Key Text: Numbers 20:7-12 (KJV)
"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink. And Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as he commanded him. And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them."
Have you ever felt frustrated when things don't go your way? When life throws you curveballs, and you find yourself at your wit's end? We've all been there, haven't we? Today, we're going to dive into a story from the Bible that shows us how even great leaders can stumble when faced with challenges. We'll explore what happened when Moses, one of God's chosen leaders, let his frustration get the better of him.
Let's set the scene. The Israelites had been wandering in the desert for years. They were tired, thirsty, and probably more than a little cranky. Can you imagine being in their shoes? Walking for days on end under the scorching sun, with no water in sight? It's no wonder they started complaining!
Now, Moses had been leading these people for a long time. He'd seen God perform incredible miracles – the plagues in Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, manna falling from heaven. You'd think that after all that, Moses would have unwavering faith in God's power and goodness. But even Moses, as great as he was, was only human.
When the people started grumbling about the lack of water, God gave Moses clear instructions. He told Moses to take his rod, gather the people, and speak to a rock. Just speak to it! And water would come gushing out. Imagine that – water from a rock, just by speaking to it! That's the kind of amazing thing our God can do.
But here's where things went sideways. Moses, frustrated with the constant complaining of the people, let his anger get the better of him. Instead of speaking to the rock as God had commanded, he struck it twice with his rod. He even said to the people, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?" Do you see what happened there? Moses took credit for something that was entirely God's doing.
Now, you might be thinking, "What's the big deal? Water came out of the rock, didn't it?" And you'd be right – water did come out. God, in His mercy, still provided for His people despite Moses' disobedience. But there were consequences for Moses' actions.
God told Moses that because he didn't trust Him enough to honor Him as holy in front of the Israelites, Moses wouldn't be allowed to lead the people into the Promised Land. Can you imagine how devastating that must have been for Moses? After all those years of leading the people through the wilderness, he wouldn't get to see the fulfillment of God's promise.
So, what can we learn from this story? There are several important lessons here.
First, we need to remember that no matter how frustrated or angry we get, we should always strive to obey God's instructions. God's ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts higher than our thoughts. Even when we don't understand why He's asking us to do something, or when we think we have a better idea, we need to trust and obey.
Second, we need to be careful about taking credit for God's work. Moses asked, "Must we bring you water out of this rock?" as if he and Aaron were the ones with the power to perform miracles. We need to always remember that any good thing we accomplish is because of God's grace and power working through us.
