Let's Do This Thing

Numbers 20:24-29
(24) "Let Aaron be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land that I have given to the people of Israel, because you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah.
(25) Take Aaron and Eleazar his son and bring them up to Mount Hor.
(26) And strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son. And Aaron shall be gathered to his people and shall die there."
(27) Moses did as the LORD commanded. And they went up Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation.
(28) And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son. And Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain.
(29) And when all the congregation saw that Aaron had perished, all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days.

When I read this today I had a strange moment of putting myself in their place. Normally I read narrative kind of dispassionately. I am taking in information, but not really living the moment.

Think about this. First, you have the disobedience of Aaron that must have hung over his head. He wasn't always the best leader for the people, but God did make him the high priest. He had a lot of responsibility and was certainly very visible. He and Moses had been through a lot together. His death led to 30 days of mourning.

But on this day Aaron knew it was over. As he climbed the mountain he knew that he wasn't coming back down. Could you imagine having that kind of certainty about your death? I can't quite get my mind around it.

This begs the question -- are you ready for it?