Numbers 20
Moses' Unbelief and Its Consequences (Numbers 20:1-13)
Numbers 20:12 (NIV): "But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of
the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.’"
Today's passage discusses events that occurred in the first month of the fortieth year after the Israelites came out of Egypt.
The whole community of Israel had returned to Kadesh in the Desert of Zin. The children who had left Egypt were now adults in their 40s and 50s.
Most of the first generation of the Exodus had died in the wilderness. Among the first generation of the Exodus, only Moses, Aaron, Joshua,
and Caleb remained. Recently, while staying in Kadesh in the Desert of Zin, Moses' sister Miriam also died. After the funeral of Miriam,
Israel's female leader, words of concern poured out from everywhere. Now, only four members of the first generation of the Exodus remained.
The 40-year wilderness training period seemed to be over, but the path ahead was uncertain.
1. Complaints and Grumbling Arising from the Lack of Drinking Water
1) The genesis of the unrest was the absence of drinking water.
2) The complaints and grumbling poured out by the people were the same as those of the first generation of the Exodus.
3) Today's passage, Numbers 20:1-13, describes the incident where the Israelites rebelled against God again.
4) Moses and Aaron went to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and fell prostrate before God (verses 6-8).
2. Moses' Unbelief, Unable to Fully Entrust to God
1) It appears that even the gentle Moses became angry with the repeated unbelief of the people over forty years.
2) Today's passage, verses 10-11, describes Moses' unbelief and God's response.
3) Today's passage, verse 12, describes the punishment meted out to Moses and Aaron.
4) God declared that the two of them would not enter the land of Canaan.
3. God's Holiness That Moses Failed to Display
1) The 'holiness' that God personally displayed because Moses failed to reveal it.
2) Moses and Aaron, who could not fully hold onto God's Word.
3) God showed that He is the LORD Shammah (the LORD is there).
4) Why did Moses strike the rock twice with his staff?
Conclusion: If You Fall Into Self-Centeredness, You Will Be Deceived by the Forces of Darkness.
1) If you see and judge by your own standards, there will be many occasions to be angry with others.
2) You must see people not with your own standards, but with the eyes and heart of Christ.
3) You must abandon your own thoughts and standards and become a person of Christ.
4) When a person of Christ releases their own strength, God works.
We must lay down self-centeredness and our own standards. The reason Moses angrily struck the rock twice with his staff was because of his own
thoughts and standards. We must lay down our standards and see people according to God's standards. When I lay down my standards,
my anger (wrath) also subsides. We, as people of Christ, must display God's holiness. Moses' momentary mistake was not displaying
God's holiness before the Israelites, but rather revealing his own opinion. What God truly desires to reveal to people through us is
the Gospel of Christ. I pray that you will be a witness for Christ and triumph everywhere and always.