Basic HTML Version
264
The Beginning of the End
Aaron Dies in Moses’ Arms
So the multitude of Israel again made their way over the empty
wasteland that seemed even more dreary after a glimpse of the green
spots among the hills and valleys of Edom. From the mountain range
overlooking this gloomy desert rises Mount Hor, whose summit was
to be the place of Aaron’s death and burial. When the Israelites came
to this mountain, God commanded Moses:
“Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up to Mount
Hor; and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son;
for Aaron shall be gathered to his people and die there.” Together
these two old men and the younger one climbed up the mountain.
The heads of Moses and Aaron were white. Their long and eventful
lives had included the deepest trials and the greatest honors that had
ever come to anyone. They were men who had great natural ability
and all of their talents had been developed, exalted, and dignified by
communication with the Infinite One. Their faces showed that they
had great intellectual power, firmness and nobility of purpose, and
strong affections.
Through many years together they had met many dangers, but
the time had come when they must be separated. They moved on
very slowly, for every moment in each other’s society was precious.
[209]
The climb was steep and exhausting, and as they often paused to
rest, they talked together of the past and the future. The scene of
their desert wanderings was spread out in front of them. The vast
hosts of Israel, for whom these chosen men had spent the best part of
their lives and made great sacrifices, were camped in the plain below.
Somewhere beyond the mountains of Edom was the path leading
to the Promised Land, that land whose blessings Moses and Aaron
were not to enjoy. A solemn sadness rested on their faces as they
remembered what had kept them from entering the land promised to
their fathers.
Aaron’s work for Israel was done. Forty years before, at the
age of eighty-three, God had called him to unite with Moses in
his challenging mission. He had held up the great leader’s hands
when the Hebrew army was battling the Amalekites. He had been
privileged to climb Mount Sinai, to see God’s glory. The Lord had
honored him with the sacred consecration of high priest and had