What happensPermalink
Miriam and Aaron, Moses’s siblings, die. Israel regroups after their defeat trying to enter the Promised Land without God. God gives them water from the rock at Meribah, but because Moses struck the rock, he too is barred from the Promised Land. Edom refuses to let Israel through.
Why it mattersPermalink
Miriam, Aaron, and Moses are excluded from the Promised Land for imperfect obedience, leaving only Caleb and Joshua who remained righteous. As Jacob and Esau were brothers, so Israel and Edom should be brothers, but the tension between Jacob and Esau is reflected in Edom’s refusal.
Key versePermalink
And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”