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Psalms 106:32-33 states that the people
angered Moses at the waters of strife,
that it went ill with Moses, and that
he sinned with his mouth. The incident
in question occurred in Numbers 20:7-13.
Miriam had just passed on. The very next
verse states that the people were complaining
about the lack of water. This had happened
many times during their wilderness experience.
And like the other times, the people railed
against Moses and Aaron, whining that
they would have been better off if they
had stayed in Egypt. Moses and Aaron responded
by falling face down. They had also done
this several times. Maybe they were tired
of hearing the same old complaints, or
maybe this was their posture of prayer.
In any event, God responded quickly, telling
Moses to speak to the rock in front of
all the people. Water would come gushing
out -- enough water for everyone.
Moses assembled the people, but he didn't
follow orders quite the way he should
have. Instead of just speaking to the
rock, which would have demonstrated the
power of the word over the power of his
rod, he struck it twice, saying, "Listen,
you rebels, shall we get water for you
out of this rock?" It almost sounded
as though Moses was taking credit for
delivering the water. That was not true.
Perhaps the strain of leading the people
all those years was finally starting to
show. He called them rebels, which in
a sense they were. But God did not tell
him to do this. Nor was there any mention
of God at that point. All seemed directed
at Moses and Aaron: "Must we bring
water out of this rock?" Depending
on how it's read, it could indicate doubt
on the part of Moses.
The bottom line is that both he and Aaron
disobeyed God. Moreover, the water that
rushed out was no longer seen as a gift
from God, but was a product of Moses and
Aaron. The people were happy; God was
not. He said, "You did not trust
in me; and you did not honor me as holy"
(Num. 20:13). Hence, neither of them would
set foot into the Promised Land. Yet,
it is important to notice that just as
God did not abandon his people when they
sinned, he did not abandon Moses and Aaron.
But in this one instance, they didn't
pass the test. When crunch time came,
they didn't trust God. And all of this
happened at the waters of Meribah.
That's the Biblical explanation, but
frankly, the punishment just doesn't seem
to fit the crime. In reading the whole
story, Moses was an exemplary leader,
the ideal mediator between the people
and God, and always faithful to the covenant.
One little mistake and he's punished forever!
It hardly seems just.
In reality, the people who were writing
this story knew that Moses did not lead
them into the Promised Land. In fact,
he had completed his assignment long ago.
God had instructed him to lead the people
out of Egypt (Ex. 3:10). They were out
of Egypt. His job was done. So maybe this
wasn't a punishment at all; maybe it was
a reward! He was roughly 120 years of
age at this point. They all knew that
settling into the Promised Land would
have its challenges. That land was fully
occupied, and many battles were ahead
of them. Surely it was time to let Joshua
take over. It was time for Moses to rest.
Granted, there might have been other ways
for God to accomplish this, but the writers
of the story chose to tell it like this.
The end result is that Moses was free
of his responsibility to the people, free
to be with God on the mountaintop.
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