Water from a Rock
1 The people of Israel arrived at the Zin Desert during the first month and set up camp near the town of Kadesh. It was there that Miriam died and was buried.
2 The Israelites had no water, so they went to Moses and Aaron 3 and complained, “Moses, we'd be better off if we had died along with the others in front of the Lord's sacred tent. 4 You brought us into this desert, and now we and our livestock are going to die! 5 Egypt was better than this horrible place. At least there we had grain and figs and grapevines and pomegranates. But now we don't even have any water.”
6 Moses and Aaron went to the entrance to the sacred tent, where they bowed down. The Lord appeared to them in all of his glory 7-8 and said, “Moses, get your walking stick. Then you and Aaron call the people together and command that rock to give you water. That's how you will provide water for the people of Israel and their livestock.”
9 Moses obeyed and took his stick from the sacred tent. 10 After he and Aaron had gathered the people around the rock, he said, “Look, you rebellious people, and you will see water flow from this rock!” 11 He raised his stick in the air and struck the rock two times. At once, water gushed from the rock, and the people and their livestock had water to drink.
12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you refused to believe in my power, these people did not respect me. And so, you will not be the ones to lead them into the land I have promised.”
13 The Israelites had complained against the Lord, and he had shown them his holy power by giving them water to drink. So they named the place Meribah, which means “Complaining.”
Israel Isn't Allowed To Go through Edom
14 Moses sent messengers from Israel's camp near Kadesh with this message for the king of Edom:
We are Israelites, your own relatives, and we're sure you have heard the terrible things that have happened to us. 15 Our ancestors settled in Egypt and lived there a long time. But later the Egyptians were cruel to us, 16 and when we begged our Lord for help, he answered our prayer and brought us out of that land.
Now we are camped at the border of your territory, near the town of Kadesh. 17 Please let us go through your country. We won't go near your fields or vineyards, and we won't drink any water from your wells. We will stay on the main road until we leave your territory.
18 But the king of Edom answered, “No, I won't let you go through our country! And if you try, we will attack you.”
19 Moses sent back this message: “We promise to stay on the main road, and if any of us or our livestock drink your water, we will pay for it. We just want to pass through.”
20 But the king insisted, “You can't go through our land!”
Then Edom sent out its strongest troops 21 to keep Israel from passing through its territory. So the Israelites had to go in another direction.
Aaron Dies
22 After the Israelites had left Kadesh and had gone as far as Mount Hor 23 on the Edomite border, the Lord said, 24 “Aaron, this is where you will die. You and Moses disobeyed me at Meribah, and so you will not enter the land I promised the Israelites. 25 Moses, go with Aaron and his son Eleazar to the top of the mountain. 26 Then take Aaron's priestly robe from him and place it on Eleazar. Aaron will die there.”
27 Moses obeyed, and everyone watched as he and Aaron and Eleazar walked to the top of Mount Hor. 28 Moses then took the priestly robe from Aaron and placed it on Eleazar. Aaron died there.
When Moses and Eleazar came down, 29 the people knew that Aaron had died, and they mourned his death for 30 days.
Events at Kadesh
(Exodus 17.1-7)1 In the first month the whole community of Israel came to the wilderness of Zin and camped at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.
2 There was no water where they camped, so the people gathered around Moses and Aaron 3 and complained: “It would have been better if we had died in front of the Lord's Tent along with the other Israelites. 4 Why have you brought us out into this wilderness? Just so that we can die here with our animals? 5 Why did you bring us out of Egypt into this miserable place where nothing will grow? There's no grain, no figs, no grapes, no pomegranates. There is not even any water to drink!” 6 Moses and Aaron moved away from the people and stood at the entrance of the Tent. They bowed down with their faces to the ground, and the dazzling light of the Lord's presence appeared to them.
7 The Lord said to Moses, 8 “Take the stick that is in front of the Covenant Box, and then you and Aaron assemble the whole community. There in front of them all speak to that rock over there, and water will gush out of it. In this way you will bring water out of the rock for the people, for them and their animals to drink.” 9 Moses went and got the stick, as the Lord had commanded.
10 He and Aaron assembled the whole community in front of the rock, and Moses said, “Listen, you rebels! Do we have to get water out of this rock for you?” 11 Then Moses raised the stick and struck the rock twice with it, and a great stream of water gushed out, and all the people and animals drank.
12 But the Lord reprimanded Moses and Aaron. He said, “Because you did not have enough faith to acknowledge my holy power before the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land that I promised to give them.”
13 This happened at Meribah, where the people of Israel complained against the Lord and where he showed them that he is holy.
The King of Edom Refuses to Let Israel Pass
14 Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom. They said, “This message is from your kinsmen, the tribes of Israel. You know the hardships we have suffered, 15 how our ancestors went to Egypt, where we lived many years. The Egyptians mistreated our ancestors and us, 16 and we cried to the Lord for help. He heard our cry and sent an angel, who led us out of Egypt. Now we are at Kadesh, a town at the border of your territory. 17 Please permit us to pass through your land. We and our cattle will not leave the road or go into your fields or vineyards, and we will not drink from your wells. We will stay on the main road until we are out of your territory.”
18 But the Edomites answered, “We refuse to let you pass through our country! If you try, we will march out and attack you.”
19 The people of Israel said, “We will stay on the main road, and if we or our animals drink any of your water, we will pay for it—all we want is to pass through.”
20 The Edomites repeated, “We refuse!” and they marched out with a powerful army to attack the people of Israel. 21 Because the Edomites would not let the Israelites pass through their territory, the Israelites turned and went another way.
The Death of Aaron
22 The whole community of Israel left Kadesh and arrived at Mount Hor, 23 on the border of Edom. There the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 24 “Aaron is not going to enter the land which I promised to give to Israel; he is going to die, because the two of you rebelled against my command at Meribah. 25 Take Aaron and his son Eleazar up Mount Hor, 26 and there remove Aaron's priestly robes and put them on Eleazar. Aaron is going to die there.” 27 Moses did what the Lord had commanded. They went up Mount Hor in the sight of the whole community, 28 and Moses removed Aaron's priestly robes and put them on Eleazar. There on the top of the mountain Aaron died, and Moses and Eleazar came back down. 29 The whole community learned that Aaron had died, and they all mourned for him for thirty days.