In short
Numbers 20:2-13. Moses is barred from entering the promised land because struck a rock, disobeying God.
Why it is important
Moses’ obituary, if you will, said, “And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,” Deut 34:10. And yet even Moses is not exempt from obeying the LORD in every situation.
What is in this story
First some background. This is not the first time Moses has been here.
Roughly 39 years earlier, in Ex 17:6-7, Moses is commanded to STRIKE a rock in a place that is later named “Massah and Meribah.” And he did.
But in this event, the command is to SPEAK to the rock: “Take the staff… and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water,” Num 20:8.
In both events, it is after the people of Israel have been complaining.
Moses did not do what he was commanded in this instance, but he struck the rock (twice) instead of speaking to it (Num 20:10-11). And it actually worked anyway.
But his judgment is severe:
“And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.’”
Numbers 20:12
Theology and doctrine
What is remarkable to me is the subtlety of the problem. Sure, Moses didn’t do what God commanded. And yet:
- Water still came out anyway
- There was a time that Moses was actually told to strike the rock – a generation ago
This implies a couple things.
One, blessings from God are not proof that what you are doing is right. “…For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust,” Matt 5:45, ESV.
And two, we can’t take what God commanded to one generation and apply it to a different generation. The Sabbath was to be a day of no work, but that’s not a requirement today. David used instruments to praise God, but in the New Testament, we are only instructed to sing hymns of praise and encouragement.
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