Scroll to the bottom for thoughts/discussion questions!
One-sentence summary: Miriam dies, the people complain there is no water, the Lord tells Moses and Aaron to strike a rock so that water may come out, Moses strikes the rock instead which results in his and Aaron's being barred from entering the promised land, and Aaron dies.
The Lord tells Aaron that he and his sons will bear the iniquity associated with the sanctuary and the priesthood and tells him to take the Levites to serve him. However, they are not to come near the altar, or they and the priests will die. Instead, they will do the work of the tabernacle, while the priests attend to the sanctuary and the altar, so that Israel will not incur anymore wrath. The Levites will be like a gift from the Lord to the priests. The Lord tells Aaron the he is also being given all the heave offerings, he and his sons, along with all priests after him- grain, sin, and trespass offerings will be for them, and they are to eat them because they are holy. The wave offerings are also theirs. They will have all the best of the wine and new grain (first fruits) as well; everything that is devoted to God in Israel will belong to them. However, all the firstborn of men and unclean animals will be redeemed for five shekels of silver, even though they belong to the Lord. The firstborn of cows, sheep, and goats will belong to the Lord and be given as sacrifices, but Aaron and his sons will be able to eat of them. The Lord calls it a "covenant of salt" between the descendants of Aaron and Himself. The priests will have no inheritance among Israel, because the Lord will be their portion and their inheritance. He also says the Levites will be given the tithes of Israel for their work in the tabernacle, and none of the Israelites should come near the tabernacle lest they die. The Levites also will not have an inheritance because their inheritance will be the tithes. The Lord tells Moses to tell the Levites to sacrifice a tenth of the tithes to the Lord as a heave offering.
The Lord gives specific directions again for how sacrifices are to be made.
The Lord gives more instructions for touching or coming near a dead body or a grave, which includes being unclean for seven days and needing to bathe with water.
Then the whole congregation comes to Kadesh in the wilderness, and Miriam dies and is buried. There is no water, so, of course, the people gather together and complain against Moses and Aaron, asking them why they have been brought "to this evil place" to die. So Moses and Aaron fall on their faces at the door of the tabernacle, and the glory of the Lord appears. And the Lord tells Moses to take the rod, gather the people together, and to speak to the rock before their eyes so that it will yield water for them and their animals. They gather the people together, and Moses, says, "Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?" Then, Moses lifts his hand and strikes the rock twice, and water gushes out. But the Lord speaks to Moses and Aaron and says that because they "did not believe [Him] and hallow [Him] in front of Israel," they will not be allowed to bring the children of Israel into the promised land. The place is named "Meribah," meaning quarreling or contention.
Moses sends messengers to the king of Edom (the descendants of Esau) and asks if they can pass through his country without taking anything. But Edom says that they will not pass or "[he] will come against [them] with the sword," so they say they will go by the highway, but he still says no. Then, Edom comes out against them "with many men and a strong hand." So Israel must find another way to go, and they journey to Mt. Hor. The Lord speaks to Moses and Aaron and tells them that Aaron will not enter the land because he has rebelled against God's word at Meribah. the Lord tells them to take Aaron upon the mountain and to take his clothes and put them on Eleazar his son because Aaron is going to be "gathered to his people" and die on the mountain. Aaron dies on the mountain, and Moses and Eleazar come down alone. When Israel sees Aaron is dead, they mourn for him for 30 days.
Thoughts/Discussion Questions:
The greater the position, the greater the responsibility. It is difficult to fathom how one seemingly small act done out of understandable frustration would have barred Moses from entering the promised land, but Moses was acting as God before the people and grossly misrepresented Him. He had to pay a huge price because of it, along with Aaron. However, he did get to see Jesus's day! (Another point for another day!)
There was a reason God asked Moses to speak to the rock. Jesus is the rock of our salvation. To speak to the rock means to agree with the Word (Jesus) that God has forgiven our sins and does not bring past sins repented of up again. Moses's act was supposed to foreshadow Christ.
I know we are just scratching the surface here! Please feel free to comment with your own thoughts and questions!