The Death of Aaron (Num. 20:22-29)

This sermon was preached on 29/3/2012

Great men sometimes live in the shadows. The shadow may be cast by a greater family member, and that was true of Aaron because he lived his great life under the shadow of Moses, the primary leader of the nation of Israel. Even Aaron’s high experiences, such as when he had fellowship in a wonderful way with the God of Israel (Exod. 24:1-11), was overshadowed by the more intimate experience that Moses was given at that time by the Lord (Exod. 24:12ff.). Or the shadow may be cast by a failure that is so big it is always there and again Aaron had this type of shadow ever since he had agreed to participate in the formation of the golden calf when his brother Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments from the Lord (Exod. 32). Yet although he lived in the shadows, he also lived a useful life, serving the Lord in a privileged and prominent position as the first High Priest of Israel, as one who was a type of the Great High Priest yet to come, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The events covered in this chapter took place within a period of five months. Miriam died in the first month and Aaron died on the first day of the fifth month of the fortieth year (Num. 33:38-39), with that month being given over to mourning for his death. Moses died later that year (Deut. 32:48-52), and his death too was followed by a month’s mourning. The striking aspect is how close each of them was to the time when Israel crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land. The sin that kept Moses and Aaron out of the Promised Land was committed only a few months before the children of Israel began their campaign to conquer Canaan.

God is sovereign regarding our demise

As is very clear from the narrative in Numbers 20, the death of Aaron was arranged by the Lord. The manner of his revealing the timing of Aaron’s demise to him as well as to Moses meant that the death would not be a sudden experience, even if it would still be a solemn one. It would not be sudden in the sense that he would drop down dead, although the warning time he was given of his imminent demise was short. Nevertheless, the fact that God arranged for the timing of Aaron’s death is is a reminder that God is sovereign in every detail of one’s life. He has numbered our days, says the psalmist in Psalm 139:16.

I suppose if we had asked Aaron where he expected to die, he would have given different answers depending on where he was living at certain stages. For the first few decades, he may have thought that he would be buried in Egypt, having suffered at the hands of the taskmasters. Later, he may have thought he would die in the desert as an old man during the years of Israel’s wanderings in the desert, because the Lord had indicated that all members of that generation, apart from Joshua and Caleb, would pass away in the desert. Yet here he is, fit enough at over 120 years of age, to scale a mountain that was almost 5,000 feet high. The moment and place of our death is fixed in the hands of God and nothing can change it, which should give us great confidence as we look ahead to leaving earth for heaven. It should also tell us to be ready for its arrival, as Aaron seems to have been.

God gathers his people home

When God informed Moses and Aaron about the latter’s imminent death, he first gave to him great assurance when he said that he would be ‘gathered to his people’. This was a wonderful promise full of great comfort. Yet we have to remind ourselves that we have so many more promises about heaven than Aaron ever had. It is legitimate to deduce from this promise to Aaron that what we will need when we come to this moment in our journey is the promises of God about heaven. Therefore we should be implanting them in our minds now because we don’t actually know when we will need them.

Several times in the Bible we are told that when a person died he was gathered to his people. The deaths of Abraham (Gen. 25:8), Ishmael (Gen. 25:17), Isaac (Gen. 35:29), and Jacob (Gen. 49:33) are described in such a manner by Moses in the Book of Genesis. The Lord himself used this description in connection with the deaths of Aaron here in verse 24 and later with Moses himself (Deut. 32:50).

When we look at the deaths of these individuals, we see that the phrase ‘gathered to his people’ does not refer to their burial spots. When Abraham died, the only other body in the family tomb in the cave of Machpelah was that of Sarah because she had been the first to be buried there. It was similar with Isaac and Jacob – Isaac’s body was placed beside the remains of his wife Rebekah and his parents in that same cave and later Jacob’s body was placed there as was his wife Leah. It is difficult to conclude that such internments in a family plot were what Moses had in mind when he wrote that these individuals were gathered to their people.

Then when we turn to consider the deaths of Aaron and Moses, we will see that they were buried lie in unknown locations – Aaron is buried on Mount Hor and Moses died on Mount Pisgah in the land of Moab and the Lord himself buried him (Deut. 33). Later Moses, we know, was resurrected because he appeared with Elijah when they met Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. But Aaron’s dust lies in isolation, so his gathering to his people cannot refer to where he is buried.

At first glance, to call death ‘a gathering to one’s people’ may seem a strange description because we might think that death does the opposite, that it separates the dead individual from his people. Yet clearly the phrase refers to a Gatherer and to a gathered community. The Gatherer is the Lord himself and in this divine activity we see an important aspect of his role as the Good Shepherd. This has been his aim all along with regard to his people, to gather them eventually into his presence. Nevertheless he has had to gather them from dangerous spiritual situations.

With regard to Aaron, the Good Shepherd first had to bring him into the flock and then protect him from his sinful tendencies. We don’t know when Aaron first met with the Lord. He did not have his brother’s privileged upbringing in the palace of Pharaoh, although he did have the same parental care. In any case, he had become a servant of the Lord and was very willing to get involved in the dangerous mission of speaking on behalf of Moses to Pharaoh after his brother had been called by God.

I suppose Aaron’s flaws were connected to his nice temperament. Because he was accommodating he was willing to take second place to Moses and because he was accommodating he was also willing to make the golden calf when the people demanded that he should do so. Yet Aaron was a man who was marked by a concern for the Lord’s cause, although at times he could misinterpret it, as on the occasion when he and Miriam objected to Moses’ Cushite wife, as recorded in Numbers 12 (it looks again as if Aaron was not the leader in this objection because he was not punished in the same way as Miriam was); yet on that occasion he was also quick to confess his sins. Sometimes a character trait can be used in a good way and sometimes in a bad way. Yet the Good Shepherd did not abandon Aaron because of his sins, although he did lose out on the enjoyment of spiritual privileges through his later refusal to obey God’s commands at Meribah. But it is wonderful to know that Aaron’s sins did not prevent him being gathered by the Good Shepherd at the end of life’s journey. What was true of him will also be true of all believers – after all it is saved sinners who are gathered!

Aaron was gathered to his community. He lived among the Israelites, but he was not gathered to them when he died. Instead he left them as a community, although many of them were also in the community to which he went. In that new community, he would have rejoined the spirits of his sister Miriam and his parents Amram and Jochebed, and his ancestors in the line of Abraham. He would also have joined all those who had become members of that community long before Abraham had been called by God, going all the way back to Abel himself. With each arrival, heaven was increasing in its population.

How Aaron left this world

When Aaron went to his new community, he did not go there as high priest. On the top of Mount Hor, Moses stripped Aaron of his priestly garments and put them on to Eleazar his son. No doubt, Aaron was pleased to see the continuation of this role being assured for God’s people. Yet as far as he was concerned, he was high priest no longer. This is a reminder of two things: first, he did not get to heaven because he was the high priest and, second, his role in heaven will not be the same as he had on earth. This may seem obvious, but we have to remember that heaven is not earth continued. It is more than a change of location, it also involves a change of activities and capabilities.

Aaron also died contentedly. This aspect has been well expressed by Matthew Henry, who observed: ‘Quickly after he was stripped of his priestly garments, he laid himself down and died contentedly; for a good man would desire, if it were the will of God, not to outlive his usefulness. Why should we covet to continue any longer in this world than while we may do God and our generation some service in it?’ Aaron knew that he had spent many years in the service of God and was now going to be with his God. And he was calm and glad to do so.

When Aaron went to his new community, he did not go unmissed. The people of Israel mourned for him for thirty days (the usual period of mourning was seven days, so to do so for a month shows the high regard in which Aaron was held). They did this despite his failings because they realised that a giant in Israel had fallen. Often it is the case that the value of a person is recognised after he or she has gone. Perhaps a major part in their grief was their recollection of the murmurings that took place at Meribah which led Moses and Aaron to sin. But no doubt they also recalled the countless times he had led their worship services as they drew near to God.

Four brief comments

There are four brief comments that can be made about this incident. First, we can see in the demise of Aaron the dignity of faith. Here is a man who is strong enough to ascend a mountain but who is submissive enough to accept the Lord’s will for his life. If he was not acting in faith, he would have resisted the process. Surely, as Calvin puts it, Aaron’s ‘mind was lifted up to the hope of a blessed resurrection, from whence arises a cheerful readiness to die.’ Here is an example of how to die. The account is so matter-of-fact because Aaron went through it in simple, expectant faith.

Second, the prospect of and the experience of heaven made up to Aaron for his failure to have a prominent place in the world. Aaron, as we have seen was a very gifted man, and perhaps he could have gone far. Yet like his younger brother, he chose to serve the people of God. In making that choice out of love for them, he actually chose the path to success because he will be highly rewarded in heaven.

Third, heaven made up to Aaron for the troubles that came his way in his family. He had the awful of experience of seeing two of his sons experience the judgement of God because of their attitudes towards God’s cause. I’m sure he carried that burden with him for the rest of his days. It is unlikely that it would be lifted as long as he was in this world. Yet it would be gone when he was gathered to his people. In ways that we cannot understand now, the unexplainable and sad events in life’s journey will be dealt with by the experience of glory.

Fourth, heaven made up for the spiritual experiences that he was denied because of his own folly. By standing alongside Moses at Meribah when he smote the Rock twice in disobedience to God’s instruction, Aaron was denied entrance into the Promised Land. No doubt he was disappointed at this development and perhaps it was on his mind when he ascended Mount Hor. Yet whether it was or not, the solution to denials in this life is the fullness of the next life. One moment in the place of gathering would deal with any sense of loss that Aaron knew.

What God Thought of Aaron

I mean by this heading to ask, Did God allow Aaron to be referred to again in the Bible and in what ways? Here are two references.

First, many centuries later, the Lord speaks to his people about their sins and outlines his goodness towards them. One of the good things that he had mentions is that he had given Aaron, along with Moses and Miriam, to be the leaders of his people (Mic. 6:4). His contribution at the commencement of the nation’s history was such that they should never forget it, and God reminded them of the names of his servants.

Second, the Lord wanted to be praised for sending Aaron to lead his people. We can see this from the way he inspired the psalmists to include Aaron’s name in their songs (Pss. 77:20; 105:26). In Psalm 99:6-8, the Lord wanted to be praised for having answered the prayers of Aaron, even although he also suffered divine chastisement for his sins.

We can conclude this meditation by applying to Aaron a verse from Psalm 116: ‘Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints’ (v. 15). In addition to the many blessings Aaron received on the day of his home-going, it is evident that it was a day that the Lord valued highly and indeed has recorded its details for us to learn from.