How Aaron Walked Willingly Into His Own Death

Moses had the worst errand of his life. God told him to bring his brother up the mountain to die. He could not bring himself to say the words.

Aaron said them for him. "My brother, do you know what is written about Abraham?" Moses said yes. Aaron quoted the verse: "You shall come to your ancestors in peace and be buried in a good old age" (Genesis 15:15). Then Aaron asked a question that cut through everything: "If God told you today that you would die — right now, not after a hundred and twenty years — what would you say?"

Moses answered: "The Righteous Judge is trustworthy in me."

"Then let us go up," Aaron said. "The Lord has told me." And he walked after his younger brother up the mountain, willingly, to accept death.

The angels watched in astonishment. "When Isaac was bound on the altar and did not resist, you marveled," they said to one another. "Come see a greater thing — a man following his younger brother to accept death of his own free will."

At the summit, Moses had to remove Aaron's priestly garments and dress Eleazar in them. But how? He could not leave the High Priest naked. God said, "You do what you need to do, and I will do what I need to do." As Moses removed each garment, the cloud of glory descended and covered Aaron's body — ankles, waist, neck. Aaron watched himself disappear.

"My brother," Aaron called from inside the cloud, "what is the death of the righteous like?"

Moses called back: "Where are you?"

Aaron's last words drifted out from behind the veil of light: "I am not worthy to tell you. But I wish I had come here earlier" (Numbers 20:28).

When Moses heard that, he desired the same death for himself. And when his own time came, God took Moses's soul with a kiss — "by the mouth of God" (Deuteronomy 34:5) — just as Aaron had wished for him.