Total Obedience

In Numbers 20, Moses and his people were in the wilderness of Zin. The people started complaining against Moses and Aaron, because there was no water. “And why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink” (Numbers 20:5). Moses and Aaron went before God to ask for help. God instructed them to take his staff, gather the people and speak to the rock so that it would yield water. This way the people would have enough water for themselves and their cattle. Moses took his staff, gathered the people and said, “Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock” (Numbers 20:10)? He used his staff to strike the rock twice and water flowed abundantly for the people.

God’s response to Moses and Aaron was that they would not lead the people into the promised land. This was because they had demonstrated a lack of faith and trust in God, by not carrying out his instructions. This behaviour from the people was not new for Moses and Aaron. They behaved in a similar way in Exodus 17, when they were in the valley of Sin. “Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord”” (Exodus 17:2)? They accused Moses of bringing them out of Egypt to kill them in the wilderness. He cried to the Lord and God told him how to get water. “Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel” (Exodus 17:6).

There are many other occasions when the people quarrelled and rebelled against Moses and Aaron. They quarrelled when they needed food and at the Red Sea when Pharaoh pursued them. The people also rebelled against Moses when the spies brought back an evil report about the promised land. They even talked of stoning him, appointing new leaders and going back to Egypt. God was angry with his people because of their constant rebellion. “I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they” (Numbers 14:12). Moses interceded and stopped God from killing them. The consequence was that none of them would enter the promised land, but their children went in to take possession.

It is understandable why Moses was frustrated and referred to the people as rebels. On the first occasion when they quarrelled about water, Moses was instructed to strike the rock. On the second occasion, God did not ask Moses to strike the rock, but to speak to the rock. It may not seem like a big difference, but God wanted to demonstrate his power to the people. Perhaps Moses had grown a bit familiar with the things of God and relied on his experience of striking the rock before. The thing is that this was not about Moses, but about God’s demonstration of his power to his people. God’s instructions for yesterday are not always the same for today or tomorrow. We have to listen and be led by the spirit. Over familiarity and thinking we know best can cause us to miss God’s will. He has a word and a plan for each new day and season. We have to listen daily to know how God wants us to move and act accordingly.

A.P.-Y.