace of God.
Aaron's robes come off and go onto his son. Why did the office need to pass on at all?
The time had come for Aaron to go. As with Moses a little later, God gave notice of his death in advance. He had no long illness and no sick-bed, for he could climb to the top of a mountain in full view of the people. There, stripped of his garments, which were placed on his son, he died. The Aaronic priesthood was for earth, so it could be handed on. The priests "were prevented by death from continuing in office" (Hebrews 7:23). This was the first time the priesthood had to pass on. So God arranged it very publicly, and no one could challenge Eleazar's new position. The picture, however, is nothing compared with Christ Himself. The priesthood of the Lord Jesus is heavenly. As the next verse in Hebrews tells us, He "holds his priesthood permanently" — it can never be handed on.
Aaron dies, but the office does not. Commentators differ over how far to read Eleazar as a picture of Christ. Some read the succession as deliberate teaching:
Next, Aaron passes away. His priestly garments of glory and beauty pass to his son Eleazar. Eleazar is a picture of Christ in resurrection, the only power for true priesthood. It is the risen Lord who is our Priest.
Others stop short of reading him that way:
The priestly robes go onto Eleazar, but he is never presented like Aaron as a picture of Christ's priesthood.
- Word — Aaron loses Canaan for setting aside God's word, not for a scandal. Adam lost Eden and Saul lost a kingdom for the same reason.
- Delay — the water flowed at Meribah as if nothing was wrong. God's verdict came later. A moment nobody challenges is not a moment God overlooks.
- Grace — Moses struck the rock with a rod of power. A rod of priestly grace should have spoken instead. That was the failure.
- Record — the Holy Spirit writes the sin into the servant's story. Man hides failure to exalt the man; God records it to exalt His grace.
- Succession — Aaron's robes pass to Eleazar because death kept ending that priesthood. The priesthood of Jesus is heavenly. He holds it permanently, and it is never handed on.
Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto mount Hor,
Aaron, the high priest, must climb a mountain he will not come down from, and his son Eleazar climbs it with him. Two questions follow: why must Aaron die outside the land, and what happens to the priesthood when the priest dies?
The reason reaches back to an earlier failure at the waters of Meribah.
When Israel came to Mount Hor, the Lord told Moses and Aaron that the time for Aaron's death had come (v.24). God reminds them both of the sentence He had already passed: neither of them would enter the land of Canaan, because they had disobeyed His Word at the waters of Meribah. So Moses was to take Aaron and Eleazar up Mount Hor and there strip Aaron of his high priestly garments. Eleazar was to receive them as Aaron's successor (vs.25-26).
God loved Moses. God still kept him out of the promised land.
The reader will do well to think long and hard about grace and government. It is a truly weighty and practical subject, and Scripture illustrates it often, though few of us understand it. It may seem strange and hard to understand that God refused a man so loved as Moses entry into the promised land. But in this we see the solemn action of the divine government, and we have to bow our heads and worship.
The stripping and re-clothing was not a private family act. It happened on a mountain top, in the open, and the reason lies in what was being handed over.
The time had now come for Aaron to disappear. God announced his death in advance, as He did later with Moses. He had no period of weakness and no bed of sickness, for he could go to the top of a mountain in the sight of the people. There, stripped of his garments, which were placed on his son, he died. The Aaronic priesthood belonged to earth, so it could be passed on, because death stopped those priests from continuing in office (Heb. 7:23). This was the first time the priesthood had to be handed on. God arranged for it to be done in full public view, so that no one could challenge Eleazar's new position. The picture, however, is nothing compared with the reality it points to. The priesthood of the Lord Jesus is heavenly, and, as the next verse in Hebrews tells us, it can never be passed on.
Notice the order of the commands: the robes move to Eleazar before Aaron dies. Israel was never left for a moment without a priest.
In Numbers 20 we see priesthood at work among the needs and complaints of the people. At the close of the chapter it touches on how lasting that priesthood is, in the stripping of Aaron and the clothing of Eleazar. A living Priest goes up Mount Hor, away from the people. A living Priest comes down again, appearing before them without a break.
Some read Aaron's death as the end of something. The details of this verse rule that out.
Now it is clear that the meaning of the death of Aaron in Numbers 20 is misunderstood. The idea is not the end of priesthood, because it does not end. Aaron's son, Eleazar, carries it on. Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar before Aaron died. How important it is to notice every small detail of an account! Otherwise, in forming our idea of it, we leave out something essential.
Eleazar takes up the office after his father's death. Some commentators see a picture of Christ in that.
Next, Aaron passes away. His priestly garments of glory and beauty pass to his son Eleazar. Eleazar pictures the risen Christ, who alone is the power for true priesthood. It is the risen Lord who is our Priest.
Commentators differ here. Another writer holds back from making Eleazar a picture of Christ at all:
The priestly robes are put on Eleazar, but he is never presented, as Aaron is, as a picture of Christ's priesthood.
- Cause. Aaron climbs Mount Hor under sentence. He and Moses disobeyed God's word at Meribah, so neither would enter Canaan.
- Government. God's love for a servant does not cancel His government over that servant. Bow before that truth; do not argue with it.
- Handover. The robes pass to Eleazar before Aaron dies, and in full public view, so no one could question who the priest now was.
- Continuity. A living priest went up the mountain and a living priest came down. The office never stopped, so Aaron's death cannot mean priesthood ended.
- Contrast. Aaron's priesthood passed from father to son because death cut it short. Christ's priesthood is heavenly, and it can never be passed on.
and strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron shall be gathered [to his peoples], and shall die there.
This command reads like a funeral notice given in advance. God tells Moses to take his brother up Mount Hor, strip off the high priest's clothing, and put it on Eleazar. Two things happen at once. God carries out a sentence, and an office changes hands.
The reason goes back earlier in the chapter, to the waters of Meribah.
At the water of Meribah, Moses and Aaron sinned seriously. They committed a very high offence in striking the rock and challenging the congregation. But the water came out, at once and abundantly, as though all were right. The whole congregation drank of it. By every present and immediate appearance the Lord had no dispute with anyone. But afterwards the Lord lets them know that their offence had not been overlooked. Because of it they would fall short of the land of Canaan and die on the wilderness side of the Jordan.
One writer weighs what it means to rebel against God's word from a high place:
Let these words sink down into our hearts. It is a terrible thing to rebel against the word of God. The higher the position of those who rebel, the more serious it is, in every way, and the swifter and more solemn God's judgement must be.
Aaron does not die in his robes. Moses takes them off him first. One writer looks back over a life of narrow escapes that ends here.
At the time of the golden calf, Aaron had been spared. When the fire of the Lord destroyed Nadab and Abihu for offering unauthorized fire, Aaron had kept silent. He knew that the fault of his sons was not as grave as his own had been. Once more he is spared. Now at the end of his life he must die, stripped of the garments that marked the high position to which he had been called. His faith, like that of his brother, had been defective at the critical moment.
The solemn tone here can make the handover look like the end of priesthood. One writer warns against that reading.
Now it is clear that the significance of the death of Aaron in Numbers 20 is misunderstood. The idea is not the end of priesthood, because it does not end. Aaron's son, Eleazar, carries it on. Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar before Aaron died. How important it is to notice every small detail of an account! Otherwise we leave out something essential to a correct idea.
Another writer separates the man's failure from the office he held:
At Meribah, Aaron shared in his brother's sin and was set aside. The failure was personal to him; there was no failure in the office itself. But it would not have done for Eleazar to be cut off from Canaan. Eleazar derives everything from Aaron. He only continues Aaron's work in a new form, and Aaron may give way to him without any loss of dignity.
The handover happens in full view, and that is part of the point.
The time had now come for Aaron to disappear. As with Moses a little later, God announced his death in advance. He had no period of weakness and no sickbed. He could climb to the top of a mountain in the sight of the people. Aaron's priesthood belonged to the earth, so it could be passed on. Those priests were "prevented by death from continuing in office" (Heb. 7:23). This was the first time it had to be passed on. God arranged it in a very public way, so no one could challenge Eleazar's new position. The picture, however, is slight compared with the reality. The priesthood of the Lord Jesus is heavenly, and, as the next verse in Hebrews tells us, it cannot be passed on. Being the Son, He is made perfect forever.
One writer sees more in the son who receives the garments than a replacement.
The moral reason for his death at that time was his disobedience. Yet God's wisdom lies behind it, showing that Eleazar is a picture of Christ as High Priest in resurrection. It is the One raised from the dead who leads us into heavenly places, pictured by the land of Canaan.
- Cause. Aaron's death outside Canaan goes back to Meribah. The water flowed as if nothing were wrong, but God had not overlooked the offence.
- Weight. Rebellion against God's word is a terrible thing, and a high position makes it graver, not lighter.
- Handover. The robes come off before the man dies. The office outlives the man: Eleazar receives everything from Aaron, and Aaron loses no dignity.
- Publicity. God announced the change in advance and made it on a mountain top in view of the people, so no one could dispute the new priest's standing.
- Contrast. An earthly priesthood changed hands because death stopped its priests. Christ's priesthood cannot be passed on, and the risen Priest brings His people into the land Aaron never entered.
And Moses did as Jehovah had commanded, and they went up mount Hor before the eyes of the whole assembly.
God told Moses to take Aaron and Eleazar up Mount Hor. Moses obeyed. He walked his own brother up a mountain to die, while the whole nation watched. Two things meet in this one verse: obedience that cost everything, and a handover of the priesthood done where Israel could see it.
The mountain was not a natural end to a long life. It was the outworking of God's sentence after the failure at the waters of Meribah. One writer treats this as a study in two things held together — God's grace and His government over His own servants:
The reader will do well to think deeply about the subject of grace and government. It may seem strange to us, hard to understand, that God refused one so loved as Moses entry into the promised land. But in this we see the solemn action of God's government, and we have to bow our heads and worship. It was not only that Moses, in his official role, or as the representative of the law, could not bring Israel into the land. This is true; but it is not all. Moses spoke rashly with his lips. He and Aaron his brother failed to glorify God in front of the congregation. Because they rebelled against God's word at the waters of Meribah, God told them that neither of them would bring Israel into the land.
The verse records no protest and no delay. Moses obeys — and what he does is strip his own brother. The same writer weighs what that cost him:
The closing paragraph of Numbers 20 is deeply touching. Moses had once thought he could not do without Aaron's company. But he later found him to be a sore thorn in his side. Now he must strip him of his robes and see him gathered to his fathers. All this is very sobering, however we view it, whether as regards Moses or Aaron. May the good Lord engrave its solemn lesson deeply on the tablets of our hearts!
The words "in the sight of all the congregation" are not decoration. Aaron was strong enough to climb a mountain on the day he died, and God arranged the handover in the open on purpose:
The time had now arrived for Aaron to disappear. As with Moses a little later, God announced his death in advance. He had no period of weakness and no sick-bed, for he could go to the top of a mountain in the sight of the people. There, stripped of his garments, which were placed on his son, he died. Aaron's priesthood belonged to earth, so it could be passed on. The priests "were prevented by death from continuing in office" (Heb. 7:23). This was the first time the priesthood had to be handed over. God appointed a very public handover, so that no one could challenge Eleazar's new position.
What Israel saw was not a gap but a seam:
In Numbers 20 we see priesthood at work among the needs and murmurings of the people. At the close of the chapter, the stripping of Aaron and the clothing of Eleazar touch on how priesthood continues. A living priest goes up Mount Hor, away from the people. A living priest comes down again, appearing before their eyes with no break.
Israel watched a high priest climb a mountain and not come back. One writer sets that public exit against the High Priest who went up to heaven:
Moses stripped Aaron of his robes on Mount Hor and passed them to his son. Then Aaron died on that mountain. In this way Aaron warned Israel how weak man is when he represents the High Priest of God, who lives to die no more. He went up into the mountain "in the sight of all the congregation" (Num. 20:27-28) — a striking contrast to the High Priest above, who ascended to heaven with hands uplifted in blessing (Luke 24:50). Christ, because He continues forever, holds a priesthood that cannot be handed on to anyone else (Heb. 7:24). Aaron failed in patience, along with Moses, and so he died on the mountain. But Christ's patience never runs out.
Because the scene is so final for Aaron, it is easy to make it mean more than it does. One writer pushes back:
The meaning of Aaron's death in Numbers 20 is misunderstood. The idea is not the end of priesthood, because priesthood does not end. Aaron's son Eleazar carries it on. Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar before Aaron died. How important it is to notice every small detail of an account! Otherwise, when we form our idea of it, we leave out something essential.
- Cause. Aaron climbs Mount Hor because of Meribah. God's government touches even His most honoured servants. Our part is to bow and worship.
- Cost. Moses obeys the hardest order of his life. He strips the brother he once thought he could not do without.
- Clarity. The handover is public "in the sight of all the congregation," so that no one could dispute Eleazar's office.
- Continuity. A living priest goes up and a living priest comes down. Priesthood does not stop, so do not read this scene as its end.
- Contrast. Aaron went up a mountain to die. Christ went up with hands raised in blessing, and His priesthood passes to no one else.
And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there upon the top of the mountain; and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain.
At Mount Hor, in full view of the people, Moses takes the high priest's robes off his own brother, puts them on Aaron's son, and Aaron dies on the mountain top. Commentators read the scene as God's sentence running its course, and also as a picture of a priesthood that death cannot interrupt.
Aaron's death is not sudden news. It carries out a sentence God had already passed.
When the people of Israel came to Mount Hor, the Lord told Moses and Aaron that the time had come for Aaron to die. God reminded them both that He had passed sentence: neither of them would enter the land of Canaan. The reason was their disobedience to His Word at the waters of Meribah.
Twice before, Aaron had been spared.
At the time of the golden calf, Aaron was spared. When the fire of the Lord destroyed his sons Nadab and Abihu for offering unauthorized fire, Aaron kept silent. He knew their fault was not as serious as his own had been. Once more he is spared. Now, at the end of his life, he must die, stripped of the garments that marked the high position he had been called to. His faith, like his brother's, had failed at the critical moment.
The one who takes the robes off Aaron is the brother who once begged for his company.
The closing paragraph of Numbers 20 is deeply touching. Read it beside the scene in Exodus 4:1-17. Moses had thought Aaron's company essential to him. Later he found him to be a painful thorn in his side. Now he must strip his brother of his robes and see him die.
Aaron walks up the mountain on his own feet. The handover happens in public, and for a reason.
He had no time of weakness and no sick bed, for he could climb to the top of a mountain in the sight of the people. There Moses stripped him of his garments, put them on his son, and he died. Aaron's priesthood belonged to the earth, so it could be passed on, since those priests "were prevented by death from continuing in office" (Hebrews 7:23). This was the first time the priesthood had to be handed on. God therefore appointed a very public handover, so that no one could challenge Eleazar's new position… The priesthood of the Lord Jesus is heavenly. As the next verse in Hebrews says, He "holds his priesthood permanently" — it can never be handed on to anyone else.
Because the robes change shoulders before Aaron dies, Israel is never left without a priest.
In Numbers 20 we see priesthood at work among the needs and the complaints of the people. At the end of the chapter, its lasting nature is touched on in the stripping of Aaron and the clothing of Eleazar. A living Priest goes up Mount Hor, away from the people; and a living Priest comes down — appearing again without a break, in their sight.
Another writer warns against reading the chapter as though priesthood stopped here.
It is clear that the meaning of Aaron's death in Numbers 20 has been misunderstood. The point is not the end of priesthood, because priesthood does not end. Aaron's son Eleazar carries it on. Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar before Aaron died.
The son who receives the robes carries a meaning of his own.
Eleazar is Aaron's third son. After the death of Nadab and Abihu, the priesthood comes to life again in him. He is the clear picture of Christ as a risen Priest, whose place of intercession is the fruit of His finished work. His resurrection means that His atoning death was accepted; and so He is Eleazar, the true "help of God" for His people, who depend on Him.
One writer sees more than discipline behind the timing of this death.
The moral reason for his death was his disobedience. Yet God's wisdom lies behind it too, showing that Eleazar is a picture of Christ as High Priest in resurrection. It is the One raised from the dead who leads us into heavenly places, pictured by the land of Canaan… Aaron's death touched Israel deeply. How much more deeply should the death of the Lord Jesus touch us, even though we know Him now as raised in glory.
- Sentence. Aaron dies on Mount Hor for the disobedience at Meribah. God's word runs its course, even with a man He had spared twice before.
- Stripped. The robes come off Aaron before his last breath. The office was never his by personal right.
- Handed on. God made the transfer public, so no one could dispute Eleazar's place. An earthly priesthood passed from man to man because death kept ending it.
- Unbroken. A living priest went up the mountain and a living priest came down. Israel was never left without one.
- Risen. Eleazar's name means "help of God." He pictures the Priest raised from the dead, whose office is never handed on, and who leads His people forward.