seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Numbers 20:1 In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.
2 Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. 3 They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! 4 Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here? 5 Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!”
6 Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. 7 The Lord said to Moses, 8 “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”
9 So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him. 10 He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”
13 These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord and where he was proved holy among them.
Here's the link to the commentary I use.
Take the rod… Speak to the rock before their eyes: Specifically, God told Moses to take the rod, but not to use it. Water would be provided if Moses would speak to the rock before their eyes.
Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock: God did not command him to speak to the nation, and to speak so severely to the nation, yet Moses did.
Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod: Moses disobeyed God directly, striking the rock instead of speaking to it.
Water came out abundantly: Yet, despite Moses’ lapse into sinful attitude and action, God still provided abundantly for the people.
To hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel: What Moses did was an unholy thing. He made God look no different than an angry man or one of the temperamental pagan gods. He did not reflect the heart and character of God before the people.
You shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them: This may seem an excessively harsh punishment for Moses. It seems that with only one slip-up, he now had to die short of the Promised Land. But Moses was being judged by a stricter standard because of his leadership position with the nation, and because he had a uniquely close relationship with God.
I skipped some more rules and regulations pertaining to the priests and their duties. I also skipped the rules and regulations about how the priests were paid for their services. They didn't get a salary for working in the Tent of Meeting. They got the leftovers of the offerings. If someone sacrificed their precious cow, the priests got a portion of the cow in payment for services rendered.Now look Miriam has passed away. I am reminded that Miriam was the one who ran along the Nile River watching Moses drifting in the basket. Miriam was the one who was there when Pharaoh's daughter found the basket. Miriam was the sister who suggested that Moses' mom be hired as a nurse maid for Moses.
AND NOW.... back to the rest of the story in this section. Moses did what Moses wanted to do instead of what God instructed.
I'm pretty sure Moses was exhausted by the constant cries of "Why did you bring us out of Egypt?". I'm pretty sure he was still miffed with the likes of Korah and his buddies challenging the authority given to him by God. Sure, Korah and company were now worm food, but the attitude didn't go with them. The Israelites were still belligerent.
This time... Moses didn't follow instructions. He acted like an angry know-it-all.
NOW... I ask you.... God told Moses to "speak". Moses "smacked", not once but twice! Did Moses ruin God's Miracle?
Moses brought the "stick" into the solution. God was trying to prove His "Word" should do the trick. Moses brought the "stick" to beat the water out of the rock. God stood water up in two columns while the whole nation of Israel walked across the riverbed on dry ground and drowned the Egyptians who followed, but Moses thought he should smack the rock to get the water out of it.
That's like getting a bookshelf from Ikea, reading the instructions, and then building as you see fit.
If Moses is upset.... It's because he didn't follow the instructions.
If Moses had spoken to the rock, as instructed, and the rock dissolved into a bottomless pool of water, wouldn't that have made God's plan better?
Instead, we just have a bigheaded man cussing everyone around and beating a rock with a stick.
Moses ruined God's Miracle!
