Because you did not believe me

“And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. And the LORD spoke unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.” - Numbers 20v10-12

Whenever I have read the story of Moses and the rock I kind of felt sorry for Moses. I can certainly understand his frustration. Most scholars say that this incident happened thirty-eight years into the wanderings in the wilderness. Once gain the people complained because of a lack of water. They even said they would have been better to die in the Korahite rebellion than to die now. Moses and Aaron went to God again and God told Moses to speak to the rock go get fresh water.

When Moses gathered the people together he did not listen to God. Instead he clearly allowed his flesh to take control, “Must [b]we[/b] fetch water out of the rock?” Then he struck the rock instead of speaking to it.

There are some real problems with this. He took the credit on himself and felt like he had to act his way to accomplish his task. God says that Moses did not believe Him. We don’t see that, but God knew His heart. Moses did not believe God, He did not sanctify God before the people, he claimed credit for himself and Aaron for providing water out of the rock, and disobeyed God by striking the rock. His punishment? He would not get to enter the Promised Land.

What are the lessons for us? Trust God when He says what He will do. Makes sure He gets all the glory for what is accomplished. Obey Him completely. God is a holy God, who demands obedience so He is the One Who receives the glory.