1 And the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there.
Miriam, which means protest, rebellion and contradiction in Hebrew, was Moses' and Aaron's sister and symbolized the heart and emotions. Her death indicates that the ideas or rebellious thoughts which she represents have died or ceased. This death allows for the birth of a more advanced level of the feminine quality of love.
2 Now there was no water for the congregation; and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.
3 And the people contended with Moses, and said, "Would that we had died when our brethren died before YHVH!
4 Why have you brought the assembly of YHVH into this wilderness, that we should die here, both we and our cattle?
5 And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain, or figs, or vines, or pomegranates; and there is no water to drink."
It is our carnal self that complains of the lack of water and loses faith whenever things don't seem to be going right. It is a temptation that we must overcome.
6 Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tent of meeting, and fell on their faces. And the glory of YHVH appeared to them,
8 "Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water; so you shall bring water out of the rock for them; so you shall give drink to the congregation and their cattle."
9 And Moses took the rod from before YHVH, as he commanded him.
10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, "Hear now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?"
11 And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his rod twice; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their cattle.
Rocks in the Bible symbolize spiritual truths. To smote the truth with his rod is to bring forth the spiritual water which alone satisfies spiritual thirst by the uplifting of the creative fire within man's body.
12 And YHVH said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not believe in me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them."
13 These are the waters of Mer'ibah, where the people of Israel contended with YHVH, and he showed himself holy among them.
Meribah means contention and strife. It is a state of consciousness to be avoided.
14 Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, "Thus says your brother Israel: You know all the adversity that has befallen us:
15 how our fathers went down to Egypt, and we dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians dealt harshly with us and our fathers;
16 and when we cried to YHVH, he heard our voice, and sent an angel and brought us forth out of Egypt; and here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory.
17 Now let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard, neither will we drink water from a well; we will go along the King's Highway, we will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left, until we have passed through your territory."
The path to spiritual enlightenment is straight and narrow. We must not let our ideas stray either to the right or to the left.
18 But Edom said to him, "You shall not pass through, lest I come out with the sword against you."
Edom means red or ruddy. It refers to the outer or carnal man. The Edomites were the descendants of Esau. These carnal thoughts or ideas kept the Israelites from passing through their territory.
19 And the people of Israel said to him, "We will go up by the highway; and if we drink of your water, I and my cattle, then I will pay for it; let me only pass through on foot, nothing more."
20 But he said, "You shall not pass through." And Edom came out against them with many men, and with a strong force.
21 Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory; so Israel turned away from him.
It is proper that we turn away from these carnal thoughts, for they will not help us to reach ‘the Promised Land.'
22 And they journeyed from Kadesh, and the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor.
Kadesh means pure, holy and sacred. This is the pure, sinless, perfect state which exists within each of us. Hor means to be high or a mountain. It indicates an elevated spiritual state.
23 And YHVH said to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor, on the border of the land of Edom,
24 "Aaron shall be gathered to his people; for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the people of Israel, because you rebelled against my command at the waters of Mer'ibah.
25 Take Aaron and Elea'zar his son, and bring them up to Mount Hor;
26 and strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Elea'zar his son; and Aaron shall be gathered to his people, and shall die there."
Eleazar means God is helper and help of God. From the holy and sacred consciousness we are able to attain the heightened Spiritual Consciousness and our highest self dies and is replaced with an even more elevated Spiritual Consciousness. This cycle will be repeated many times as we progress step by step toward Enlightenment.
27 Moses did as YHVH commanded; and they went up Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation.
28 And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Elea'zar his son; and Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Elea'zar came down from the mountain.
29 And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days.
Thirty symbolizes sorrow or a time of mourning. The house of Israel symbolizes the entire psyche of the individual. It can be difficult to let go, even knowing that something greater will manifest in it’s place. Still, this is a necessary step that will repeat many times in the journey toward Enlightenment.