I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Numbers 19-21.

    I never really thought about it before, but I noticed today that both Aaron and Moses died on a mountain away from everyone but a couple of witnesses. The significance of this is that neither was buried in a place which could become a shrine where people could go to worship. If Aaron had died and been buried in a location which was known to the people of Israel, his grave would have become a shrine where at least some of the people of Israel would have gone to worship. We have numerous examples throughout history where the graves of prominent religious figures became objects of worship in and of themselves. Here God ensured that that did not happen with Aaron’s grave.
    In today’s passage the Israelites approached the lands of four nations. Three of those nations they completely wiped out, the fourth they backtracked and took a different route. There was one key difference between that one and the other three. The king of Edom mustered his army and took up a defensive position while telling the Israelites that he would not allow them to cross his territory. The other three all initiated attacks against the Israelites.