According
to myjewishlearning.com, the Bible
doesn’t say anything about Aaron’s birth, early life, or upbringing. I did a
little more research and I can’t find any mention of him before Exodus
chapter four. We don’t know when he first became involved in Moses’ life but we
might infer that since Pharaoh’s daughter let Moses’ mother take him back home
to nurse him, Moses probably maintained a relationship with his birth parents’
household.
Based on the facts we have, we might also surmise that the brothers were close. It may be reading too much into what the Bible doesn’t say but when Aaron is thrust into public service as Moses’ mouthpiece, he appears to have no objection. Aaron was Moses’ co-star for the next 40 years and except for an occasional family squabble (which often included sister Miriam), neither brother seems to harbor any jealousy and, in fact, they appear to be happy for one another.*
God
chose Moses to be the deliverer of his people. But God chose Aaron for a
special ministry as well. Moses may have
gotten most of the glory down through the ages but in order for God’s plan to
work, he required both of them to be obedient, to be leaders, and to make
personal sacrifices for the sake of their congregation.
Not everyone who serves the Lord with valor and success goes down in history by name but each of them counts. Don’t be discouraged if your efforts on behalf of the Kingdom get less attention than second-fiddle Aaron or even third-string Miriam. “We wrestle with our need to be appreciated, even applauded,”* but Jesus cautions us about performing our acts of righteousness in order to be seen (Matthew 6: 1). So serve the Lord with gladness and humility because your Father sees and will reward you (Matthew 6: 4 and 6).
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