Aaron (Aar'On) [Lofty, Enlightened], first Israelite High Priest, was born in Egypt to Am-Ram and Jochebed of the tribe of Levi, Aar'on's great-grandfather. Miriam was his elder sister and Moses was his younger brother by three years.
By a seven-day installation ceremony Aar-on was invested with his sacred duties by Moses as God's agent. The holiness of the office belonged to God and Aar-on was anointed in the manner described at Psalms 132 and could thereafter be called the "Messiah," that is, the "anointed one."He was not only placed over all the priesthood but was also divinely declared to be the one from whose line or house all future High Priests must come. He and his successors served as the chief officer under God the King.
In order to perform his duties the High Priest had to be married, and a second wife was always on standby in case his wife died and he could only marry an Israelite virgin, and not a widow, divorce or convert.
Aar'on was married to Eli-Sheba (E-li'she-ba) [God is an oath], daughter of Ammi-Nadah (Am-min'a-dab) [my kinsman is generous]. Her father was a son of Ram of the family of Hezron, tribe of Judah. He also was an ancestor of King Davis and of Jesus Christ. Eli-Sheba bore four sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, to Aar-on. Her brother Nahshon was the chieftain of the sons of Judah during the wilderness trek.
Aar-on four sons were also installed as under-priests. Moses dressed Aar-on in beautiful garments of gold, blue, purple and scarlet materials, including shoulder pieces and a breast-piece that were encrusted with precious gems of varied colors. On his head was placed a turban of fine linen with a plate of pure gold on it engraved with the words "Holiness belongs to God."(Leviticus 8).
As High Priest, Aar-on was responsible for directing all features of worship at the tabernacle and supervising the work of the thousands of Levites engaged in its service. On the annual day of atonement he offered sin-offerings for the priesthood and Levites and for the People of Israel, and he alone was permitted to enter the Most Holy of the tabernacle with the sacrificial blood of the animals. (Lev. 16). The ritual was preceded by 10 days of penitencial rituals, and fasting on the 10th day of the month of Tishri. A scape goat bearing the sins of Israel was sent off to Azazel in the wilderness.
He was responsible to teach the nation the Word of God. (Lev.10; Deut. 24; Mal. 2).
Aar-on's devotion to pure worship was early put to the test by the death of his sons Nadab and Abihu, who suffered destruction by God by making profane use of their priestly positions. The record says:
"And Aaron kept silent." When he and his two surviving sons were instructed not to mourn over the dead transgressors, "they did according to Moses' word." (Lev. 10).
During nearly forty years Aar-on represented the 12 tribes before God in his capacity as High Priest. While in the wilderness, a serious rebellion broke out against the authority of Moses and Aar-on. It was led by a Levite named Korah, together with Dathan, Abiran, and On, of the tribe of Reuben, who complained against their leadership, God caused the earth to open beneath the tents of the rebels and their households, swallowing them up, while Korah and 250 of his coconspirators were destroyed by fire. (Num. 16). Murmuring broke out now on the part of the congregation against Moses and Aaron; and in the divine plague that ensued, Aar-on showed great faith and courage in obediently going out with his fire holder and making atonement for the people while "standing between the dead and the living," until the scourge was stopped.
God now directed that 12 rods, each representing one of the twelve tribes, be placed in the tabernacle, and the rod for the tribe of Levi was inscribed with Aar-on's name. On the following day Moses entered the tent of the Testimony and found that Aar-on's rod had budded, blossomed with flowers and bore ripe almonds. This established beyond denial God's choice of the Levite sons of Aar-on for priestly service and His authorization of Aar-on as High Priest. Thereafter, the right of Aar-on's house to the priesthood was never seriously challenged. The budded rod of Aar-on was placed in the Ark of the Covenant as a "sign to the sons of rebelliousness,"though it appears that after the death of these rebellious ones and the entry of the spiritual nation into the Land of Promise the rod was removed having served its purpose. (Num.17; Heb 9; 2 Chron. 5; 1 King 8).
The first mention of Aar-on occurs at Exodus chapter 4, owing to Moses' reluctance because he found it difficult to speak fluently, God assigned Aar-on to act as Moses' spokesman before Pharaoh, saying of Aar-on: "I do know that he can really speak." Aar-on went to meet Moses at Mount Sinai and was informed of the far-reaching proportions of the divinely outlined program of action involving Israel and Egypt, and the brothers then journeyed back to Egypt.
Aaron now began serving as "a mouth" to Moses, speaking for him to the older men of Israel and performing miraculous signs as proof of the divine origin of their messages. When the time came for their appearance at Pharaoh's court, and the 83 years old Aar-on, as Moses' spokesman, had to face up to that arrogant ruler. As God thereafter told Moses: "See, I have made you God to Pharaoh, and Aar-on your own brother will become your prophet."(Exodus 7). It was Aar-on who performed the first miraculous sign before Pharaoh and his magic-practicing priests; and, later, it was Aar-on who, at Moses' order, stretched forth Moses' rod and signaled the start of the 10 plagues. He continued to work in united coordination with Moses and in obedience to God during the succeeding plagues, until liberation finally came.
Aar-on's activity as spokesman for Moses evidently diminished during the forty years of the exodus travels since Moses appears to have done more of the speaking himself. The rod also returned to Moses' hands after the third plague, and at the battle of Amalek, Aar-on along with Hur, merely supported Moses' arms. (Exodus 9 and 17). However, God generally continued to associate them both when giving instruction, and the two are spoken of as acting and speaking together right up to the time of Aar-on's death. (Num. 20).
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