Disappointment to Victory:
Complaints & Thirst to Provision
Numbers 20:1-13
- The highs and lows often occur because of a lack of faith; 20:1-5.
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 quarreled 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!”
During the 40 years of wandering, the Israelites experienced three major journeys that were very much rollercoaster experiences. God is working with Israel to help them get off the rollercoaster and become the people of God. Journey I: Egypt to Mount Sinai, Exod 12:29-19:25. Journey II: Mount Sinai to Kadesh, Num 10:11-14:45. Journey III: Kadesh to Moab Plains, Num 20:1-21:35.
A comparison of the three journey passages shows victories and the appearance of the glory and power of God bringing deliverance, hope, and blessings to Israel. Despite their complaints, God is gracious in faithfully providing for the needs of the people along their desert journey. Moses, Aaron, and Miriam provide dedicated leadership to the nation and challenged them to faithfulness to God.
The third journey provides a fitting conclusion to the story of judgment against the first generation who had experienced the wonders of God's deliverance. The setting is the month in which they should have been celebrating the Passover and the Festival of the Unleavened Bread in the Promised Land. Instead, they found themselves back at Kadesh after some forty years of wilderness wandering, and again they grumbled about their water supply as that first generation had done soon after they had crossed the Red Sea.
Three issues were raised by the people. Contradiction poured out when they claimed that they would have preferred death over life. They blamed Moses and Aaron for their predicament. It must have been Moses' fault that they faced this crisis of survival in a place with no grain, fruit, or water. The fruit listed were those very fruits that the scouts had brought back from the land forty years before. They still suffered from the same pattern of unbelief. How easily they had forgotten the numerous times when God had miraculously provided them food, water, and shelter in the desert!
Part of the reason we’re on the rollercoaster is a pattern of lack of faith when things don’t go our way, and we start blaming everyone except our own lack of faith or disobedience.
- The highs and lows are lessened with obedience to God’s Word; 20:6-8.
6 Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and fell facedown, 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.”
Moses and Aaron go to the entrance of the Tent of the Meeting, where God so often revealed Himself. They fell face-down. As they lay face-down, the glory of the Lord appeared to them. God responds to their humility and seeking Him. The instructions were to take the rod, assemble the people, and speak to the rock. Moses and Aaron were to gather the congregation of Israel in front of the rock, and then they were to speak to the rock that which the Lord had instructed them. Thus, they would be agents of the miraculous provision of water, so that people and animals would be amply supplied. The instructions were clear and simple.
When we demonstrate the attitudes of humility and servanthood, God's presence and blessing are realized most fully. God’s instructions to us are also clear and simple, found in His Word, and clarified in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
- The highs and lows are often intensified with disobedience; 20:9-11.
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.
Moses began by following the Lord’s command by taking the staff from the presence of the Lord in the tabernacle. The scene was set for another demonstration of God's mercy, compassion, and patience. Yet as Moses began to speak, the tenor of his speech changed dramatically, and he committed several rebellious violations of his own. Instead of addressing the rock, he launched into a rant against the complaining people who were rebelling.
Moses did not simply call the people rebels, a statement of truth, but he took the Lord's instructions and used them as a means to justify his self-interest and self-pity. The Lord had said that Moses and Aaron would be the agents for the delivery of the water from the rock, but then the prophet's self-centered attitude erupted as he assumed the words of God for his own glorification, saying, "Shall we bring forth from this rock for you water?" Moses struck the rock not once but twice as he vented his anger and frustration over this ever-rebellious people.
God's mercy and grace were evidenced when the waters gushed forth from the rock, in spite of Moses‘ actions. He fulfilled His promise to provide ample water for the people, and Moses was used as an agent in the miracle.
- A life of disobedience comes with consequences; 20:12-13.
12 But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor 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 quarreled with the LORD and where he showed himself holy among them.
Moses and Aaron had failed to fully trust in the Lord's instructions. Instead, they addressed the people harshly and intentionally struck the rock. This failure to follow instructions, coupled with a rebellious and invective attitude was a violation of the holiness of God. The prophet who previously had been-called "more humble than any other man on the face of the earth" had acted arrogantly and brought insult to his Lord. Moses and Aaron would not fulfill their responsibilities or dreams of experiencing God's blessing in the land. Moses would only be allowed to see the land from a distance, from the peak of Mount Pisgah on the other side of the Jordan. Aaron would not see it at all.
32 By the waters of Meribah they angered the LORD, and trouble came to Moses because of them; 33 for they rebelled against the Spirit of God, and rash words came from Moses’ lips. Psalms 106:32-33
Contentment or contention depends upon our obedience to God’s Word. There are always consequences in not fully obeying God.
