Numbers 19:1-21:35

There was no water for the people to drink and they again began to complain about where God had brought them. The people complained that at least in Egypt they had not died of thirst. The Lord instructed Moses and Aaron to take the staff from the tabernacle and go to a nearby rock and command the rock to pour out water. Instead Moses struck the rock with the staff and asked the people, “Must we bring you water from the rock?” The Lord was displeased with Moses actions and said that neither he nor Aaron would lead the people into the promised land.

A while later Aaron dies and joins his ancestors. The Lord then leads the people in victory over the Canaanites. However, on their journey the people become restless and again complain. God sends poisonous snakes into the camp. The Lord instructs Moses to craft a bronze snake on a pole; if the people look on the snake they will be healed. The Israelites continue on their journey and God leads them to victory in battle.

The actions of Moses in this passage always amazed me. How is it that someone can be faithful to God’s leading for so long and then fail so spectacularly. I suppose it’s not really that surprising. Imagine all the stresses present in Moses life, all the times the people complained to him, all the responsibility place on his shoulders by God. Just this one time Moses wanted to take a little credit. Just this one time Moses wanted the people to look at him and recognize what a good leader and provider he was. So Moses struck the rock and said “look at what I can give you.” The problem, of course, is that Moses could not give the people anything; it was only God working through Moses that could provide for the people.

How many times have we as leaders felt under appreciated? The people we lead fail to see the vision that God has provided us. We feel that we are under paid, or over worked, or passed over for praise or honor. We feel that other less deserving people receive recognition while we trudge along in obscurity. At various times I have felt all those things. In those moments I have wanted to stand up in front of everyone and say, “look how great I am! Honor me!” That would be the mistake that Moses made at the waters of Meribah.

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