Moshe will always be the greatest of all men, greater than the Melech HaMashiach, with regards to prophecy. If he was qualified, why was Moshe not ordained as Mashiach by Hashem? While he was ready to be the Mashiach, the Messianic era requires the people be ready as well. If Moshe’s message impacted the people and they treated him with respect due the rebbe from his students, he would have been crowned Mashiach and they would have been the generation of Mashiach. Instead his students behaved like the freed slaves of the previous generation. The messianic era was postponed for a long time.
The redemption will arrive when the entire Jewish nation fully accepts Moshe as teacher and commits to follow his teachings. In the meantime, because of the Mei Meriva, the people were assigned a new task, to conquer the land militarily with Joshua in the lead. The opportunity of Moshe leading us into the land as Mashiach was squandered for a long time. Jewish History became more complex and tragic. We suffer the consequences in that the era of Mashiach was delayed. The death of the unique individual referred to in Parshas Chukas, Adam ki yamus b’ohel, was none other than the greatest of all men, Moshe, as told in the succeeding parts of the parsha. The distancing of Moshe the teacher from his generation is described in Chukas and Balak.
The death of Miriam occurred after the arrival in Midbar Tzin. It was a harbinger of the next chapter of Mei Meriva and the edict that Moshe and Aaron would not enter the land. We might have expected the death of Aaron to be the next event mentioned. Why is the refusal of Melech Edom to allow Bnei Yisrael to traverse his land mentioned instead? That story would have fit nicely in the context of the battles with Sichon and Og, who were mightier than the king of Edom, yet were conquered by Moshe and Bnei Yisrael.
Why were they commanded to relent and enjoined from battling Edom? Because at that time no Jew, not even Moshe, was allowed to tread in the land of Edom. Instead, they simply circled Edom for many years, contemplating their situation and failure. The only time that a Jew may tread on the land of Edom will be when the Mashiach will rise up to conquer and judge Mount Sayir as Yaakov promised Esau. Edom, the ancestor of Amalek, symbolizes the hostility of the nations of the world towards Jacob. Edom is the mysterious person who makes the life of the Jew difficult. Once Moshe lost the majestic crown of Mashiach, Edom’s land became inviolate until the arrival of Mashiach. Once Hashem told Moshe that he would not bring them into the land and be the Mashiach, Edom was secure. Moshe sent messengers to Edom asking for permission to pass through that were rebuffed. Moshe retreated and the age of Mashiach and judgment of Edom was postponed for many years to come. Moshe’s generation lost their leader and teacher and ultimately he realized that he lost them as well. He, and Aaron, unfortunately walked off the stage without completing his anxiously anticipated mission.