(Numbers 20:1-29) Then the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to the wilderness of Zin in the first month; and the people stayed at Kadesh. Now Miriam died there and was buried there.
2 There was no water for the congregation, and they assembled themselves against Moses and Aaron. 3 The people thus contended with Moses and spoke, saying, “If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord! 4 Why then have you brought the Lord’s assembly into this wilderness, for us and our beasts to die here? 5 Why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us in to this wretched place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink.” 6 Then Moses and Aaron came in from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to them; 7 and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
8 “Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink.”
9 So Moses took the rod from before the Lord, just as He had commanded him; 10 and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. And he said to them, “Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank. 12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” 13 Those were the waters of Meribah, because the sons of Israel contended with the Lord, and He proved Himself holy among them.
14 From Kadesh Moses then sent messengers to the king of Edom: “Thus your brother Israel has said, ‘You know all the hardship that has befallen us; 15 that our fathers went down to Egypt, and we stayed in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians treated us and our fathers badly. 16 But when we cried out to the Lord, He heard our voice and sent an angel and brought us out from Egypt; now behold, we are at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory. 17 Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or through vineyard; we will not even drink water from a well. We will go along the king’s highway, not turning to the right or left, until we pass through your territory.’”
18 Edom, however, said to him, “You shall not pass through us, or I will come out with the sword against you.” 19 Again, the sons of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway, and if I and my livestock do drink any of your water, then I will pay its price. Let me only pass through on my feet, nothing else.” 20 But he said, “You shall not pass through.” And Edom came out against him with a heavy force and with a strong hand. 21 Thus Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through his territory; so Israel turned away from him.
22 Now when they set out from Kadesh, the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor.
23 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying, 24 “Aaron will be gathered to his people; for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the sons of Israel, because you rebelled against My command at the waters of Meribah. 25 Take Aaron and his son Eleazar and bring them up to Mount Hor; 26 and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar. So Aaron will be gathered to his people, and will die there.” 27 So Moses did just as the Lord had commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 28 After Moses had stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar, Aaron died there on the mountain top. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. 29 When all the congregation saw that Aaron had died, all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
If one needs water, one can ask for some or mention the issue and the need... nicely. But it can drive a person nuts to hear incessant and vicious complaining. While it is understandable that Moses and Aaron blew up, it isn't an excuse. Whatever others are doing, this should not drive our behavior. And I know, there are times when I lean on the Lord for His strength and guidance, while begging for Him to please give me His patience and His grace!!!
Praise the Lord, we cannot lose our salvation because of His amazing grace. We will make mistakes. And no one is above God or His commandments. Even Moses and Aaron, who failed to follow God's will. God had told them to speak to the rock, but taking a closer look at verses 10-11, not only did Moses (and Aaron) choose to hit the rock TWICE, they called the people rebels, and took the glory - the credit - for producing water from the rock. Their consequence was earthly, though, They would not see the promised land of Israel, but they still went to heaven... a believer's eternal and perfect "promised land".
And praise the Lord, any time we make a mistake or drift away from God, we can run back to reconcile and continue our walk with Him. Not only can we, but God wants us to keep running back to Him whenever we stray. Notice that after Moses and Aaron sinned, and even though they knew their consequence of this sin would prevent them from seeing the earthly promised land, they continued walking with God. And God continued to guide them and help them!
Whether we suffer earthly consequences because of our own actions or the actions of someone else, this should not deter us from staying close to the Lord. He is faithful, and loving! And as our heavenly Father, He will work things out for good! As we strive to live in His will, we will see the benefits. And if we don't see whatever kind of reward we might have in mind, we will most definitely see heaven! And - hey - whatever this world has to offer - heaven will be so much better than we could ever imagine!
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