May 22 – Moses Strikes Out – Numbers 20:1-13
Today we read the account of Moses losing his privilege to enter the Promised Land. God commanded Moses to gather the congregation together around a rock. Moses was then supposed to speak to the rock which was then supposed to gush out water to quench the thirst of Israel and all their animal. Instead of speaking to the rock Moses hit the rock twice with his rod. The water still gushed out, but Moses was then reprimanded by God and told he would die before entering the Promised Land.
What happened that caused Moses to disobey God, and what attitude did Moses portray for God to punish? We see Moses’ exasperation and temper when he called the Israelites “rebels.” His attitude was one of not sanctifying God. Note what happened to bring Moses to this point. First, his sister just died, and Moses is mourning her loss. Added to this was a shortage of water making him thirsty, uncomfortable, and irritable. To top it off, without consideration of what he was going through, the Israelites did what they do . . . complain. Moses had all he could take and made a poor decision.
We need to always be careful to follow God’s instructions, but even more so in times of difficulty. Moses was emotionally drained from the death of his sister; physically suffering from thirst; and stressed under the pressure of the circumstances God allowed in his life from the complaining people. All of us go through difficult times in our lives. Let’s be even more determined to be faithful to please God.
