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8-8-16. God Proves Himself Holy In Bringing Water From The Rock-my devotional

God Proves Himself Holy In Bringing Water From The Rock

 Numbers 20:1-13            Kevin E. Jesmer

Key verse 20:13              8-8-16

These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord and where he was proved holy among them.”  (NIV)

 water from the rock

This chapter begins with the death of Miriam and it ends with the death of Aaron. Their deaths mark the end of an era. It was the era of God’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt, through to the end of the Israelites wandering in the desert. As God promised, no one from the generation who had personally witnessed all of the miracles associated with their nation being delivered from slavery in Egypt, would enter the Promised Land. They would all perish in the desert, all except Caleb and Joshua. Miriam was part to that generation. Moses also would only see the Promised Land but not enter it.

It was an exciting time. For all those whose hope was in the Lord, God’s word was coming to fruition. The time of wandering was going to be complete. Their entering move into the Promised Land was about to begin. “How thrilling!” many of the Israelites must have been declaring. Even those who were denied entry in the land could be praising the Lord, excited that God’s plan was continually unfolding and their descendents would see it with their own eyes.

 

We might be a little confused as to why Moses and Aaron were not included in the group that was entering the Promised Land. After all didn’t Moses and Aaron dedicate themselves, for many decades to serving God’s mission? Were they not faithful shepherds of God’s flock? Why would they not be allowed to enter? The answer can be found in this passage concerning the water from the rock.

 

The passage into the Promised Land was not without excitement and faith building events. The first of these was the bringing forth of the water from the rock. Look at verses 2-13,

 

“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 wilderness, 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 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.” 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 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 was proved holy among them.

 

After thirty seven years in the desert, the Israelites forgot that their wanderings were a result of theirs and their parent’s sins. They could not accept the fact that they had brought the problems upon themselves. They blamed Moses and the Lord for their present condition. As a result they could not control their negative emotions and thoughts.

 

The Israelites fell into their complaining once again. Actually whenever a hardship ensued they complained.  Verses 2-5 read, “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 wilderness, 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!”  They wanted to die like those who had died under the wrath of God. They had no faith and were convinced that they and their livestock would die of thirst in the desert. They felt that the land they were being led into was fatal and not a blessing. But the fact is, the Lord led them there because he loved them. He desired to reveal to them all of the abundant resources that he would make available if only they would walk in faith. They were blinded by their own unbelief.

 

Moses and Aaron first responded as they always did, Look at verse 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” They fell before the Lord. They brought it to God. Falling face down revealed their complete surrender and submission and trust before the Holy God of Israel.

 

God recognized and responded to their act of faith and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. God gave them clear direction in verse 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.”    God was concerned with the peoples’ suffering. He had a solution. He was going to bring forth water from the rock to supply the needs of the people and the livestock.  He would reveal his glory to them, Show them his mercy and provide what they needed though they were chronically complaining against him and his chosen leaders, Moses and Aaron. Our God is truly gracious. This complaining and lack of faith met with the prayers of God’s servants and covered by the mercy of God, time and time again.

 

Moses and Aaron did what God told them…almost. They gathered the people, before the rock. But then here is where they deviated from what God told them to do. They were to speak to the rock and it would bring forth water. But instead their anger and frustrated feelings got the better of them, Out of anger the admonished the people. Look at verse 10b. “…Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” Honoring God as holy involves controlling your emotions of anger to serve your calling as a servant of the Lord. Avoid anger, so as not to put a stumbling block in anyone’s path. Consider revealing God’s glory as a greater goal than gratifying your angry feelings. This is the core reason of why cultivating angry feelings is wrong. It is not honoring God as holy.

[There was  a time, in Exodus 17:1-7, that Moses was asked to strike a rock to bring forth water, but not this time. Moses also did not publicly rebuke the crowds in Exodus 17. He brought all of his frustrations to God in prayer.]

Moses stole some of the glory of God in his frustrations. God is the one who was about to bring about a miracle. Yet Moses seemed to take credit for it himself in verse 10 b when he said, “….must we bring you water out of this rock?” A servant of God should never, ever even hint of taking any glory away from God. Moses’ disobedience went even further. He struck the rock with his staff twice. God had told him only to speak to the rock.

 

Taking glory from God is never a good thing. All glory must go to Jesus. John 15:5 reads, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” He is the vine we are the branches. All good things come from God. On our own, without Jesus, we can do nothing of lasting worth and value. By lasting I mean eternal. From him all good things flow.

 

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him, all creatures here below;

Praise Him above, ye heav’nly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Amen.

Baptist Hymnal, 1991

 

Anger, also, is never a good thing, especially when you are a servant of God. If you freely express your anger publically, even one time, people will remember it for over ten years and hold it against you and your ministry. There is no place for anger in God’s work. It never brings people closer to Christ. It just drives them away and bolsters their reasons for not coming to Jesus. People will say, “Of that is what faith in Jesus does to you, then I don’t want anything to do with it.” People may never forget and forgive a church leader when they get angry. That memory will put a stumbling block for them to come to Christ.

 

Moses’ anger and frustration, and glory stealing, expressed before the people whom he was called to minister to, was considered by God to be not holy before the eyes of the people. Moses and Aaron were servants of God. They were God’s representatives before the nation of Israel. But they let their anger and their frustration get the better of them. In this they dishonored God. They never controlled their emotions and failed to be the Lord’s ambassadors.

 

.      This also reveals God absolutely, high standard. Moses had dedicated decades of his life serving the Lord. He had done a million things right. People were rebelling against him and God, it seems continuously. Some may think that God’s judgment against Moses was too harsh. But in this incident he gave into his sinful nature. Was he not allowed to vent his frustrations and let down his guard even a little bit? This seemingly small incident was enough for God to declare Moses ineligible to enter into the Promised Land. Apparently God keeps his servants to a high standard. Moses was a spiritual and political leader. He was given a big responsibility and was to set an example, all the time. Because of God’s standards, Moses could not be let off lightly.

 

If this is the kind of standard that we are live up to, who wants to be a servant of God? There is grace in this New Testament era however, all because of Jesus. It is true that God is extremely holy. He has very high standards that he expects to be kept. This is always true, then and now. The difference today, in the New Testament era, is that Jesus suffered and died on the cross for our sins. Yes, we fail to keep God’s high standards. This is sin. This is enough to bring judgment and condemnation. It is enough to keep us out of the Kingdom of God. But Jesus died for our sins. Even though we fail to uphold God as holy every day, we are living in the grace of Jesus. We are forgiven. Our standing as a people of God is valid. Our entry into the Kingdom of Heaven in assured, even if we fall into the sins of stealing God’s glory and anger, basically not upholding Jesus as holy before the eyes of the people.

 

God proved himself holy when his people failed to. Look at verse 13, “These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord and where he was proved holy among them.” The people were not proving God holy. They were rebelling against the Lord. Moses and Aaron were not proving God holy. In this incident they disobeyed God and stole a part of glory in their frustration. Who would prove God holy?

 

God himself proved himself holy. God did provide water for the people and their livestock. He did it because of his mercy. He did not do it because they were complaining enough and he gave into them. He did not do it because Moses and Aaron were 100% obedient, because they weren’t. He didn’t do it because he approved of what they were doing at this time. No. He purely did it because of his grace. God proved himself holy in the eyes of the people. I am thankful that God proves himself holy. I really want to prove Jesus holy in the eyes of the world. But I fail in so many fronts. Yet, I know that Jesus will always be lifted high and exalted for he is the Sovereign Lord. There is great peace in knowing this.

 




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