Beginning of the End - Ellen G. White

With deep sorrow Moses removed from Aaron the holy
garments and placed them on Eleazar, the next high priest by God's
decree. For his sin at Kadesh, Aaron was denied the privilege of
officiating as God's high priest in Canaan--of offering the first
sacrifice in the beautiful land. Moses was to continue leading the
people to the very borders of Canaan, but he was not to enter it. If
these servants of God had endured the test at Kadesh without
complaint, how different their future would have been! A wrong act
can never be undone. Even the work of a lifetime may not recover
what has been lost in a single moment of temptation or
thoughtlessness.
As the people looked around in their vast congregation, they
saw that nearly all the adults who left Egypt had died in the
wilderness. With foreboding of evil they remembered the sentence
pronounced against Moses and Aaron. Some knew the purpose of
that mysterious journey to the summit of Mount Hor, and their
concern was made stronger by bitter memories and self-accusations.
Lessons From the Death of Aaron
At last Moses and Eleazar were seen slowly coming down the
mountainside. The priestly garments were upon Eleazar, showing
that he had replaced his father in the sacred work. As the people
gathered around, Moses told them that Aaron had died in his arms
on Mount Hor and that they had buried him there. The congregation
broke into mourning and weeping. "All the house of Israel mourned
for Aaron thirty days."
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