DId God Really Say…

March 31, 2024

Read Numbers 20, Psalm 90, Mark 14

Have you ever had directions to follow and you may not have followed them close or carefully enough? What happened? Did you leave an ingredient out of a recipe, miss a turn when you were driving, or maybe it was something more costly? In Numbers 20 we have what seems to be a very harsh punishment for Moses from the Lord simply because he struck the rock that God told him to speak to. “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 that they and their livestock can drink’” vv. 7-8. There was a problem, Moses in his anger did what he had done before. He struck the rock with his staff and while water did come out, it was not how God had wanted him to do it. Why? We might find a clue in Moses’ comment to the Israelites. “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” vv. 10-11. Moses and Aaron had gathered the people together to give them a lecture. Moses said, “must we bring you water out of this rock?” v. 10. This could either been seen as “we” meaning Moses and Aaron or “we” meaning Moses and God. Either way Moses was equating himself with God or leaving God out of the whole process of providing water for the people. It might have been just as much about his words that he actions. Instead of speaking to the rock, Moses chooses to speak about himself rather than the Lord.

We must be careful to follow God’s commands when know God is instructing us. There are plenty of examples in Scripture of people who only half-heartly obey and God was not pleased.

What else do you see in these chapters? What words, phrases, or themes stand out to you?
Add your thoughts below.

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