The High Priest's Last Ascent Text: Numbers 20:23-29
Introduction: A Holy Death
We live in a culture that is terrified of death. We hide it away in sterile hospitals, we speak of it in hushed tones and with clumsy euphemisms, and we treat it as the ultimate, meaningless tragedy. It is the final brute fact that crashes into our lives, signifying nothing. But the Scriptures present a radically different picture. For the people of God, death is not a random accident. It is a divine appointment. It is not the end of the story, but a transition within it. And in certain key moments in redemptive history, the death of a saint is a public sermon, preached by God Himself.
The scene before us is one such sermon. Israel is at the end of their forty years of wandering. The generation that came out of Egypt has died in the wilderness, and now the leadership of that generation is being gathered to their fathers. Miriam has just died. And now, God summons Aaron, the first high priest of Israel, to his own death. But this is not a quiet fading away. It is a solemn, liturgical procession up a mountain. It is a public transfer of office. It is a death saturated with covenantal meaning, a death that is both a judgment for sin and a display of God's enduring faithfulness.
This event is designed to teach Israel, and to teach us, several foundational truths. It teaches us about the holiness of God, the real consequences of sin even for the most exalted leaders, the continuity of God's purposes, and the inadequacy of the old priesthood. The death of Aaron on Mount Hor is a great signpost, pointing forward to a greater High Priest who would ascend a greater mountain, not to have His robes removed in death, but to be crucified for the sins of His people, and to rise again, securing a priesthood that never ends.
The Text
And Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying, "Aaron will be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the sons of Israel because you rebelled against My command at the waters of Meribah. Take Aaron and his son Eleazar and bring them up to Mount Hor; and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar. So Aaron will be gathered to his people and will die there." So Moses did just as Yahweh had commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar, and Aaron died there on the mountain top. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. So all the congregation saw that Aaron breathed his last, and all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days.
(Numbers 20:23-29 LSB)
The Divine Summons (v. 23-24)
The event begins not with a diagnosis, but with a declaration from God.
"And Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying, 'Aaron will be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the sons of Israel because you rebelled against My command at the waters of Meribah.'" (Numbers 20:23-24)
Notice first that this is a direct, divine summons. Aaron's death is not a surprise to God, nor is it a tragedy that overtakes His plan. It is an integral part of His plan. God tells Aaron that the time has come. For the believer, death is not a stumble into the void; it is a call home. The phrase "gathered to his people" is a beautiful expression of this. It does not mean being buried in the family tomb, for they were far from home. It speaks of the afterlife, of joining the assembly of the saints who have gone before. It assumes a conscious existence after death. Aaron is not being annihilated; he is being transferred.
But this summons is tied to a judgment. The reason is stated plainly: "because you rebelled against My command at the waters of Meribah." We must go back a few verses to remember what happened. God told Moses to speak to the rock to bring forth water. Instead, in a fit of anger and presumption, Moses, with Aaron standing by, struck the rock twice and said, "Hear now, you rebels; shall we bring water for you out of this rock?" They misrepresented God's character, acting as though the water came from their own frustrated power, and they disobeyed a direct command. They failed to treat God as holy before the people.
And for this, neither of them would be permitted to lead Israel into the Promised Land. This seems severe to our modern, sentimental ears. But it teaches a crucial lesson: leadership in God's kingdom is a position of high honor and high accountability. To whom much is given, much is required. This sin was public, and the consequences had to be public. It was a sin against the holiness of God's name, and God will not have His glory trifled with, not even by the high priest.
A Liturgy of Succession (v. 25-26)
God does not simply announce Aaron's death; He choreographs it with painstaking, liturgical detail.
"Take Aaron and his son Eleazar and bring them up to Mount Hor; and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar. So Aaron will be gathered to his people and will die there." (Numbers 20:25-26)
This is a formal procession. Three men, Moses the prophet, Aaron the high priest, and Eleazar his successor, ascend the mountain. This is a transfer of office, a divine ordination service. The central action is the stripping of Aaron's priestly garments, the symbols of his holy office, and the placing of them on Eleazar. This is profoundly significant. The man Aaron is mortal, but the office of the high priest is not. The priesthood continues. God's people will not be left without a mediator.
The garments, the ephod, the breastplate with the twelve stones, all represented Aaron's role as the one who stood between a holy God and a sinful people. By transferring these garments before Aaron dies, God makes it clear that the office is distinct from the man. Aaron will die, but he will not die as the high priest. He will die as a man, a believer, whose work is finished and whose office has been passed on. The continuity of God's covenant plan is not dependent on any single man. God's work will go on.
This entire scene highlights the built-in obsolescence of the Aaronic priesthood. It was a priesthood of dying men. Each priest served his term and was "gathered to his people," making way for the next. This constant succession was a perpetual reminder that this priesthood was temporary, a shadow. It was designed to create a longing for a priest who would not die, a priest with an indestructible life. As the writer to the Hebrews argues, Jesus is that priest, after the order of Melchizedek, who "holds His priesthood permanently, because He continues forever" (Hebrews 7:24).
Sorrowful Obedience (v. 27-28)
The command is given, and the execution is carried out with stark, faithful obedience.
"So Moses did just as Yahweh had commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar, and Aaron died there on the mountain top. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain." (Numbers 20:27-28)
Consider the weight of this task on Moses. He must lead his own brother, his companion in ministry for over forty years, up a mountain to die. He must be the one to remove the holy garments and effectively decommission him. This is a moment of profound personal grief, yet Moses's personal feelings are subordinate to the command of God. His obedience is precise and unwavering. True faithfulness is not the absence of sorrow, but obedience in the midst of it.
This is done "in the sight of all the congregation." This is not a private family matter. It is a public lesson for the entire nation. They needed to see that sin has consequences. They needed to see the solemnity of the high priestly office. And they needed to see and acknowledge the transfer of authority to Eleazar. There was to be no confusion, no leadership vacuum. God manages His household with perfect order.
And so, on the top of the mountain, the transfer is made, and Aaron dies. Two men come down the mountain where three went up. The congregation below would have seen Eleazar, now clothed in the high priestly garments, and Moses, alone. The message would have been unmistakable. Aaron was gone, but the priesthood remained.
National Mourning (v. 29)
The people's response is one of collective grief.
"So all the congregation saw that Aaron breathed his last, and all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days." (Numbers 20:29)
When the congregation "saw" that Aaron was dead, the word implies more than just visual perception. They understood, they perceived the finality of it. And their response was to weep for thirty days, a formal period of national mourning. This is the same period of mourning they would later observe for Moses himself.
This is important. Yes, Aaron's death was a judgment for his sin at Meribah. But that judgment did not negate his life of service. He was their first high priest. He had stood with Moses before Pharaoh. His budding rod had been placed in the Ark as a testimony. He had, despite his failures, served God's people. The weeping is a sign of love and respect. God can judge a specific sin in the life of one of His saints without erasing the grace that was evident throughout that life. The people's grief was appropriate. They had lost a father in Israel. But their grief was contained within the framework of God's ongoing covenant faithfulness. They wept, but they now had a new high priest. Life would go on.
Our High Priest Who Lives
The entire story of Aaron's death is a shadow pointing to the substance, who is Christ. Every detail that shows the weakness of the Aaronic priesthood serves to magnify the glory of Christ's priesthood.
Aaron, a sinner, ascended Mount Hor to die because of his rebellion. Jesus, the sinless Son of God, ascended Mount Calvary to die for our rebellion. Aaron was stripped of his glorious robes as his office was handed to another. Jesus was stripped of his simple garments in shame, as He took upon Himself the filthy rags of our sin. Aaron's death meant the end of his priestly work. Christ's death was the very center of His priestly work, the once-for-all sacrifice that perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
Aaron's priesthood had to be passed on because of death. But Jesus, after His death, rose again and ascended into the true holy place, into heaven itself. He is a priest forever. He doesn't need a successor. Because He lives forever, He "is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25).
The death of Aaron was a solemn and holy event, ordered by God to teach His people. It taught them about sin, holiness, and the continuity of the covenant. But its greatest lesson is one of contrast. It shows us our need for a better priest, one who is not barred from the promised land but who is the very gate to it. It points us to Jesus, our great High Priest, who did not die on a mountain top in judgment, but who conquered death itself, and now invites us to draw near to the throne of grace with confidence.