Why are Moses and Aaron barred from leading Israel into the land after water comes from the rock?

Atlas of Saints · Chapter summary

God says they have not believed him so as to sanctify him before Israel. The people and cattle receive abundant water, but that result does not cancel the stated judgment. At Mount Hor, Aaron’s exclusion is repeated, his garments are put on Eleazar, and Aaron dies.

Chapter breakdown

In the first month, the children of Israel and the whole multitude come to the desert of Sin and stay at Cades. Mary dies and is buried there; the chapter heading identifies her as Moses’ sister. Lacking water, the people gather against Moses and Aaron in rebellion. They wish they had perished with their brothers before the Lord. They ask why the leaders brought the Lord’s congregation into the wilderness for them and their cattle to die, and why they brought them out of Egypt to this wretched place. They say it cannot be sown and produces no figs, vines or pomegranates, and has no drinking water.

Moses and Aaron leave the multitude, enter the tabernacle of the covenant, fall flat on the ground and cry to the Lord. They ask him to hear the people’s cry and open his treasure to them—a fountain of living water—so that, once satisfied, they may stop complaining. The Lord’s glory appears over them. He tells Moses to take the rod, assemble the people with his brother Aaron, and speak to the rock before them. The rock will yield water, and the multitude and cattle will drink. Moses takes the rod that was before the Lord, as commanded.

Moses gathers the multitude before the rock and addresses them as rebellious and unbelieving. He asks whether he and Aaron can bring them water from this rock. He lifts his hand and strikes the rock twice with the rod. Water comes out in great abundance, and the people and their cattle drink. The account gives his words and actions without naming anger as their cause.

Challoner reads the rock as a figure of Christ and the water flowing from it as a figure of Christ’s precious blood, the source of all our good.

The Lord tells Moses and Aaron that, because they have not believed him so as to sanctify him before the children of Israel, they will not bring the people into the land he will give them.

Challoner explains their fault as a certain lack of confidence and weakness of faith. He says they did not doubt God’s power or truthfulness, but were concerned about the unworthiness of the rebellious, unbelieving people and therefore spoke with some ambiguity. This explanation belongs to the note; it is not additional wording in God’s recorded sentence.

The place is called the Water of contradiction, where Israel strove in words against the Lord and he was sanctified in them.

Challoner gives “strife” as another rendering of contradiction, and identifies the Hebrew name as Meribah.

Moses sends messengers from Cades to Edom’s king, speaking as “thy brother Israel.” They say the king knows all the hardship that has come upon Israel. Their fathers went down to Egypt, where they lived a long time, and the Egyptians afflicted both them and their fathers. Israel cried to the Lord; he heard and sent an angel who brought them out of Egypt. They are now at Cades, a city at the far edge of Edom’s borders. They request passage through the country, promising to avoid fields and vineyards, drink no well water, and follow the common highway without turning right or left until they pass the borders. Edom refuses and threatens to come out armed if they pass. Israel offers to use the beaten way and pay a fair price if the people or cattle drink any water; price will be no difficulty, and they ask only to pass speedily. Edom again refuses and immediately comes to meet them with a vast multitude and great strength. He will not grant passage, so Israel turns another way from him. No further motive for the turn is stated.

Israel moves camp from Cades to Mount Hor on Edom’s borders. There the Lord tells Moses that Aaron must go to his people. Aaron will not enter the land given to Israel because he was unbelieving toward God’s words at the waters of contradiction. Moses must take Aaron and his son up Mount Hor, strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son. Aaron is to be gathered to his people and die there.

Moses does as commanded. They ascend Mount Hor before the whole multitude. Moses strips Aaron of his garments and clothes Eleazar with them. Aaron dies at the mountain’s summit, and Moses comes down with Eleazar. Seeing that Aaron is dead, the whole multitude mourns him for thirty days throughout all their families. The text does not describe the manner of his death.

The story inside

The rock account distinguishes the provision of water from the judgment on the leaders. God commands speech to the rock; Moses speaks to the people and strikes twice. Water still comes abundantly. God then names the leaders’ failure and says they will not bring Israel into the land. The successful provision and the judgment both belong to the account.

That judgment returns at Mount Hor, where God connects Aaron’s exclusion with the waters of contradiction. The garment transfer is commanded and then performed before Aaron’s death. Between these scenes, the exchange with Edom also separates request from result: Israel makes two offers, Edom refuses and comes out against them, and Israel turns away. The recorded sequence is complete without adding motives for Moses’ striking, Israel’s turn or Aaron’s manner of dying.

Lessons worth keeping

1
A received gift does not erase a recorded failure. The people and cattle drink, yet God still judges Moses and Aaron for not believing him so as to sanctify him before Israel.
2
The Edom exchange includes both offers. Israel first promises not to use the wells, then offers payment for any water consumed. Edom refuses, and the text reports Israel’s turn without explaining its private reasoning.
3
Aaron’s death has a recorded preparation and response. His garments are placed on Eleazar, and all Israel’s families mourn thirty days. Keeping those details does not require adding a peaceful death or an unrecorded doctrine of succession.

Test your recall

How does the judgment at the rock reappear in God’s instructions at Mount Hor, and what do Moses and Israel then do?

Source edition and notes

Douay–Rheims, revised by Richard Challoner (1749–1752). Project Gutenberg no. 1581. Locators refer to lines in the admitted pg1581.txt edition. Source notes may include Challoner commentary.

Lines 16462–16483
Numbers Chapter 20 The death of Mary the sister of Moses. The people murmur for want of water: God giveth it them from the rock. The death of Aaron. 20:1. And the children of Israel, and all the multitude came into the desert of Sin, in the first month: and the people abode in Cades. And Mary died there, and was buried in the same place. 20:2. And the people wanting water, came together against Moses and Aaron: 20:3. And making a sedition, they said: Would God we had perished among our brethren before the Lord. 20:4. Why have you brought out the church of the Lord into the wilderness, that both we and our cattle should die? 20:5. Why have you made us come up out of Egypt, and have brought us into this wretched place which cannot be sowed, nor bringeth forth figs, nor vines, nor pomegranates, neither is there any water to drink?
Lines 16484–16499
20:6. And Moses and Aaron leaving the multitude, went into the tabernacle of the covenant, and fell flat upon the ground, and cried to the Lord, and said. O Lord God, hear the cry of this people, and open to them thy treasure, a fountain of living water, that being satisfied, they may cease to murmur. And the glory of the Lord appeared over them. 20:7. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 20:8. Take the rod, and assemble the people together, thou and Aaron thy brother, and speak to the rock before them, and it shall yield waters. And when thou hast brought forth water out of the rock, all the multitude and their cattle shall drink. 20:9. Moses therefore took the rod, which was before the Lord, as he had commanded him,
Lines 16500–16507
20:10. And having gathered together the multitude before the rock, he said to them: Hear, ye rebellious and incredulous: Can we bring you forth water out of this rock? 20:11. And when Moses had lifted up his hand, and struck the rock twice with the rod, there came forth water in great abundance, so that the people and their cattle drank,
Lines 16508–16511
The rock.... This rock was a figure of Christ, and the water that issued out from the rock, of his precious blood, the source of all our good.
Lines 16512–16515
20:12. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: Because you have not believed me, to sanctify me before the children of Israel, you shall not bring these people into the land, which I will give them.
Lines 16516–16521
You have not believed, etc.... The fault of Moses and Aaron, on this occasion, was a certain diffidence and weakness of faith; not doubting of God’s power or veracity; but apprehending the unworthiness of that rebellious and incredulous people, and therefore speaking with some ambiguity.
Lines 16522–16524
20:13. This is the Water of contradiction, where the children of Israel strove with words against the Lord, and he was sanctified in them.
Lines 16525–16526
The Water of contradiction.... Or strife. Hebrew, Meribah.
Lines 16527–16558
20:14. In the mean time Moses sent messengers from Cades to the king of Edom, to say: Thus saith thy brother Israel: Thou knowest all the labour that hath come upon us: 20:15. In what manner our fathers went down into Egypt, and there we dwelt a long time, and the Egyptians afflicted us and our fathers. 20:16. And how we cried to the Lord, and he heard us, and sent an angel, who hath brought us out of Egypt. Lo, we are now in the city of Cades, which is in the uttermost of thy borders, 20:17. And we beseech thee that we may have leave to pass through thy country. We will not go through the fields, nor through the vineyards, we will not drink the waters of thy wells, but we will go by the common highway, neither turning aside to the right hand, nor to the left, till we are past thy borders. 20:18. And Edom answered them: Thou shalt not pass by me: if thou dost I will come out armed against thee. 20:19. And the children of Israel said: We will go by the beaten way: and if we and our cattle drink of thy waters, we will give thee what is just: there shall be no difficulty in the price, only let us pass speedily. 20:20. But he answered: Thou shalt not pass. And immediately he came forth to meet them with an infinite multitude, and a strong hand, 20:21. Neither would he condescend to their desire to grant them passage through his borders. Wherefore Israel turned another way from him.
Lines 16559–16574
20:22. And when they had removed the camp from Cades, they came to mount Hor, which is in the borders of the land of Edom: 20:23. Where the Lord spoke to Moses: 20:24. Let Aaron, saith he, go to his people: for he shall not go into the land which I have given the children of Israel, because he was incredulous to my words, at the waters of contradiction. 20:25. Take Aaron and his son with him, and bring them up into mount Hor: 20:26. And when thou hast stripped the father of his vesture, thou shalt vest therewith Eleazar his son: Aaron shall be gathered to his people, and die there.
Lines 16575–16587
20:27. Moses did as the Lord had commanded: and they went up into mount Hor before all the multitude. 20:28. And when he had stripped Aaron of his vestments, he vested Eleazar his son with them. 20:29. And Aaron being dead in the top of the mountain, he came down with Eleazar. 20:30. And all the multitude seeing that Aaron was dead, mourned for him thirty days throughout all their families.