And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.
The verse records the stopping of the miraculous stream that had supplied Israel for nearly forty years, and the thirsty congregation's gathering against Moses and Aaron at Kadesh on the very borders of the promised land. God had caused the water to cease to test whether they would for a little time walk by faith instead of sight, trust His providence and promise, and remember past deliverance instead of repeating the unbelief of their fathers. Instead of turning to God, they forgot their long dependence on Him, and their turbulent murmuring against His leaders was sin against God and against Christ their invisible leader, grieving and dishonoring Him. They showed the same spirit as their fathers, wishing they had died with their brethren and with those destroyed in Korah's rebellion, and accusing Moses and Aaron of bringing them with their children and cattle into an evil place with no seed, figs, vines, pomegranates, or water to die. On this occasion God pronounced no judgment upon the murmuring people, but all the reproof fell upon Moses and Aaron for not honoring Him, and because Moses took glory to himself he was barred from entering the holy land. The event illustrates Satan's policy of assailing when strength fails and faith ceases to repose in God, stirring up murmuring to shake confidence, so that even one long valiant for the right can for the moment let go of infinite power and be overcome.
Context and Testing
There was no water because the living stream that had gushed beside the encampment and supplied Israel for years, for nearly forty years, had stopped just before they came again to the wilderness rock at Kadesh. It had flowed continuously until that return, and its ceasing left them thirsty and unable to find water.
It was the first trial after that cessation, when Israel had been brought back to the very place where God had proved them soon after leaving Egypt. They stood just upon the borders of the promised land, just before reaching Edom, in sight of the hills of Canaan and a short distance from Edom. Moses stood with them there in his time of greatest weakness, wearied with the forty years wandering.
God had deliberately caused the water to cease before He permitted them to enter Canaan, to see whether for a little time they would walk by faith instead of sight. The test was whether they would trust His providence, believe His promise, endure the trial of faith, and remember past deliverance and their dependence on Him, instead of repeating the unbelief of their fathers. Their continual blessings had led them to forget Him, and the failure of the supply was meant to remind them of that dependence.
The stopping should have been understood as a token that the wilderness wandering was ended and a cause for rejoicing and evidence that God's promise of Canaan was being fulfilled. They were about to travel the appointed route through the well-watered, fertile country of Edom, where God had promised them safe passage and the chance to buy food and water with money. Had they trusted God they would no longer have needed the miraculous spring, but would have drunk in answer to faith without clamoring for the blessings of the wilderness.
Their need was a time when God intended to provide for them by His power and teach them His care. He would mercifully display His glory to show His long-suffering and tender pity, to soften and subdue hearts and lead them to repentance. That moment gave Moses and Aaron a golden opportunity to sanctify the Lord in the midst of the people.
Murmuring Against God
When thirst pressed them, the congregation did not turn to God for help or trust His care, but forgot the hand that had supplied their wants for so many years. Their continual blessings had led them to forget their dependence on Him, and the failure of water that was meant to remind them of past deliverance only exposed how quickly unbelief can arise. Blinded by unbelief they gave up hope of possessing Canaan, turning what should have been assurance into doubt and clamoring for the blessings of the wilderness.
In impatience and rebellion they gathered against Moses and Aaron in a turbulent, unthankful, wicked course. Their murmuring and complaint over lack of water carried great guilt before God, for it was not against mere men appointed to carry out His purpose but against His providence. It was really sin against God and against Christ their invisible leader, grieving and dishonoring Him, insulting their best friend.
They manifested the same spirit as their fathers by directing their cries against Moses and Aaron. Desperately they wished they had died when their brethren died before the Lord and with those destroyed in Korah's rebellion. They accused the leaders of bringing the congregation with their cattle and children into the wilderness to die in an evil place with no seed, figs, vines, pomegranates, or water to drink.
Wearied and provoked by continual complaining, Moses and Aaron took the murmurings personally as a great trial and dishonor to themselves and forgot God. They claimed the power of opening the rock themselves and did not give glory and honor to God, while the people's continuing cry was that Moses had done the work and failed to keep God in view. Moses struck the rock in anger and took glory to himself instead of honoring God, and surprised into sin without premeditation he transgressed by appropriating to himself the glory that belonged to God, placing himself on Satan's side.
Consequences and Warning
On this occasion no judgment was pronounced upon the murmuring people, and all the reproof fell upon Moses and Aaron as God's representatives. They were reproved for not honoring Him, for feeling themselves aggrieved and looking to themselves instead of God, and for failing to set the people's guilt before them. Their murmuring was not against mere men appointed to carry out God's purpose but sin against God, grieving and dishonoring Him, insulting their best friend, and complaining against His providence. The need was a time when God would mercifully display His glory to show His long-suffering and tender pity and to soften and subdue hearts to lead them to repentance, giving Moses and Aaron a golden opportunity to sanctify the Lord in the midst of the people. Instead, wearied and provoked by continual complaining, they took the murmurings personally as a great trial and dishonor to themselves, forgot God, claimed the power of opening the rock themselves, and did not give glory and honor to God. Their sin was great in its wicked course and carried great guilt before God, and though they were greatly exalted and honored with lives that might have been illustrious to the close, God excuses sin in the exalted no sooner than in the humble.
Because Moses took glory to himself and did not sanctify God, God made clear that Moses would not enter the holy land. Their continuing cry had been that Moses had done the work, while they failed to keep God in view, and the event taught Israel that God, not Moses, had led and provided for them. When Moses struck the rock in anger and took glory to himself instead of honoring God, who used their need to display His power, God barred him from entering the promised land. Israel's murmuring and complaining thus led Moses to sin and kept him from entering the Promised Land. The people's sin was ultimately against Christ, their invisible leader, who bore their iniquities and suffered more intensely than Moses.
God gave them water in answer to their clamors, but their unbelief brought the punishment of having to cross the desert again and drink from the miraculous spring. Had they trusted God, they would no longer have needed it. This sin when the water ceased at Kadesh led to their having to journey around Edom. The punishment was light compared with what they deserved, but their discontent kept them from seeing God's mercy and made their journey harder than God had designed.
The failure of the water tested their faith and was meant to remind them of past deliverance and their dependence on God, who had long supplied their needs, but their continual blessings had led them to forget Him. Instead of trusting God they blamed Moses and Aaron for their hardship, and their response reveals how quickly unbelief can arise. The event warns God's people to watch their hearts so Satan does not come between them and God. It illustrates Satan's policy of assailing when strength fails and will power weakens and faith ceases to repose in God, because Satan attacks weak points of character to shake confidence in God. Moses was then in his time of greatest weakness, wearied with the forty years wandering of Israel and standing just upon the borders of the promised land, when for the moment his faith let go its hold upon infinite power and he was overcome, showing that even one who had stood long and valiantly for the right can be overcome. Satan stirred up the worst passions of Israel to incite them to murmur and rebel until Moses lost command of himself. Moses took their murmuring to himself, and surprised into sin without premeditation he transgressed God's law by appropriating to himself the glory that belonged to God, placing himself on Satan's side and under Satan's claim of dominion.
The complaining and murmuring against Moses in his responsible position shows that men and women are tempted to do the same against him who stands in the most responsible position to the cause and work of God. This temptation presses especially when he is under constant pressure and burdened with cares and responsibilities that no one else would venture to take.
The verse records the stopping of the miraculous stream that had supplied Israel for nearly forty years, and the thirsty congregation's gathering against Moses and Aaron at Kadesh on the very borders of the promised land. God had caused the water to cease to test whether they would for a little time walk by faith instead of sight, trust His providence and promise, and remember past deliverance instead of repeating the unbelief of their fathers. Instead of turning to God, they forgot their long dependence on Him, and their turbulent murmuring against His leaders was sin against God and against Christ their invisible leader, grieving and dishonoring Him. They showed the same spirit as their fathers, wishing they had died with their brethren and with those destroyed in Korah's rebellion, and accusing Moses and Aaron of bringing them with their children and cattle into an evil place with no seed, figs, vines, pomegranates, or water to die. On this occasion God pronounced no judgment upon the murmuring people, but all the reproof fell upon Moses and Aaron for not honoring Him, and because Moses took glory to himself he was barred from entering the holy land. The event illustrates Satan's policy of assailing when strength fails and faith ceases to repose in God, stirring up murmuring to shake confidence, so that even one long valiant for the right can for the moment let go of infinite power and be overcome.
Context and Testing
There was no water because the living stream that had gushed beside the encampment and supplied Israel for years, for nearly forty years, had stopped just before they came again to the wilderness rock at Kadesh. It had flowed continuously until that return, and its ceasing left them thirsty and unable to find water.
It was the first trial after that cessation, when Israel had been brought back to the very place where God had proved them soon after leaving Egypt. They stood just upon the borders of the promised land, just before reaching Edom, in sight of the hills of Canaan and a short distance from Edom. Moses stood with them there in his time of greatest weakness, wearied with the forty years wandering.
God had deliberately caused the water to cease before He permitted them to enter Canaan, to see whether for a little time they would walk by faith instead of sight. The test was whether they would trust His providence, believe His promise, endure the trial of faith, and remember past deliverance and their dependence on Him, instead of repeating the unbelief of their fathers. Their continual blessings had led them to forget Him, and the failure of the supply was meant to remind them of that dependence.
The stopping should have been understood as a token that the wilderness wandering was ended and a cause for rejoicing and evidence that God's promise of Canaan was being fulfilled. They were about to travel the appointed route through the well-watered, fertile country of Edom, where God had promised them safe passage and the chance to buy food and water with money. Had they trusted God they would no longer have needed the miraculous spring, but would have drunk in answer to faith without clamoring for the blessings of the wilderness.
Their need was a time when God intended to provide for them by His power and teach them His care. He would mercifully display His glory to show His long-suffering and tender pity, to soften and subdue hearts and lead them to repentance. That moment gave Moses and Aaron a golden opportunity to sanctify the Lord in the midst of the people.
Murmuring Against God
When thirst pressed them, the congregation did not turn to God for help or trust His care, but forgot the hand that had supplied their wants for so many years. Their continual blessings had led them to forget their dependence on Him, and the failure of water that was meant to remind them of past deliverance only exposed how quickly unbelief can arise. Blinded by unbelief they gave up hope of possessing Canaan, turning what should have been assurance into doubt and clamoring for the blessings of the wilderness.
In impatience and rebellion they gathered against Moses and Aaron in a turbulent, unthankful, wicked course. Their murmuring and complaint over lack of water carried great guilt before God, for it was not against mere men appointed to carry out His purpose but against His providence. It was really sin against God and against Christ their invisible leader, grieving and dishonoring Him, insulting their best friend.
They manifested the same spirit as their fathers by directing their cries against Moses and Aaron. Desperately they wished they had died when their brethren died before the Lord and with those destroyed in Korah's rebellion. They accused the leaders of bringing the congregation with their cattle and children into the wilderness to die in an evil place with no seed, figs, vines, pomegranates, or water to drink.
Wearied and provoked by continual complaining, Moses and Aaron took the murmurings personally as a great trial and dishonor to themselves and forgot God. They claimed the power of opening the rock themselves and did not give glory and honor to God, while the people's continuing cry was that Moses had done the work and failed to keep God in view. Moses struck the rock in anger and took glory to himself instead of honoring God, and surprised into sin without premeditation he transgressed by appropriating to himself the glory that belonged to God, placing himself on Satan's side.
Consequences and Warning
On this occasion no judgment was pronounced upon the murmuring people, and all the reproof fell upon Moses and Aaron as God's representatives. They were reproved for not honoring Him, for feeling themselves aggrieved and looking to themselves instead of God, and for failing to set the people's guilt before them. Their murmuring was not against mere men appointed to carry out God's purpose but sin against God, grieving and dishonoring Him, insulting their best friend, and complaining against His providence. The need was a time when God would mercifully display His glory to show His long-suffering and tender pity and to soften and subdue hearts to lead them to repentance, giving Moses and Aaron a golden opportunity to sanctify the Lord in the midst of the people. Instead, wearied and provoked by continual complaining, they took the murmurings personally as a great trial and dishonor to themselves, forgot God, claimed the power of opening the rock themselves, and did not give glory and honor to God. Their sin was great in its wicked course and carried great guilt before God, and though they were greatly exalted and honored with lives that might have been illustrious to the close, God excuses sin in the exalted no sooner than in the humble.
Because Moses took glory to himself and did not sanctify God, God made clear that Moses would not enter the holy land. Their continuing cry had been that Moses had done the work, while they failed to keep God in view, and the event taught Israel that God, not Moses, had led and provided for them. When Moses struck the rock in anger and took glory to himself instead of honoring God, who used their need to display His power, God barred him from entering the promised land. Israel's murmuring and complaining thus led Moses to sin and kept him from entering the Promised Land. The people's sin was ultimately against Christ, their invisible leader, who bore their iniquities and suffered more intensely than Moses.
God gave them water in answer to their clamors, but their unbelief brought the punishment of having to cross the desert again and drink from the miraculous spring. Had they trusted God, they would no longer have needed it. This sin when the water ceased at Kadesh led to their having to journey around Edom. The punishment was light compared with what they deserved, but their discontent kept them from seeing God's mercy and made their journey harder than God had designed.
The failure of the water tested their faith and was meant to remind them of past deliverance and their dependence on God, who had long supplied their needs, but their continual blessings had led them to forget Him. Instead of trusting God they blamed Moses and Aaron for their hardship, and their response reveals how quickly unbelief can arise. The event warns God's people to watch their hearts so Satan does not come between them and God. It illustrates Satan's policy of assailing when strength fails and will power weakens and faith ceases to repose in God, because Satan attacks weak points of character to shake confidence in God. Moses was then in his time of greatest weakness, wearied with the forty years wandering of Israel and standing just upon the borders of the promised land, when for the moment his faith let go its hold upon infinite power and he was overcome, showing that even one who had stood long and valiantly for the right can be overcome. Satan stirred up the worst passions of Israel to incite them to murmur and rebel until Moses lost command of himself. Moses took their murmuring to himself, and surprised into sin without premeditation he transgressed God's law by appropriating to himself the glory that belonged to God, placing himself on Satan's side and under Satan's claim of dominion.
The complaining and murmuring against Moses in his responsible position shows that men and women are tempted to do the same against him who stands in the most responsible position to the cause and work of God. This temptation presses especially when he is under constant pressure and burdened with cares and responsibilities that no one else would venture to take.