aaron is the brother of moses... he is the one that was with moses from the time he went into egypt to free the people... all the way to the edge of the promised land... it is from aaron's line that all priests come... he was the first high priest for israel...

 

it is strange to me.. that he is the one that built the golden calf that the people worshipped while moses was on the mountain getting the 10 commandments... he was not punished by God for this act... another time, him and miriam their sister rebel against moses because he has married a cushite woman... miriam becomes covered in leprosy... aaron does not... moses intercedes for miriam and she is healed and allowed back into the camp after 7 days.. but why didn't aaron get punished too?

 

there were great rituals about what he could or could not do.. what he could or could not eat... rituals about the sanctuary tents... rituals of cleansing and of purification to make him holy enough that he would not be destroyed when he stood before God to offer up the different offerings the people gave to the Lord..

 

aaron's two oldest sons were consumed by fire because they tried to offer up to God 'strange fire'.. now I don't really know what strange fire would mean.. but because everything was laid out very clearly about what could or could not be done.. I would guess they knew that what they were doing was wrong... aaron was unable to mourn his sons because he is in the service of God as high priest... that would have made him ceremonially unclean.. so he had to not mourn them...

 

he had two more sons who then became the sons that worked closely with him along with the entire levite tribe..

 

when the people are complaining over and over and over and over... this particular time for not having water... God tells moses to speak to the rock... moses whacks the rock and the water comes out... God determines that moses had taken His glory in his anger... moses and aaron are both punished at this time.. neither of them will ever enter into the promised land...

 

after aaron dies, his son eleazar becomes the next high priest... aaron is mourned for 30 days after his death...

Dinah revisited

you know in Genesis 34 the bible tells the story of dinah.. who was the daughter of jacob and leah and a man who was a prince of a place called shechem saw her and raped her... after that he loved her... and wanted to marry her... he begged them to let him marry her...

well she couldn't marry him... he was a heathen for one thing and he raped her for the other! so the brothers devise a plan... they tell him that if the whole encampment will be circumcised, then they will allow him to marry her.. but she couldn't marry him while he is still considered a heathen and ungodly...

so these men.. the whole town or encampment or whatever... they all get circumcised... while they are not healed and in pain... the brothers of dinah come in and kill them all...

I feel like this was harsh... well.. not that I condone the rape.. really... that is probably one of my greatest fears in life is to be raped... so I am not really on his side.. I just think that afterwards.. he realizes he is an idiot.. he wants to marry her and love her... and what else is left for her in this life? no other man would want her.... and they not only killed the man that did it.. the kill ALL the men....

as I had stated the first time I wrote about dinah... there is writing out there that states that dinah became the second wife of job.. the one that would have experienced double with him.. while we don't know if this is true or not.. I would like to believe that it is.. that God still gave her a good life after the terrible start that she had had....

I am thankful God will give us all a good ending after a rough beginning...