Marcus had been walking with God for seventeen years. He wasn’t flashy about his faith; he was steady. Every morning before work, he read his Bible and prayed. Every night, he and his wife, Rachel, prayed together before bed. He led his family in devotions on Sunday evenings and served as a deacon at their church. People respected him. Even his coworkers knew he was different — not because he preached at them, but because he was consistent, patient, and honest.
His dad, Walter, had never understood Marcus’s faith. For years he made cutting remarks about it — calling it a crutch, mocking Marcus for “wasting” his Sundays, and occasionally saying cruel things about Christians in general. Marcus had learned to stay quiet. He had decided long ago that honoring his father meant biting his tongue, no matter how much it hurt. He kept praying for him. He kept showing up. He kept loving him the best he could.
One Sunday afternoon, the family gathered at Walter’s house for his birthday. Things were tense from the start. Walter had been drinking, and as the afternoon went on, his comments grew sharper. He made a joke about Marcus “brainwashing” his grandchildren with religion. Then he turned directly to Marcus and said something he had never said before:
“You know, your mother would be ashamed of what you’ve become. All this religious nonsense. She raised you better than this.”
Something inside Marcus broke. Years of swallowed words, years of choosing silence, years of praying while being mocked — it all rose up at once. His face flushed. His hands started shaking. Before he could stop himself, he stood up and let the words pour out.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Marcus said, his voice low but shaking with anger. “You spent your whole life tearing people down, and now you want to talk about what Mom would think? She would be ashamed of you. You’ve done nothing but criticize and belittle everyone around you for years. I’ve tried to honor you. I’ve tried to love you. But I’m done pretending you’re not a bitter, miserable old man.” The room went completely silent.
Marcus spent years tolerating insults from his father. Unfortunately, on one occasion he allowed his emotions to take over. Something similar happened to Moses. The whole time he led Israel through the wilderness, he endured grumbling and complaining. On one occasion he snapped and handled it badly. The consequences he suffered are a warning to us about allowing our emotions to take control of us.
Num. 20:2 ¶ Now there was no water for the congregation, and they assembled themselves against Moses and Aaron.
Num. 20:3 The people thus contended with Moses and spoke, saying, “If only we had breathed our last when our brothers breathed their last before Yahweh!
Num. 20:4 Why then have you brought the assembly of Yahweh into this wilderness, for us and our beasts to die here?
Num. 20:5 And why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us into this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink.”
Look at this from Moses’ perspective. He was doing what Yahweh told him to do. Yahweh had provided for Israel over and over again in the wilderness. The Israelites knew they were still wandering in the wilderness because they had failed to believe in Yahweh’s power when the twelve spies reported on the strength of the Canaanites. Moses was once again enduring accusations that the sufferings in the wilderness were his fault.
Num. 20:6 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 Yahweh appeared to them;
Num. 20:7 and Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Num. 20:8 “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.”
In this case, Yahweh did not react with anger. Instead, He simply told Moses to speak to the rock and bring forth water.
Take note of the word “speak”. Moses was to speak to the rock.
Num. 20:9 ¶ So Moses took the rod from before Yahweh, just as He had commanded him;
Num. 20:10 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?”
Look at the word “rebels”. Moses was not happy and called the congregation a bunch of rebels. That was true. They were rebels.
Notice the pronoun “we”. Instead of giving Yahweh credit for providing water, Moses was claiming credit for himself.
Num. 20:11 Then Moses raised high his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank.
Take note of the word “struck”. Moses had been told to speak to the rock, but he struck it instead.
Num. 20:12 But Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe 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.”
It is often said that Moses’ mistake was striking the rock instead of speaking to it. That is true. However, when Yahweh confronted Moses and Aaron, He focused on belief and holiness. Moses and Aaron failed to believe Yahweh and to treat Yahweh as holy. Striking the rock was a result of the condition of their heart.
Num. 20:13 Those were the waters of Meribah because the sons of Israel contended with Yahweh, and He proved Himself holy among them.
Num. 20:14 ¶ 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,
Num. 20:15 that our fathers went down to Egypt, and we stayed in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians treated us and our fathers badly.
Num. 20:16 So we cried out to Yahweh, and 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.
Num. 20:17 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; we will not turn to the right or to the left until we pass through your territory.’”
Num. 20:18 ¶ Edom, however, said to him, “You shall not pass through us, lest I come out to meet you with the sword.”
Num. 20:19 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.”
Num. 20:20 But he said, “You shall not pass through.” And Edom came out to meet him with a heavy force and with a strong hand.
Num. 20:21 Thus Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through his territory; so Israel turned away from him.
Num. 20:22 ¶ Then they set out from Kadesh, and the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor.
Moses endured much abuse over the years he led Israel. He certainly deserved to enter the promised land. However, this one act of foolishness cost him the honor of entering the land.
This is a warning to us that, no matter how many good things we do, allowing our emotions to take control can lead to bitter consequences.
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”