The End of the Beginning

    The first church had it hard, but was so blessed.  They got to hear from God in a way that almost none do now.  Yet, they had to set the example.  They had to establish expectation and the beginning of something that should last until the end of time.  People have manipulated it and changed it into different religions, but God's goal was always the same: a personal relationship.

    Miriam was the first of the church leaders to die.  The people felt the loss, but they also saw it as God's promise being carried out.  It would require a lot of loss to be able to get what they wanted.  It was only the beginning of the end of the first church.  

    In the desert region they were, there was no water.  The thirst mixed with mourning and heat made for a very unpleasant atmospheric mood.  The people went back to what they knew:  blame Moses and Aaron.  It is easy to blame others for hardships in life, but it takes a strong character to look within to see what you may have done to cause your own problems.

    Moses and Aaron prayed and God gave them instructions to speak to a rock and it would pour out water.  Moses however let his anger toward the people get the better of him.  He struck the rock twice instead of coaxing it to get the water.  When the water came rushing out he let it look like he provided the miracle instead of God.  Moses just wanted the complaining and second guessing to stop.  He wasn't thinking about taking anything from God.  The problem was he was not thinking about God. God was not happy and He gave Aaron and Moses their punishment.

    The community moved on.  Moses requested entry into a land, so that the local would not believe that they were hostile, but many places like Edom would not let them pass.  They had to go around or it would be perceived as an act of war.  When they got to Mount Hor, that is when Aaron died.  Aaron gave his leadership position and garments to his son Eleazar.  The entire community took 30 days to mourn him.

Numbers 20