ONE-YEAR JOURNEY OF THE BIBLE
Day 51 -Numbers 18-20 (Why Moses Did Not Enter the Promised Land)
”’Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals." So Moses took the rod from before the LORD as He commanded him. And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, "Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?" Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank. Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.’” (Numbers 20:7-12)
Moses had a single-minded goal since his encounter with God at the burning bush to bring his people into the land God promised to give to Abraham and his descendants. Of all the hardships and tragedies that Moses had been through in his life, not being able to enter the promised land of Canaan must have topped his list. One can only imagine the pain Moses must have felt - all because of one stupid mistake caused by losing his temper.
God specifically intructed Moses to speak to the rock before the children of Israel and it will yield its water. But because Moses failed to control his temper triggered by the complaints of the congregation against him, he struck the rock twice with his rod instead of speaking to it. Centuries later after the death of Christ, the apostle Paul wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians that the rock which Moses struck was none other than Christ Himself:
“Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.” (1 Corinthians 10:1-4)
It didn’t matter if Moses was ignorant about the rock being Christ; what mattered, tragically speaking, was that Moses failed to properly represent God before the people. Because Moses acted in anger when God was not angry at all with the people, Moses portrayed a God who was angry and who lacked control of emotions - someone whom God never was. As a result of Moses’ failure to hollow God before the congregation, he and Aaron paid a heavy price.
So what lesson can we glean from Moses’ mistake? I think that it’s pretty obvious that one lesson is this: We can reap tragic consequences when we lose control of our temper. How many marriages have been destroyed because of this culprit? How many murders have been committed because people refused to let go instead of get even? I can go on and on but you get the point.
This week, there is a popular news about a driver mom who was shot to death allegedly because of road rage, a by-product of losing one’s temper. Do you lack self-control? The Bible tells us that one of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life is self-control. If you have never received the Holy Spirit, why not ask for Him right now to enter your heart? God promises to give the Holy Spirit to everyone who ask.
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