June 17, 2011 – Numbers 20

Here we have, in one chapter, both Aaron and Miriam dying.  My footnotes say this is about 3 years into the Exodus.  If it is going to last 40 years, these two don’t make it very far and Moses will be dealing with the Israelites on his own for most of the time.  Aaron is a very important character and the first high priest, but if he dies 3 years into the Exodus, and he really wasn’t too important it seems up until the Exodus, then he had a very short span of importance in the timeline of the Bible, yet a very significant one.  3 years is the same length as Christ ministry, so you can see what a person can do with only 3 years. 

Moses struck the rock twice instead of once and therefore will not be entering the promise land.  That seems rather harsh, considering we don’t know how long the pause was.  Then I was thinking, even if he had only hit it once but without conviction or with doubt, God would still know.  God knows not only what we are going to do before we do it, but the motivation and thoughts behind it better that we do.  There didn’t need to be any physical or apparent delay for God to know what was in Moses’ heart and his doubts.  And notice that Moses will defend the people against God or ask God to be merciful on them when they do wrong, but has no argument for this reaction.  He knows very well that he had doubted God in that moment or I think we would have had some back and forth from Moses.  He knew he was in the wrong and accepted the consequences.