Good morning,
I am really enjoying Moses. I stopped at Uzziel in The Jerusalem Council because I just want to go back to the beginning with Moses and when God was giving him the law, then join Paul!
Two thoughts so far are that they accused Moses of the same thing they accused Paul of (Numbers 16:3). And then I thought of the things some have accused you of. It’s the same thing, all the way back to Moses!
When I see that it makes me say, “Rejoice” on the inside!
And Numbers 20:11, 2 when God was upset with Moses for striking the rock after He told him to speak to the rock. I was thinking about what speaking to the rock vs hitting it would have given to the Israelites, if anything. I think I remember that God was upset with Moses for disobeying Him and acting in anger, but God said that Moses and Aaron did not believe in Him to sanctify Him in the eyes of the Israelites. Did they not believe God would send water just by speaking to the rock? Or punish disobedience? What am I not seeing? This kept Moses and Aaron out of the promised land.
I know I have heard about this but I cannot remember.
Beth Durham
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Hi Beth.
In saying that Moses did not believe and sanctify Him before the people, God meant that Moses had not been a good example for the Israelites of obedience to God’s command. Apparently, Moses was not the only one who knew he was supposed to speak to the rock, and so, when he hit it instead, he was not being a good example. Moses had let the people’s rebellious attitude provoke him too much, and in anger against them, he disobeyed God and struck the rock. Moses really wanted to strike the people; that is how frustrated he was.
In our time, the spirits of anger, hatred, and strife are hard at work in the world, and people who are caught up in all that are trying to pass it on to others, including God’s children, and provoke them to act under those ungodly spirits. If we pay much attention to those foolish people, they may persuade us to act under the influence of their evil spirits, and if we do that, we will certainly provoke God’s wrath, as it was provoked against Moses, for our unbelief and our failure to sanctify (honor) Him before people.
Let’s believe God and honor Him before all men by confessing that He is still in command of this universe and by refusing to be provoked by the foolish to pick sides in this world’s conflicts.
Pastor John