Even as a child, the punishment for Moses’ sin at Meribah seemed a little excessive. After all he put up with through the years of wandering in the wilderness, to me, it seemed unfair that he wouldn’t get to experience the fruits of that labor by entering the Promised Land.
For God though, it wasn’t as simple as “hitting the rock instead of speaking to it.” It was about reverence. And he and Aaron both displayed very little of it by blatantly disobeying God’s Word in front of the entire nation.
Yes, I said Aaron. He was there, too.
When Moses and Aaron arrive at Mount Hor, just on the border of Edom, God tells them that Aaron will die for his sin at Meribah. They are to go up to the top of the mountain, transfer the High Priestly robes to Aaron’s son Eleazar, and let Aaron “be gathered to his people.”
But why is Aaron punished for what happened at Meribah? It was Moses who struck the rock. It was Moses who spoke. It was Moses who chastised the people. Shouldn’t Moses alone have borne the guilt for his sin?
To be fair, Moses was guilty. He won’t live to see Canaan, either. But the reason Aaron is punished is for something else: silence.
When you look back at Numbers 20:10, it’s clear that Moses and Aaron are operating in tandem: “Shall we bring forth water from the rock?” In Numbers 20:6, Moses and Aaron hear God’s command to speak to the rock together. They both knew what should be done.
Contrary to the moment when Caleb and Joshua speak out against the report from the other ten spies, Aaron sits by and does nothing. His indifference is his disobedience.
This is a principle laid out by passages like Ezekiel 33:1-9: If you see danger coming and don’t speak out, you’ll be held accountable for what happens. If you warn them—regardless of how they respond—you’re innocent.
Paul says the same in Romans 1:32: Not only are those who continue in sin guilty of separation from God, but those who “approve of their actions.” Whether you join in or not, the fact that you didn’t say anything makes you guilty, too.
Unfortunately, a failure to stand up for what’s right is a hallmark of Aaron’s personality. He “goes with the flow” when the people want to make a golden calf (Exodus 32), sides with Miriam against Moses (Numbers 12), and is largely inactive during the rebellion of Korah (Numbers 16). He might be a decent guy, but he doesn’t have much of a spine.
That type of behavior is strictly condemned in Revelation 21:8. The very first type of person that is said to be in the “lake that burns with fire and brimstone” is the “cowardly.” Those who don’t act, in other words.
Aaron may not have held the staff that hit the rock, but by standing by and doing nothing, he gave Moses and the situation his tacit approval. It was a choice that sealed his death.