Water from the Rock
After Moses had led the people out of Egypt, he had sent twelve spies into the promised land to see what lay before them. Because of the report brought back by ten of those spies, the people lose their faith in the Lord and fail to take the land. In chapter 14 of Numbers, the Lord tells the people that they will wander about in the desert for forty years, until the older generation have all died off. He will then take the new generation into the land. About thirty eight years later, it is almost time for that promise to be fulfilled and a new generation has grown up. This is the point that we find ourselves at, when we reach the start of chapter 20.
Numbers 20:1-13
1 In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.
2 Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. 3 They quarrelled with Moses and said, "If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the LORD ! 4 Why did you bring the LORD’s community into this desert, that we and our livestock should die here? 5 Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!"
6 Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and fell face down, and the glory of the LORD appeared to them. 7 The LORD said to Moses, 8 "Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink."
9 So Moses took the staff from the LORD’s presence, just as he commanded him. 10 He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?" 11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
12 But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honour me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them."
13 These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarrelled with the LORD and where he showed himself holy among them.
We can see that the new generation isn’t much different to the old. The people find themselves, in a barren state, and instead of seeking God, they just gather together and blame the leader. We can often find the same situation in church’s. Their actions are almost identical to that of their parents in Exodus chapter 17. Moses hadn’t wanted to be a leader, and after putting up with this moaning, groaning bunch, for the last 40 years, he was probably starting to wish that the Lord had picked somebody else. He had only just lost his sister, but instead of sympathy, he just faced an angry mob, wanting answers.
Moses however, goes straight to God and lays the problem before Him. In Moses we see a leader who know straight where to go. He meets with God, and following that meeting, he is able to provide water not only for the people, but for their livestock as well. Why then is this also the place when the Lord reprimands Moses, and tells him, that neither he or Aaron will enter the promised land? Verse 12 makes it clear that it is because they did not trust God enough to honour Him as Holy in the sight of the Israelites. Moses had lost out on the promise of God because of disobedience to His Word.
God told Moses to speak to the rock, but instead, he had struck it with his staff. Because of this act of disobedience they were denied the opportunity of seeing Gods land. The question is, why did Moses disobey Gods word. I believe that this chapter reveals at least three sins that caused Moses to be disobedient. They are the sins of uncontrolled anger, of pride, and of a lack of faith.
These three things caused Moses to walk in disobedience and miss out on Gods best. Their needs were met for the moment. Moses, Aaron, and the people experienced Gods refreshing water, but ultimately they missed out on what God had for them. If this happened to one of the greatest men in the bible then it can certainly happen to us.
Anger.
Moses occasionally suffered from an inability to control his temper. In Exodus chapter 2, he happens to come across and Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave. He acted to defend the Israelite, but in his anger, he killed the Egyptian. His anger may have been justified, but his actions lacked self control.
In Exodus 32, after coming down the mountain and seeing the Israelites in worshipping a golden calf, Moses burned with anger. His anger was again justified because of his zealousness for God. But in his anger Moses’ smashes the two stone tablets that contain the word of the Lord. God never tells him to do that. In fact the tablets have to be rewritten two chapters later.
In each of these occasions Moses’ anger is justified, but he allows that anger to take control of him. We can often kid ourselves, that because our anger is the fault of somebody being unjust, our actions are also justified. Even godly anger can lead to ungodly actions. Moses’ actions in Numbers chapter 20 are no different.
It is understandable that Moses should be angry with the people. He has had to intercede on their behalf many times to prevent God from punishing them how they deserve. He has led them through many battles and has seen God perform many miracles for them. After all that, when their stomachs are empty, they turn on him and his brother. This has happened time after time and Moses is clearly annoyed. Moses’ anger is expressed in the harsh words that he uses. ’Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?’
His anger is understandable, but in that anger he fails to control his actions and he lifts his hand and strikes the rock twice with his staff. His anger is one of the factors that led him to disobey God. This disobedience led him to be excluded from the promised land. He pays a heavy penalty.
Anger is something that can lead to many Christians in to disobeying Gods word. It can often be a build up of pressure over a long period of time that emerges in a moment of rage. Geologist tell us that earthquakes are caused by much the same process. Tectonic plates rub against each other in opposite directions. Friction causes them to get stuck. Earthquakes are caused when the build up of this pressure is released. The devastation that an earthquake causes depends on the size of it and the amount of people that are around to experience it. The consequences of our outbursts of anger can affect people in the same way.
Earthquake size is measured on the Richter scale. In the same way anger displays itself in different levels. It can be somebody or something that causes us irritation or indignation. We could feel that we have been treated unfairly. You might not like how somebody has spoken to you. If we allow ourselves to be controlled by this kind of emotion then it can build up over time, or it can manifest itself in us becoming bitter and resentful.
We all have the ability to get angry, and even the most laid back character has the ability to demonstrate rage. A person at the top end of this scale can commit murder without even a conscious awareness of it. Since being in the police force, I have witness first hand demonstrations of all levels of anger.
I once arrested somebody who was in an uncontrollable rage. He head butted and smashed a window, causing his head to be pouring with blood, and yet he didn’t even feel any pain. It took about two hours of restraint before he started to calm down. The next morning he couldn’t remember a thing that had happened. I have been to domestic after domestic where the devastation that anger causes affects everybody, including innocent children.
The world seems to be full of more and more things that can cause irritation. People are becoming more and more violent. The truth is that anger isn’t just something that is confined to the people of the world, or people who like to get intoxicated, it is also found in the church. If Moses could suffer from such a thing, then neither are we exempt. Like Moses it can also lead to us becoming disobedient to Gods word, and missing out on what he has for us.
When we live in such a highly pressured world, how can we prevent ourselves from becoming angry and leading us into sin? The Bible gives us at least six tools that we can use to prevent us from sinning in anger.
1. Make a conscious decision to rid yourself of anger. (Ephesians 4:31, Colossians 3:8, Psalm 37:8) Anger is an emotion, and many people are controlled by their emotions rather than taking controlling of their emotions. The Bible makes it clear that we can make a conscious decision to rid ourselves of anger.
Ephesians 4:31 ’Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.’
2. Dont let the sun go down on anger. (Ephesians 4:26) If we let ourselves go to sleep angry then Satan has got a foothold in our lives. We must do our best to make amends each day.
Ephesians 4:26 ’In your anger do not sin’ : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27and do not give the devil a foothold.’
3. Ask God for wisdom. (Ecclesiastes 7:9, Proverbs 29:8, Proverbs 29:11) This might seem strange, but if we are wise we are able to foresee the consequences of actions taken in anger.
Ecclesiastes 7:9, ’Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.’
4. Ask God for self control. (Galations 5:22&23) It is a fruit of the Spirit, and as such we can ask God for it if we are lacking.
Galations 5:22, ’But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.’
5. Be slow to act. (James 1:19) Often the reason we get angry is that we have jumped to the wrong conclusion without listening properly and considering a different side to a story.
James 1:19, ’My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.’
6. Learn to be compassionate and to love fully. (1 Corinthians 13:5, Jonah 4:2, Psalm 86:15, Psalm 103:8, and Psalm 145:8) This is probably the biggest weapon that we have against anger. It is hard to stay angry if at somebody if we truly love them and have compassion for them. Many times in the Bible, being slow to anger, is associated with being compassionate and abounding in love. The next time that person in work says something against you or winds you up the wrong way, try loving them as Christ did. Just as God showed you love when you offended Him. You will find it hard to remain angry.
Psalm 103:8, ’The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.’
Look at how Jesus acted when he became angry.
Mark 3:5, ’He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.’
In Jesus’ anger, he didn’t sin, instead he healed. If we want to ensure that we enter Gods promises, then we need to control our temper in the same way that Jesus did.
Pride.
Moses was not a man who normally suffered from pride. In fact in Numbers 12:3 it describes Moses as the being the most humble man on the face of the earth. Quite ironic really when you consider that it was probably him who wrote the book. Yet here in chapter 20 we see Moses’ succumbing to probably one of the most common sins, pride.
Moses had been humble before God, but when facing the people states these words. "Listen, you rebels, must ’WE’ bring you water out of this rock?" He then goes ahead and produces water out of the rock his way, rather than the way that God had instructed him. It wasn’t Moses, who had divided the red sea, it wasn’t Moses who had provided manna in the desert, and it wasn’t Moses who was going to provide the water. It had all been done through Gods mercy and care. The Lord accuses Moses of not bringing the honour to his name.
Moses had made the mistake of believing that God needed him to perform the miracle. God could have managed without Moses, just as he can manage without you or me. We are all important in Gods plan, but none of us are essential. Pride was one of the factors that had caused Moses to act in disobedience and caused him to miss out on Gods promise.
Pride is a sin that sits at the root of most other sins, and it is an extremely powerful one. We don’t always effects of pride and the seriousness of it. Pride is believing that you can do something in your own strength, without the need of God. Pride is the reason that this nation has become so ungodly. People don’t believe that they need God in their lives. Laws are being passed that are totally against Gods will because men no longer fear God.
David is a man after Gods own heart and yet he committed a number of sins including adultery and conspiracy to murder. Yet the consequences of these actions were in the death of two people. The greatest sin that David committed was when he counted his fighting troops. It seems a harmless action, yet he was starting to trust in his own strength rather than God’s, and so had become proud. Because of this sin seventy thousand people lost their lives. God takes this sin very seriously and so deals strongly with it.
In the church, pride can also be an issue. If even great men such as Moses and David could suffer from this sin, then we certainly can. The consequences can also be just as severe to Gods kingdom. In our lives, whether at work, at home, in our leisure time, or at church, if we think that anything good is as a result of our own abilities rather than Gods grace, then we are suffering from the sin of pride. The Lord speaks harshly to the church of Laodicea on this very issue.
Revelation 3:17, ’You say, ’I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realise that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.’
If we want to ensure that we don’t miss out on God promises then we need to become humble before him. To do that we must realise our own unworthiness before God and learn to fear Him. The Bible makes it clear that humility is born out of a fear of the Lord. (Proverbs 15:33, Proverbs 22:4)
Lack of Faith.
Moses was a man who had seen God perform some of the most awe-inspiring miracles recorded in the Bible. He had seen the ten plagues come upon Egypt, he had seen the waters rise up like two walls and the swallow up their enemies. He had seen God meet with him in a burning bush and he had spoken to God personally on many occasions. Moses was a man who both knew God, and knew that God was true to his word and capable of doing anything that He said He would.
Moses was in a situation now where he needed God to act. If God didn’t keep his word Moses would probably have been stoned. God tells Moses to speak to the rock and bring forth water. Instead Moses strikes it with his staff. What made Moses do this? Well when we look back to when Moses had been in this situation last, God tells him to hit the rock to bring forth water.
Exodus 17:1-6
The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, travelling from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 So they quarrelled with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink."
Moses replied, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?"
3 But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?"
4 Then Moses cried out to the LORD , "What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me."
5 The LORD answered Moses, "Walk on ahead 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. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink." So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.
When Moses had need God to act in the past he had struck the rock and it had produced water. God was now telling Moses to do something differently. When it came to the crunch Moses didn’t trust God enough and so reverted back to the old methods. Moses probably thought that it seemed a daft thing to do, who speaks to a rock? This is a man, who is described in Hebrews 11 as one of the great men of faith, showing a distinct lack of faith.
If Moses can fall to this sin, then we certainly can. In the church in this country as a whole we are going through a time of baroness. We haven’t seen the waters of refreshing for some time, people getting miraculously healed, many being won into the kingdom, etc. We are in desperate need of an out pouring of Gods living waters. At times like these it is very easy to try and look to the methods used in the past. He wants a people who will speak to the rock, and seek God for His blessing, rather than trying to use old methods or gimmics.
In you life you may be in need in a particular area such as finances. You may be trying in your own strength, using old methods, to meet that need. God simply wants you to put your faith in Him in the situation. He is the provider. God wasn’t going to let the children of Israel die from thirst, and He isn’t about to let you down either. If you are facing a need, then like Moses and Aaron did, go straight to God. However when you get the answer, you need to trust God enough to obey Him, otherwise you could find yourself missing out on His promises. A lack of faith usually leads to disobeying Gods word.
Conclusion.
Anger, pride, and a lack of faith caused Moses to disobey God and strike a rock instead of speaking to it. This disobedience caused Him to miss out on entering the promised land. In 1 Corinthians we find that the rock from which the riving waters came is actually an Old Testament manifestation of Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 10
3They all ate the same spiritual food 4and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.
In John chapter 4, in the conversation between Jesus and the woman at the well, we find that Jesus is the giver of living waters. Just like the rock in the desert, He was struck by the hand of man when he died on the cross, so that the living waters may be available to all. He did this once and for all. There is no need for the rock, Christ Jesus to be struck again. Jesus will pour out his blessing on those that ask.
God wants to pour out blessings upon our lives and to take us into the promises that He has for us. Disobedience will prevent us from seeing those blessings however. We need to search our hearts to remove those things that are preventing us from entering in. Anger, pride and a lack of faith are just three of the many strongholds that can lead us to that disobedience. Moses missed out on what would have been the greatest moment in his ministry. He was almost 120 years old. He had outlived all his peers who died in the desert. He had been heading for this point all his life only to miss out at the final hurdle.
There is one verse that God has kept reminding me off lately and I believe it is at the centre of what I have preached today as it sums up the message. I believe that God wants to pour out his blessing and fulfil His promise, but this is the only way that we are going to see that promise.
2 Chronicles 7
14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
