MOSES AND THE ROCK Exodus 17; Numbers 20

This post covers Moses and the rock from which water came forth.

Moses, the famous leader of the Children of Israel, led them for more than forty years. In the beginning, with God’s help, he led them out of Egyptian slavery and crossed the Red Sea into the Sinai desert. Unfortunately, the dry desert and lack of water caused the Israelites to complain that Moses had led them from Egypt to die of thirst in the wilderness. God gave directions how to obtain water from the rock, Exodus 17:5-6:

“The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it”

Moses did exactly as God directed and water flowed from the rock.

Some thirty-eight years later a similar incident occurred. Again, the people complained bitterly about not having enough water. God told Moses what to do, Numbers 20:8:

 “Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock.”

Unfortunately, Moses only partially obeyed.

He took the staff and assembled the people. But when he came to the rock, he failed to obey exactly, Numbers 20:10-11:

“Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly,” 

After that, God pronounced punishment, Numbers 20:12:

“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.”

When Moses failed to obey exactly, God called it unbelief.

Apparently, Moses did not believe speaking to the rock would bring out water. Instead, he substituted his idea of how to bring out water from the rock by striking it.

Today, when we do not obey exactly, we also do not believe that God’s way will accomplish salvation. As an illustration, when we substitute sprinkling or pouring a small amount of water for immersion as baptism, we are saying that what God commanded is not good enough. Instead, our ideas are best. This can never be right.

As has been noted, we need to let Moses’ mistake teach us to obey God exactly.

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#Exodus17:5-6 #Numbers20:8-12 #obeyGodExactly #MosesDisobeyed