Numbers 18-20

Numbers 18

The priests are not going to get land, but they will get the tithes of all Israel, plus they get to eat the sacrificial offerings that are not burned.

Not a bad deal, unless you want land, or if the Israelites stop paying tithes.

Numbers 19 covers the process whereby people who are ceremonially unclean get clean again. A particular emphasis of the chapter is on people who have touched dead bodies. If they do not do the purification ritual, they are to be caught off from the community.

Numbers 20

Miriam dies and is buried at Kadesh.

The people complain about their conditions again. It begins with complaining with water, but the turns to "we should not have left Egypt" and "we should have died with our brothers", presumably referring to the times that God struck down rebellious people.

Moses considers this rebellion and with Aaron goes prostrate in the sanctuary. He really cannot handle people complaining. God says to go speak to a rock and it will bring forth water. In other words, "you're Aquaman, remember?"

Aquaman assembles the people, but instead of speaking to the rock, he strikes it with his staff. God is not happy with this and says that he will not enter the promised land. We find out later that this instance will lead to Aaron's hastened death.

God explains this rationale - God wanted to demonstrate His holiness to the people. Apparently, God thinks that speaking to the rock would have demonstrated something else that striking the staff did not do. Perhaps this would have quelled the rebellious nature of the people of the some way. Another possibility is that maybe the 70 elders who were blessed with God's power a few chapters back would have picked up on this and said, "I don't need Moses' staff, I can just speak to a rock if we need water."

Whatever it was, Aquaman's lack of confidence (perhaps tied to this temper when people complain) is his downfall.

The people Kadesh and try to cross through the land of the Edomites (descendants of Esau). Their king won't let them pass but will send an army if they try to. So they go around.

Later at Mount Hor, God says that is time for Aaron to die. Moses, Aaron, and Aaron's priestly heir Eleazor go up the mountain, but only two return. The people mourn Aaron's death for 30 days.

So, in a single chapter, Moses lost both his sister and brother. Plus, Moses is told he will die in the next 40 years, since he won't enter the promised land.