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.