Who was Aaron in the Bible?
“Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83 when they spoke to Pharaoh” (Exodus 7:7).
“But Moses said, ‘LORD, please send someone else to do it.’ Then the LORD became very angry with Moses. He said, ‘What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you. He will be glad to see you’” (Exodus 4:13-14).
“The LORD replied, “Go down. Bring Aaron up with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through. They must not come up to the LORD. If they do, his anger will break out against them” (Exodus 19:24).
Aaron was Moses’ brother. He also was the first high priest of Israel.Aaron was the older brother of Moses. The first time we see him in the Bible is when God tells Moses that Aaron would go with him when He sets the Israelites free (Exodus 4). When Moses was too afraid to talk in front of the people, God suggested Aaron could speak on His behalf (Exodus 4:14). In this way, Aaron became the spokesperson for Israel.
Aaron accepted this task and acted in obedience to God. When the ten plagues were being brought against Egypt because Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go, it was through Aaron’s staff that the plagues came. God was ultimately in control of the plagues, but the staff was a symbol to the people. Through obeying God and the ten plagues, Israel was freed from Egypt.
There was a time when Aaron was allowed to come on Mount Sinai with Moses (Exodus 19:24). Later, when Moses stayed on Mount Sinai with God, Aaron was left in charge of the people. Sadly, Aaron gave into the people and out of their impatience, they built a golden calf to worship (Exodus 32:1-6). God was not happy with the people or Aaron. Aaron also got in trouble with God when he and his sister, Miriam, made fun of Moses’s wife (Numbers 12:1-2).
