Numbers 20:11-12 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, "Because ye believed Me not, to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them."
Moses was not allowed to enter the promised land following this incident. He had struck the rock twice in human arrogance. To follow instruction and strike it once gave the Glory and miracle to God for the water to spring forth from the rock. Striking it twice brought the glory to Moses in the eyes of the children of Israel.
God has many plans for His people, but when we act outside of His instruction(s) His plans for us changes. We always have the ability to get back in His fold as long as we repent and listen to Him, follow Him.
God has many plans for His people, but when we act outside of His instruction(s) His plans for us changes. We always have the ability to get back in His fold as long as we repent and listen to Him, follow Him.
1 comment:
Something I hadn't considered before; Moses made a mistake and I assume that he was very sorry for it. I don't know if Moses did it because he was angry at the people (that's what I'd always thought), or if he did it so that the people would listen to him better or what. I'd always thought that God prevented him from going into the promise land because Moses disobeyed him.
But the result was that Moses performed a miracle without following God's instructions. I could see how the people would start to think Moses to be a deity. If he were to then lead them into the promise land, there's a real chance the people would give glory to Moses instead of God.
People often say "nothing is impossible for God", and then use that as a reason why God will fix whatever broken situation they've gotten themselves into. But this verse shows that God allows cause and effect to take place. Moses was responsible for his actions, and God did not save him from the consequences of those actions. God actually removed his promise and authority from Moses because Moses didn't hold up his end of the deal. When we break things, God's not responsible to come through and fix them. He'll help us find another path toward His goal for us, but He's not going to unbreak what we did.
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