Today’s Scripture Reading: Numbers 19:1 through Numbers 21:35
As I read verses 1 through 13 of chapter 19, I felt so bad for Moses. It seemed like something snapped! It began like all the other times:
- The Israelites did not get what they wanted, when they wanted it
- They complained to Moses and Aaron
- Moses and Aaron fell face down in front of the Lord
- The Lord God gloriously appeared to them and gave them instructions
It looked as if Moses and Aaron were following God’s instructions to the letter, Moses took his staff, Aaron summoned the people and then everything changed…
“Listen you rebels! Must we (who is we? Moses and Aaron) bring you water out of this rock?” And then instead of speaking to the rock, Moses struck the rock twice!
What caused Moses to take matters into his own hands? It seemed as if he heard the Lord’s instructions, said okay and then “something” came over him and he just lost it!
I guess Moses reached his limit with these people.
The interesting thing is in previous times of frustration Moses talked to God about it and God calmed him down; this time he didn’t say a word. He just went off!
There’s more to this story. Even though Moses directly disobeyed God, God still caused the water to gush out.
Why didn’t God strike Moses dead as He had done with others who were disobedient?
Why didn’t God leave Moses to make his own miracle happen?
This is my opinion but I think God did not want the people to lose respect for Moses and Aaron. It seemed like an act of mercy and grace on God’s part and God being true to His covenant with Abraham. But there were still consequences (we’ve heard a lot about consequences the last few days).
The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron privately and told them exactly what the problem was: “Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!” (20:12)
Wow! Trusting God and demonstrating His holiness are a really big deal to our Heavenly Father. What do these two phrases really mean?
- Trusting God: Believing He knows what’s best
- Demonstrating His Holiness: Honoring God by showing our trust and respect for his decisions in the presence of other people
Friends, these 13 verses speak loudly to me. Here are 3 things we should do BEFORE something snaps:
- I should go to God with my frustrations with people
- If I want to please God I must believe He knows what’s best and show that belief by doing what He says
- If I want to honor God in the presence of other people, my actions must publicly display trust and respect for God’s decisions
Striving to Trust God More Everyday!
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©2012, Dianne Guthmuller
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Numbers 22:1 through Numbers 24:25
Good reminders Dianne!
Thanks Cyn! I sure need to be reminded! Miss you!