Numbers Chapter 20

At a Glance

  • Numbers 20 records two solemn and climactic events: Miriam’s death and the people’s ongoing struggle with water in the wilderness.
  • This episode crystallizes themes of leadership, trust, and faithfulness.
  • Historical & Literary Context.
  • Numbers 20 sits in the wilderness memoirs where Israel’s wandering reveals the character of God and the flaws of the chosen people.
  • - Leadership and trust: Moses and Aaron’s failure to trust God’s word has lasting consequences for leadership in the community.

Chapter Overview

Numbers 20 records two solemn and climactic events: Miriam’s death and the people’s ongoing struggle with water in the wilderness. The chapter begins with grief—the death of Miriam, the sister of Moses, a foundational figure in Israel’s journey. Then, in a turning moment of crisis, the congregation once again confronts a lack of water. The people murmur and challenge God and Moses, expressing fear and bitterness. Moses and Aaron retreat to the tent of meeting, where God appears and commands a seemingly simple but profoundly consequential solution: gather the assembly and speak to the rock, and water will flow for the people and their animals. The twist is stark: Moses, in frustration and anger, strikes the rock twice with his staff instead of speaking to it as commanded. Water still comes forth, but God rebukes Moses and Aaron, declaring that because they did not trust God to sanctify him in the eyes of the Israelites, neither Moses nor Aaron will enter the Promised Land.

This episode crystallizes themes of leadership, trust, and faithfulness. It is not merely about breaking a rule; it reveals the spiritual stakes of leadership before a holy God. Moses’ failure is heartbreaking: a trusted leader, who has long guided Israel, misses the chance to model faith in the moment of testing. The chapter closes with a somber reminder of the consequences: a failure to trust results in restricted entry into the land. Yet the narrative also preserves grace: the people still receive the water they need, and the larger arc of God’s faithfulness continues. The episode foreshadows the ongoing tension between divine provision and human trust, a tension that characterizes the wilderness wanderings and, in a broader sense, the life of faith.

Historical & Literary Context

Numbers 20 sits in the wilderness memoirs where Israel’s wandering reveals the character of God and the flaws of the chosen people. The death of Miriam, a notable leader and prophetess, marks a turning point: the generation that witnessed the Exodus is nearing its end, and leadership transitions begin to loom. The genre remains narrative-episodic with theological undertones—moments that probe trust, rebellion, and God’s discipline. The rock at Meribah, already a site of earlier water miracles, returns here as a signpost of how the same divine mandate requires ongoing conformity to God’s word. The priestly leadership of Moses and Aaron is challenged when they fail to model trust before the people. The historicity of the event fits into the larger pattern of divine provision punctuated by episodes of grumbling and divine correction.

Key Themes

- Leadership and trust: Moses and Aaron’s failure to trust God’s word has lasting consequences for leadership in the community.

- Divine provision and human skepticism: God continues to supply water, showing faithfulness even when human faith falters.

- Sanctification and public witness: Moses’ misstep sanctifies God’s name in the eyes of the people by highlighting the seriousness of reverence.

- The cost of disobedience: The consequences of disobedience ripple through generations and impact future entry into the land.

- Mortality and legacy: Miriam’s death introduces reflection on leadership, memory, and what it takes to sustain a community.

Modern Application

Numbers 20 invites contemporary readers to reflect on leadership, accountability, and faith under pressure. Leaders—whether in families, churches, or organizations—are called to model trust in God, especially in moments when circumstances seem barren or hostile. The temptation to take matters into one’s own hands is real, and the danger is not merely procedural but spiritual: to strip God of glory by acting without his directive. The narrative invites humility: to admit limitations, to seek God in prayer, and to follow his word even when results aren’t immediate or spectacular. It also speaks to the community: when leaders falter, the community must navigate consequences with mercy and honesty while continuing to trust in God’s provision. Miriam’s death reminds readers that wisdom and leadership are communal gifts that must be stewarded faithfully.

- Exodus 17:1-7 (another water miracle at Rephidim)

- Numbers 14 (rebellion and consequences of unbelief)

- Psalm 81:7-16 (call to trust God and not fear scarcity)

- Deuteronomy 1:37-38 (Moses’ inability to enter the land)

- Moses (leadership and prophetic authority)

- Aaron (co-leadership and intercession)

- Jesus (fulfillment of faithful, trustful obedience under pressure)

- A shepherd-king voice (to interpret leadership as service)

Chapter Text

1

Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there.

2

And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.

3

And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the LORD!

4

And why have ye brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there?

5

And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.

6

And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto them.

7

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

8

Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.

9

And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him.

10

And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?

11

And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.

12

And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.

13

This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them.

14

And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us:

15

How our fathers went down into Egypt, and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians vexed us, and our fathers:

16

And when we cried unto the LORD, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt: and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border:

17

Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country: we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king’s high way, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders.

18

And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword.

19

And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go by the high way: and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it: I will only, without doing anything else, go through on my feet.

20

And he said, Thou shalt not go through. And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand.

21

Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border: wherefore Israel turned away from him.

22

And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh, and came unto mount Hor.

23

And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in mount Hor, by the coast of the land of Edom, saying,

24

Aaron shall be gathered unto his people: for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah.

25

Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto mount Hor:

26

And strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son: and Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, and shall die there.

27

And Moses did as the LORD commanded: and they went up into mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation.

28

And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there in the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount.

29

And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they mourned for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.

Discuss This Chapter with Biblical Personas

Explore Numbers Chapter 20 with Biblical figures who can provide unique perspectives grounded in Scripture.

Ask Apostle PaulAsk MosesAsk King DavidAsk Jesus Christ
← Numbers 19Numbers 21 →