There are some places in Scripture – particularly the Old Testament – where my eyes get big and I say to the Lord, “I don’t get it”. not that God EVER owes me an explanation, mind you. Not at all. But I do long to understand His Word, particularly those places where His actions are complex. I take refuge in the glorious truth of Deuteronomy 29:29 - “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever,that we may observe all the words of this law”.
The complex truth to which I refer?
Deuteronomy 32:50,51 God says “ Then die on the mountain where you ascend, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, because you broke faith with Me in the midst of the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, because you did not treat Me as holy in the midst of the sons of Israel.”
Moses. The spokesman of God. The one appointed by God to lead His people out of slavery into freedom. The leader of the Israelites. The faithful, most humble man who ever lived. That man. God was not going to allow him to enter the Promised Land. The place they had been waiting on for decades. He was not going to enjoy the abundance and beauty and rest of that place. Because he hit a rock with a rod?
GULP
So, let’s go to the passages that give us the back story on this verse in Deuteronomy….Numbers 20:8-13 ,27:14, and Exodus 17.
It will work best to work backwards this time so let’s look at the two Numbers passages first. This is where Moses broke the faith by failing to treat God as holy. And where God told him what the consequences would be. The people had no water. They grumbled against Moses and Aaron and said they would rather be back in Egypt. Oh my God told Moses to take the rod that God had provided earlier (not just any rod- it was what God provided for divine use in the interactions with Pharaoh) and to SPEAK to the rock. He did not tell Moses to strike the rock, just to speak to it that it may yield water for them. Moses was (understandably) angry with the people for being grumbling jerks and in his anger, he acted apart from what God had instructed. Instead of speaking to the rock, he struck it – and not once, but twice! God, in His mercy, still provided water to the Israelites but He also disciplined Moses.
Numbers 20:11,12 - Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank. But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you sha not bring this assembly into the land which have given them.”
My human reasoning says, come on, Lord! What’s the big deal? He still trusted You to provide. He was just angry and he overreacted. Plus, You told him to strike the rock earlier – what’s the big deal? Can’t you cut the guy a little slack? Isn’t this a bit rigid???
For the rest of the story, let’s go to the Exodus passage. Chapter 17:1-7 There we see the first time God provided water for the Israelites. They were grumbling (common theme!) God told Moses to take the rod and to strike the rock (see v. 6 – isn’t it cool that God says “I will stand before you”?). When he obeyed and struck the rock, water flowed.
OK so that’s the story – why was it such a big deal that Moses didn’t obey God’s instructions to the letter?
Some thoughts – first, God is HOLY and He takes obedience/disobedience extremely seriously. When I am tempted to treat God casually,(as in, He is my friend and loves me no matter what and gives me grace and forgiveness, so what if I am still nursing some sin He has told me to repent of, etc), then He reminds me of this truth to sober me up. Yes, there is forgiveness but SIN HAS CONSEQUENCES. GULP
Next, this might have been a lesson that the Israelites as a whole missed but I believe Moses knew this. I’ll show you those passages in just a sec. These incidents of the Israelites needing water and God providing were a picture of mankind. Man in need of salvation, of a Savior. And Jesus as that Savior…He is the ROCK. The source of our salvation. Moses striking the rock the first time (and God standing right there as he did ❤) is a picture of Jesus dying for sin and then salvation (water) flowing out. The rod struck Him…He died…our need was met.
The second time, there was no need to strike the ROCK – but only to speak to it – for the need to be met. When Moses struck the ROCK, it was as though Jesus was being crucified a second time and there was no need for that. That was not God’s plan. Now when His people have a need (for forgiveness, or provision, etc), we need only to SPEAK to the ROCK and He delivers/provides, etc. Notice in Numbers 20 the emphasis God places on FAITH - v.12 - “because you have not believed Me”. The link between faith and obedience is undeniable - reminds me of Hebrews 11:6 - go look it up :) ) and here Moses, through his disobedience, demonstrates a lack of faith. It is by faith that God’s people were to enter the Promised Land. God’s not being rigid - this is TRUTH.
Why do I say that Moses got this lesson, even if the masses didn’t? And because he understood that what he had done was so seriously unholy, he could accept the punishment of the Lord. Look at Deuteronomy 32. The Song of Moses. Vs. 3,4 – Moses declares that God is THE ROCK! He understands! He knows that God is sending Jesus one day to die for our sin. He, the ROCK of salvation. His ways are perfect, just, faithful. Also vs. 15,18,30. Moses got it. He yielded to the ROCK.
It’s a hard truth to me. But I get it. God is HOLY. His Word is perfect. Jesus has paid for my salvation – TRUST it. We must come to Him by faith. And our obedience is the result of faith.
That could be the end of the story. And it would be a glorious, though sober, truth.
But it’s not. :)
But, because God IS so very merciful…..check out Matthew 17. This I s the passage about the transfiguration. Before Jesus was crucified, He took Peter, James, and John up to a high mountain. He was transfigured before them (miraculously changed from an earthly form to a supernatural one - garments and countenance gloriously radiating)
Two people from Heaven showed up and were talking with them --- Elijah and Moses!!!!! Wow!
What is so significant about that?
Well, this happened in the Promised Land – the very land that Moses was not allowed to enter! Centuries later, God let Moses set foot on that land! Isn’t that COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!