Numbers 20:1-13. 9-2-16. HONORING GOD AS HOLY- my devotional

Numbers 20:1-13  (22-29)              Kevin E. Jesmer

Key Verse: 20:12                            9-2-16

  “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.’”

In this passage we will learn about the end of an era in God’s history. The Israelites were about the end their desert wanderings and enter into the Promised Land. We will also discover why Moses was not allowed to enter. It was because he did not honor the Lord as holy. What does that mean anyway? If Moses failed to enter the Promised Land, what hope is there for us? But there is infinite hope for us, because of Jesus and the Gospel. Let’s see.

Part 1: The Deaths of Miriam and Aaron (1, 22-29).

This chapter begins with the death of Miriam and it ends with the dearth of Aaron. Their deaths mark the end of an era, the era of God’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt, through to the end of the Israelites wandering in the desert. The time of wandering was over, not because the people stopped complaining, but rather, it was God’s perfect timing.

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. It was because of their rebellion towards the Lord. They would all perish in the desert, all except Caleb and Joshua. Miriam was part of that generation. Moses also would only see the Promised Land by not enter it.

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

We could also see the passing of the priesthood to the next generation. (22-29). Eleazar went up the mountain with his elderly father. (23) While he was still alive, Aaron gave the priestly garments to his son. And then Aaron died. This happened in full view of the community. They witnessed the transaction and knew that the passing of the priesthood was endorsed by Moses and Aaron, and especially by God himself. The transfer of the office of the priesthood was made to the second generation Israelites, those who did not witness the deliverance of the people of Egypt,

There is a time when an era in God’s history ends. There needs to be a transfer of authority to the second generation of leaders. This passage does show that Aaron held onto the helm of leadership right to the end of his life. And then he passed it on. But he was preparing Eleazar. He was allowing Eleazar to have meaningful leadership roles. But, personally I think that the transfer of leadership shouldn’t wait until the death of the first generation of leaders. Any ministry needs to begin preparing the next generation of leaders and make some very real and concrete plans to pass that leadership on. There definitely is the passing of eras in God’s work. We need to keep in step with that.

Part 2: Moses Fails To Honor The Lord As Holy (2-13)

The passage into the Promised Land was not without excitement and faith building events for all of God’s people. 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.

The people, in their ingratitude, once again grumbled about life in the desert. 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 blamed Moses when they ran out of water. They were very thirsty. They opposed Moses and wanted to die.  They 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 condition. They wanted to die like those who had died under the wrath of God. They had no faith and were convinced that their and their livestock would die of thirst in the desert. They felt that the land that they were wandering in 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.  This shows us the sinfulness of humanity and the grace and sovereignty of God. The green light, to enter the Promised Land was not dependent on the peoples’ stopping complaining, but on God’s mercy, will and sovereignty.

This passage also sheds light on why Moses and Aaron were not included in the group that entered the Promised Land. Moses would only see it from afar. But why? Didn’t they love the Lord? Didn’t Moses and Aaron dedicate themselves, for many decades to serve 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.

Moses and Aaron responded to this new bout of complaining by falling before the Lord. 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 surrendered to God. They brought it all before the Lord. We see them doing this time and time again. God responded and intended to work through them to bring forth water for the people.

Moses disobeyed the Lord. Look at verse 8 again, “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 wanted him to speak to the rock. Instead of obeying God, Moses was frustrated. Rebuking the crowds, he struck the rock with his staff. Frustration led him to disobey the Lord and not honor God as holy before the people.

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, showing them his mercy and providing what they needed though they were chronically complaining against him and his chosen leaders, Moses and Aaron. Our God is truly gracious.

But here is where Moses and Aaron failed to honor God as holy. God told Moses to speak to the rock, and water would pour out before their eyes. This was his direction to him. 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 towards the people got the better of them, In anger, Moses struck the rock twice. Out of anger the admonished the people. Look at verse 10b. “…Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?”

Moses also stole some of the glory of God. 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 and Aaron were servants of God. They were God’s representatives before the nation of Israel at all times.

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

Let’s reflect a little about anger here. Anger, also, is never a good thing, especially when you are a servant of God. If you 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, “If 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. God’s glory as a greater goal than gratifying your angry feelings.

This also reveals God absolutely, high standard. Moses had dedicated decades of his life serving the Lord. He had done a million things right. Some may think that God’s judgment against Moses was too harsh. People were rebelling against him and God, it seems continuously. But in this one incident he gave into his sinful nature. It was enough for God to declare Moses ineligible to enter into the Promised Land. Was he not allowed to vent his frustrations and let down his guard even a little bit? 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 holiness, Moses could not be let off lightly.

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 finally gave into them. He did not do it because Moses and Aaron were 100% obedient, because they weren’t. He purely did it because of his grace.

This makes one think, “With that kind of standard, who wants to be a servant of God?” But there is grace in this New Testament era however, because of Jesus. 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. 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 is assured, even if we fall into the sin of not upholding Jesus as holy before the eyes of the people.

Prayer: Lord, sometimes my frustration leads to disobedience and robbing you of some of your glory. Help me to honor you as holy.

One Word: Honor God as holy before the people