The
focus of Numbers 20:9-13 is on Moses and Aaron's wrong action. What they did
shows us that even the best of us have our flawed moments. Yes, including Moses
and Aaron. They started well despite being accused by the people of Israel of
leading them into the desert to die of thirst. They did right by coming to the
entrance of the tent of meeting and fell before the Lord to intercede for the
people. True to His faithfulness, God responded to Moses’ prayer and commanded
him saying, “Take the
staff; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to
the rock before their eyes, that it shall yield its water. So you shall bring
water for them out of the rock, and have the congregation and their livestock
drink.”
So
Moses took the staff from before the presence of God, just as he was commanded.
He then summoned the whole assembly to gather at the rock. But what he did next
was uncalled for. He started by chiding the people saying, “Listen now, you
rebels; shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” Then raising the
staff in his hand, Moses struck the rock twice. And water in abundance indeed
gushed out and the whole congregation and their livestock were able to drink of
it. The problem, however, was that he failed to carry out exactly as God had
commanded him to do. Instead of speaking to the rock, he took the staff in his
hand and struck the rock twice in anger and irritation. In his
frustration, he took matters into his own hand. He had shown dishonor to
God and had unconsciously set himself up as the judge and deliverer of the
people. Where exactly did Moses do wrong?
In the first time at Rephidim, when
they had no water to drink, God in Exodus 17:5-6 said to him, “Pass before the people and take with you some
of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with
which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you
there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water
will come out of it, so that the people may drink.” From that
incident, we learned that the rock clearly represented God. He instructed Moses
to strike the rock to bring out water. When Moses did, it happened exactly as God
had said. That moment also pointed us to the remarkable grace of God. That was
a picture of Calvary where Christ allowed Himself to be smitten for the sake of
His people to provide them with God’s life-giving water. But this second time
in the water of Meribah, God did not ask Moses to strike the rock at all. He
only directed him to speak to the rock. But Moses in frustration struck the
rock twice. It is one thing to strike the rock once at His instruction, but
quite another to strike it twice on his own impulse. He was virtually
assaulting God and showing disrespect to Him. What happened next was a sobering
moment for Moses. God said to him, “Since you did not trust in Me, to treat
Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, for that reason you shall not
bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” Moses
had brought dishonor to God and for that, he paid dearly.
Here are three quick lessons from the passage. Firstly, like what James 1:19 says, we must learn to be “quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.” For anger will hinder us from doing the righteous work of God. Moses here gives a clear-cut example for us. Secondly, the lesson is more for the leaders of God’s people. A leader must never abuse his ministry and beat the sheep of God. No matter how justified a leader may feel about a certain thing, be careful not to ventilate one’s frustration and be led to act irrationally. Thirdly, we see the gravity of a wrong action. With every privilege comes responsibility. Greater honor means greater culpability for any wrong action. It is because our action always impacts the things we are called to do for God. So we must be careful how we act. Make honoring God our main desire in life and it will keep us moving on the right track with Him. Let the fear of the Lord be our constant reminder. Tread softly before Him!
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