The Death of Aaron

From Numbers 33:38 we have a signal event - Aaron dies. It is very easy to miss. The children of Israel are wandering from hut to hut, desert to desert, mountain to mountain, and after the listing, like a kind of geographic genealogy, with the children of Israel visiting various places from their past (and I'd really like to map them out to see how the travails of the children of Israel correspond to the events of their shared history prior) and in the midst of the genealogy, Aaron dies. It isn't overly hard to understand why, as in the natural people do die ... but we are told he dies at an age of 123. But he's the first. And for however many years, the children had been walking, clothes not wearing out, manna ever populating, being led by pillar and cloud ... and Aaron dies.

It must have been a shock. As much as Moses was the people's connection with God, Aaron was the less spoken of brother, probably loved as much as Moses was respected, and to see Aaron die - it must have truly put into perspective what God meant by not letting them see the promised land. For, if Moses was a kind of living metaphor for the relationship with God, then Aaron was a metaphor for how holy the children of Israel were.
So, their icon of spiritual sobriety, who certainly wasn't perfect, and was likely far more approachable than Moses, dies, and it sets the tone for the rest of their meandering. Because, if Aaron can die, their high priest, then every single one of them can die.

Something else - they must have seen it coming. In our society, it would be rare to see someone over 120 years of age walking anywhere, let alone with his whole family. So, they would have seen the degradation of his garb, the growing shakiness of his legs, the weakening of his eyesight ... it would have given relevance, validity, and poignancy to what Moses had said ... kind of put it into perspective. And this is something we all should guard against - not trusting God at face value, but looking after some confirmation in the natural. It is extremely tempting to assume that one's perspective is accurate, but the Bible clearly states that there is safety and wisdom in the multitude of counselors, and one aspect of that is trusting God. And because the children of Israel did not trust God, and actively reported that the promised land was something they couldn't claim, it implied God was lying, something else we should always guard against!

So my challenge to you is this:
If you've heard God speak treat it like it is God speaking it!
If you're unsure, ask Him to confirm it! And then, expect that confirmation, and if winds up not being God, don't act on it!
Regardless - We're each called to intercessory prayer, and that includes on behalf of ourselves! So be a part of your own multitude of counselors, and pray on your own behalf for God's wisdom and guidance!