Numbers 20:10, commentary and pictures

At the borders of Canaan after forty years of wandering, when Israel murmured again for water in a waterless place, God told Moses to gather the people before the rock and speak to it, but Moses gathered them and instead spoke to the people in anger and struck the rock twice, though water still flowed abundantly for them and their beasts. His charge that they were rebels was true, yet he spoke it in irritation and human passion rather than holy zeal for God, and even truth must not be spoken to gratify anger. By asking whether he and Aaron must fetch them water he spoke as if the power were his own, putting himself where God should be, taking to man the glory belonging to God alone and showing distrust of God's promise. In that solemn moment he failed to believe God and to honor Him before the people, so God judged that he and Aaron would not lead Israel into the promised land. Though Moses repented and was forgiven, he had to accept the punishment without murmuring and died short of Canaan, yet after a short rest in the grave he was raised by Christ and taken to heaven, leaving a warning that exalted position magnifies guilt and that leaders must show meekness, self-control and exact obedience.

Setting at the Rock

The words were spoken at the same proving rock where water had first been brought from it nearly forty years before. Ever since that first miracle the living stream had flowed wherever Israel encamped, until just before they came again to the rock God caused it to cease. This was to prove the people again, to see whether they would endure the trial of faith and trust God or would murmur again as their fathers had done. Their demand for water and loss of hope showed the same unbelief, and though God still gave them water their unbelief brought punishment and forced them to cross the desert again.

When the water failed the people murmured for water against Moses and Aaron. They accused them of bringing them up from Egypt into the wilderness to perish in an evil, waterless place with no seed or figs or vines or pomegranates. They charged Moses with leading them out to kill them and their children.

God commanded Moses to take the rod, gather the congregation together before the rock, and speak to the rock before their eyes so that it would give its water. Moses and Aaron gathered the thirsty, impatient and murmuring congregation together before the rock as commanded, but instead of speaking to the rock he spoke to the people. He lifted his hand and without command struck the rock twice, acting as though a human blow were needed to accomplish what God's word alone could do. Water still came out abundantly for the congregation and their beasts to drink.

It took place within sight of the hills of Canaan on the borders of the promised land near Kadesh. It came after forty years of wandering and unbelief, when years of leading Israel through the wilderness had passed. Moses was then an aged man who had long borne with Israel's rebellion, obstinacy and continual murmuring. Wearied, harassed and perplexed, with weariness weakening his hold on faith, his patience at last gave way at the border.

Words Moses Spoke

Moses called the congregation rebels, and the charge was true, yet he spoke it in irritation, anger, impatience and human passion rather than holy indignation because God had been dishonored. Even truth is not to be spoken in passion or impatience, nor to gratify anger, and his loss of patience and self-control in that moment grieved the Spirit of God and did the people only harm. Instead of speaking to the rock as commanded, he spoke to the people from irritated feeling after long bearing with their rebellion as an aged leader, and that failure joined with striking the rock brought judgment upon him and Aaron. His course gave the people occasion to question whether his past course had been under God's direction, to excuse their own sins and anger, and to find pretext for rejecting all reproofs sent through him.

In asking whether he and Aaron must fetch water from the rock, he spoke as though the power to provide it belonged to them by their own power, giving prominence to self instead of magnifying God's name alone. He thereby placed himself where God alone should be, put human beings where God should be, and took to man the glory belonging to God alone, for the water from the split rock was supplied by God and not created by Moses, who was only the human instrument through whom God worked. His words manifested distrust, as if the Lord would not do what He promised, and showed him harassed, perplexed, provoked and angry after continual murmuring rather than believing and honoring God before Israel.

By that language he virtually told the people they were right to believe he was doing the mighty works in their behalf and right to charge him with leading them out of Egypt, confirming their false belief, unbelief and murmuring that a man was leading them instead of God their true leader. Israel in all their wanderings was tempted to credit Moses with God's special work and mighty miracles in delivering them from Egyptian bondage, although the Lord had given evidence after evidence that He Himself was working for their deliverance, had manifested Himself wonderfully to Moses, specially favored him with His presence, revealed to him His exceeding glory, taken him into sacred nearness on the mount, and talked with him as a man speaks to a friend. God therefore had to prove the admission false by declaring that Moses and Aaron would not bring the congregation into the land He had given them, allowing their leader to die before entering Canaan to dispel forever the idea that a man was leading them and requiring him to declare to all Israel the reason he could not enter, for He does not regard sin in a leader as He does in those who are led.

The speech was hasty, unadvised and presumptuous, provoked by the people's unbelief and by weariness under continual complaining taken as personal trial, insult and dishonor to themselves. For the moment he forgot how much the Lord had borne with Israel and forgot that their murmuring was not against him but against God, against God's providence, insulting the Spirit of God. He thought only of himself, how deeply he was wronged and how little gratitude they showed in return for his deep love, became like the murmurers, and revealed great weakness and marked lack of self-control when he should have been an example of forbearance and patience. At the very time God meant to display His glory in mercy, long-suffering and tender pity to soften and subdue hearts and lead to repentance, Moses and Aaron put themselves forward in God's place and exalted themselves instead of exalting God, and the greatest sin in the words was assuming to take the place of God.

Failure to Sanctify God

On a solemn occasion that required a manifestation of divine power, the command to speak to the rock before the eyes of the congregation was set aside, and instead of announcing that God would show another evidence of His power, the leaders spoke to the people and struck the rock twice, though water still came out abundantly for the congregation and their beasts. By asking whether they themselves would fetch water from the flinty rock, prominence was given to self and the work of giving water was taken to man, rather than power and glory being ascribed to its true Author for bringing water again. That failure to believe God and to magnify and honor Him before Israel was a failure to sanctify Him in the eyes of the children of Israel, and for it judgment fell at once that Moses and Aaron would not bring the congregation into the land given them but must die with rebellious Israel before crossing the Jordan. The moment should have displayed God's glory, long-suffering and tender pity in a way to soften hearts and lead to repentance, with the people's murmuring understood not as personal insult but as grief and dishonor done to God. God works counter to those who work counter to Him, for His name and His alone is to be magnified on the earth.

By taking it upon himself to accuse the congregation, the leader neglected God's work and put himself and his fellow leader forward in God's place, exalting self before the people instead of exalting God. In crying out for water as if the power lay in themselves, glory belonging to God alone was taken to man, and by these words Christ the invisible Leader was greatly dishonored. The Spirit of God was grieved, for even a true charge is not to be spoken in irritated feeling, human passion, impatience or self-willed offense, rather than in holy indignation that God has been dishonored and in grief that His Spirit is insulted. Meant to represent God's character and to impress Israel with reverence for God and strengthen faith in His power and goodness, he instead became like the murmurers, forgot for a moment that their murmuring was against God and not against him, revealed great weakness and lack of self-control when forbearance and patience should have been exemplified, and misrepresented the character he was meant to represent. So the people were only harmed, given excuse to question past leadership under God's direction, to reject reproofs sent through him, and to dishonor God and unsettle faith.

Though the meekest man on earth, after God had trusted him with light and evidence and power and grace, he in that moment forgot God, yielded to the natural impulses and feelings of his heart, and yielded to Satan's temptation. With mind engrossed by Israel's unbelief, ingratitude, waywardness and continual murmurings, enraged and acting as though he himself gave the water, he appropriated and took to himself the honor and glory due to God alone. By that self-exalting act he fell under the power of Satan, and his otherwise illustrious character was marred, showing that even a leader especially honored by God could be overcome. Unlike breaking the tables of stone in wrath for God, which was not sin, these words in wrath over the people dishonored God and displeased Him.

The sin belonged to Moses and Aaron, not to the provoking people whose wicked course provoked them. No judgment was pronounced on the people, and all the reproof fell on the leaders because as God's representatives they had not honored Him, demonstrating that the sin of the leader is greater than the sin of those who are led and that honored position does not excuse sin but magnifies guilt. It was his one sin and his first sin after forty years of labor and burdens for Israel, when labor seemed almost in vain because of evil hearts of unbelief. It was not premeditated or wilful but came by surprise under sudden temptation, from weariness, disappointment and grief over continual rebellion and from losing command of himself while taking complaint against God as though directed against himself. Yet the words to the rebels were real sin, not to be lightly passed over, for God does not see as man sees and in no case justifies sin.

Judgment and Forgiveness Granted

For that failure judgment came at once that Moses and Aaron had not believed and had not sanctified God before Israel, and therefore they would not bring the congregation into the land He had given them but must die with rebellious Israel before crossing the Jordan. The sentence fell because angry words gave prominence to self and claimed the work of giving water for man, neglecting God's work and dishonoring Him in the eyes of the people. It was unbelief made public on the borders of the promised land, where the ceasing of water was meant as an opportunity to walk by faith, and it taught that when self is made prominent God is dishonored and He will work counter to those who work counter to Him, for His name and His alone is to be magnified.

Moses greatly deplored his sin, confessed it upon the mount, implored pardon with heartfelt repentance, and was forgiven and accepted, yet the punishment could not be remitted and he had to bear it humbly without murmuring. His sin had come by sudden temptation under weariness rather than as premeditated wilful sin, but the harm done among the people forbade remission, for to pardon that public transgression before Israel would make the Word of God of little account. He therefore forfeited the right to enter Canaan and to lead Israel in, and God did not grant his plea to reverse that judgment, though no stain was left to rest upon his character. The Word proved precious and to be followed exactly to the letter with no deviation, even at the cost of terrible loss.

By that one transgression he came under the dominion of death and under the power of Satan, who triumphed in causing him to displease God and claimed his body as his own. Had he remained steadfast and faithful and not taken glory to himself, the Lord would have brought him into the promised land and then translated him to heaven without seeing death. Instead he was forbidden to enter the promised land and passed through death like the rebellious host. Satan even boasted over his fall that he could overcome the Saviour of the world.

After he had remained in the grave a short time his name stood untarnished in the heavenly book with no stain upon his character. Then Michael, who is Christ, with the angels that had buried him, came down from heaven, and the Son of God gave him life before his body saw corruption. He rebuked Satan and disputed his claim to the body, meekly referring him to the Father with the words, The Lord rebuke thee. Thus resurrected, Moses was borne with a resurrected and glorified body to the courts of heaven.

His loss of patience and self-control in that solemn hour wrought only harm to the people. By taking it upon himself to accuse them apart from God's bidding and by speaking truth in passion and impatience, he grieved the Spirit of God, misrepresented God's work, and himself offended God like them. His course gave the people occasion to question whether his past course had been under God's direction, to excuse their own sins and their own anger, and to find a pretext for rejecting all the reproofs God had sent them through him. Even a leader greatly honored and greatly favored is not excused from sin, and the failure of one so patient set a wrong example that others used to justify themselves.

Warning to Leaders Today

The honored standing as representative of Christ did not lessen the guilt of the angry words at the rock but greatly magnified it, and a life of past fidelity and hitherto blameless service could not atone for the present sin. God does not regard sin in a leader as He does in those who are led, and He does not excuse sin in those in exalted position any sooner than in the more humble. Even one greatly favored and long trusted can err, and must repent, confess, and correct the wrong so others are not led astray or mistake faults for virtues. The failure of one so favored can also lead others to excuse their own sins.

It is a warning to all who today occupy positions of trust to stop and think what it means to become angry. God condemns a hard, hasty, condemnatory, self-willed, offended spirit, and requires instead meekness, self-control, forbearance and patience as example under provocation. The leader should have been grieved that the Spirit of God was insulted, not become like the murmurers, and should have been an example of forbearance when greatly harassed by undeserved reproach. A single failure to restrain anger misrepresents God, dishonors Him, gives Satan advantage, sets a wrong example for others to follow, and gives the people grounds to excuse their own anger.

The words that put self forward in God's place warn against placing human beings where God alone should be and spoiling a good work by self-promotion. The greatest sin in them was assuming to take the place of God, speaking of self as worker of the miracle, taking to self the glory due to God, and claiming for human wisdom and power what God had given and done. The same danger appears when men and women become exalted because of talents God has given and, as soon as God manifests His power for them, take the glory to themselves instead of exalting Him, so that God can do but little for one who exalts self. Ambition to climb higher and still higher, getting above the real virtues and simplicity of appointed work and disregarding heaven's holy principles, brings sure displeasure, and those at the head of a school and others entrusted with responsibility must put undivided interest into making the work just what God designed, seek Him with deep humiliation of soul, and be converted that He may heal their transgressions.

No authority or liberty was given to pronounce judgment against rebellious Israel. To address them as rebels in judgment displayed glaring weakness in God's agent. That weakness will bring its reward.

The failure came after forty years of wandering and unbelief, just upon the borders of the promised land, when weariness weakened faith and the hold upon infinite power, so that strength failed, will power weakened, and faith for the moment ceased to repose in God. It proves that Satan assails with the fiercest temptations in the time of greatest weakness to prevail, and that even those who have stood long and valiantly for the right can then be overcome. By striking without command instead of speaking as exactly required, the lesson was left that the Word of God is precious and must be followed exactly to the letter with no deviation at the cost of terrible loss, as in keeping the seventh day as the Sabbath of the Lord rather than taking the first day of the week for convenience.

Unlike breaking the tables of stone in wrath for God when Israel worshiped the calf, which was not sin, these words dishonored God and displeased Him. The faithful recording of the error fulfills justice by telling the naked truth about human frailty, though the doer was a man favored of God and entrusted with great responsibility. It was written to instruct in obedience to the law of God, to warn against unbelief and disobedience by showing the sure penalty and retribution that follow sin, and to encourage desponding hearts that through God's grace sinners can gain fresh vigor, rise above evil nature, take heart again, renew the conflict, and conquer. In that warning the erring just as he was about to enter the promised land stands beside William Miller, who also erred shortly before entering the heavenly Canaan.