Almost Doesn’t Count

The photo associated with this week's blog is a picture of Mount Nebo in Jordan. It is the view that Moses would have seen when he walked up the mountain and looked at the land that G-D had given to Israel, as we read in Numbers 27:12:

Then Adonai said to Moses, "Go up this mountain of the Abarim range and look at the land that I have given to Bnei-Yisrael."

Every time I think about this verse and the preceding events, my heart breaks for Moses. He had led the Children of Israel from their redemption in Egypt all the way to the border of the Promised Land, and just before he received the fullness of G-D's promise, one decision cost him the opportunity to experience all he had spent forty years working toward.

We often hear that Moses wasn't able to lead the Children of Israel into the Promised Land because he got angry and struck a rock instead of speaking to it. But that isn't what the Scriptures say.

In Numbers 27:14, the reason given is: "you both rebelled against My Word instead of honoring Me as holy at the waters before their eyes."

In Numbers 20:12, the reason given is: "Because you did not trust in Me so as to esteem Me as holy in the eyes of Bnei-Yisrael, therefore you will not bring this assembly into the land that I have given to them."

And in Deuteronomy 32:51, the reason given is: "because you both broke faith with Me among Bnei-Yisrael at the waters of Meribath-kadesh in the wilderness of Zin, because you did not treat Me as holy in the midst of Bnei-Yisrael."

In all three of these explanations, given by G-D Himself as to why Moses was not allowed to lead the Children of Israel into the Promised Land, we don't find anger or striking the rock listed as the reason. That is not to say that Moses didn't strike the rock. But I think that when we blame the action instead of understanding the reason behind it, we miss the point. Yes, Moses did strike the rock, but his punishment was not for striking the rock. It was for not trusting G-D and for dishonoring Him in the eyes of the people.

At the time Moses struck the rock, he had spent approximately thirty-nine and a half years leading Israel toward the Promised Land. Just six months before they would arrive, he acted in a way that diminished G-D in the eyes of the Israelites, and his lack of faith and trust in that moment cost him entry into the Promised Land with his people.

I know this blog may seem a little repetitive, but the truth is I am simply trying to point out how close Moses was to reaching his goal, only to lose out because he failed to honor G-D before Israel. This should draw our attention to Paul's writings in Romans chapter 2, where he chastises the Jewish believers for doing the very same thing.

Romans 2:24 For as it is written, "The name of God is slandered among the nations because of you."

The reason this is so important to understand is because I have watched over the years as so many of my friends have walked faithfully with the L-RD in ministry for many years, only to come to a crisis or an attack. Instead of trusting G-D, they beat a rock. It may have been a financial crisis, a health crisis, a family crisis, or an attack by another leader or ministry. Instead of trusting G-D and speaking to the rock, they beat the rock and, by doing so, diminished the character and nature of G-D in the eyes of the people they were leading.

It is important to notice that when the people complained against G-D and Moses, Moses didn't simply walk over to the rock and strike it. First, Moses and Aaron went into the Tent of Meeting and met with G-D. Inside the Tent of Meeting, G-D told Moses what to do. Then Moses left the Tent with his staff and gathered the people together. In Numbers 20:10, Moses and Aaron stood before the people and Moses said, "Listen now, you rebels! Must we bring you water from this rock?"

Now, it isn't exactly clear whether Moses' "we" referred to G-D, to G-D together with Moses and Aaron, or simply to Moses and Aaron. But what is clear is that the people watching would have seen Moses come out from the presence of G-D in the Tabernacle and would have assumed that his words and actions represented G-D.

It was this false representation of who G-D is and how He wanted Moses to respond to the people that G-D called rebellion. Moses' rebellion demonstrated a lack of faith that blasphemed G-D before the people and ultimately caused Moses to lose his position of leadership.

For those who have read these verses, and thought G-D's punishment was excessively harsh, especially considering Moses' faithfulness for nearly forty years, just remember that by the time these events occurred, every person who was twenty years old or older when the spies searched out the land had died without entering the Promised Land because they had blasphemed G-D before the people of Israel. Moses knew of their punishment and the reason for it. He watched every one of them die in the wilderness and then knowingly chose to misrepresent G-D before the people of Israel. G-D's punishment of Moses demonstrated once again that He is not a respecter of persons.

Please keep this in mind, especially because we are living in the times known as the last days. Keep the faith and run your race, trusting G-D no matter what crises, issues, or attacks come against you, because you don't want to be years, months, or even days away from receiving your promise only to lose out.