Moses Strikes the Rock

Back at Kadesh. Almost forty years had passed. “Then the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh” (20:1). A sad loss. “And Miriam died there and was buried there” (20:1). Miriam was Moses' older sister. Long ago she had watched over baby Moses in his basket. No water. “Now there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses and Aaron” (20:2). Arguing. “And the people contended with Moses” (20:3). Contended means argued and quarreled. Wishing for death. “If only we had died when our brethren died before the Lord!” (20:3). They were so upset that they spoke as if dying would be better. An evil place? “It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink” (20:5). Figs, grapes and pomegranates were the very fruits the spies had carried back from the Promised Land. Like before. These were the children of the people who had refused the land, and now they used the same words their parents had used forty years earlier (14:2). What this means for you. When you are in need, you can ask God instead of complaining against Him. He had given water before, and He would again.

The fortieth year. Numbers 20 moves ahead nearly four decades from chapter 14. Aaron's death later in the chapter is dated to the fortieth year (33:38). Most of the first generation has died. Miriam (20:1). Miriam died at Kadesh and was buried there. She had watched over baby Moses (Exodus 2:4) and led the song at the Red Sea (Exodus 15:20-21). The same complaint. “If only we had died” (20:3) echoes 14:2. The new generation repeats the old pattern. A new generation still needs a new heart. Kadesh (20:1). Kadesh (say: KAY-desh) comes from the Hebrew root for holy. At Kadesh, the holy place, Moses would fail to treat God as holy. “This evil place” (20:5). The list of missing foods (grain, figs, vines, pomegranates) recalls the fruit the spies carried back (13:23). The people were still in the wilderness because of the earlier refusal. An earlier rock. At Rephidim God had told Moses, “you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it” (Exodus 17:6). The people had seen God provide water before, nearly forty years earlier.

Almost forty years had passed in the desert. Many of the people were the children from long ago. Now they were grown up. They came back to Kadesh in the desert. There Miriam, Moses' sister, died. Then the water ran out. The people got together against Moses and Aaron. They wished they had died with the others. They asked why Moses brought them to this terrible place. They said there was no grain, no figs and no grapes. There was not even any water! They sounded just like their parents. They forgot how God had given water before. They complained instead of asking.

The people had no water. They were thirsty. They complained to Moses. They forgot that God cares for them.

To the tent. “So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and they fell on their faces” (20:6). They did the right thing first. They took the problem to God. God's glory. “And the glory of the Lord appeared to them” (20:6). God was there, ready to help. Take the rod. “Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together” (20:8). The rod was Moses' staff. Speak. “Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water” (20:8). This is the memory verse. Everyone would see that God gives water by His word. Enough for all. “Give drink to the congregation and their animals” (20:8). God did not scold the thirsty people. He simply planned to give them water. Obedience begins. “So Moses took the rod from before the Lord as He commanded him” (20:9). Different from before. In Exodus 17 God said to strike the rock. This time He said to speak. What this means for you. God gives clear instructions, and He is always ready to provide. Our job is to trust Him and do what He says.

Going to God (20:6). Moses and Aaron's first move is right: they leave the crowd and fall before the Lord. The glory appears, as it did in 14:10 and 16:19. No rebuke for the people. God does not condemn the thirsty crowd here. He simply provides. Grace comes before the failure that follows. The rod (20:8-9). The rod is taken “from before the Lord.” It was probably Aaron's rod that budded, kept before the testimony (17:10) as a sign against rebellion. Speak, not strike. In Exodus 17:6 the command was “you shall strike the rock.” Here it is “Speak to the rock before their eyes.” God was asking for something new, and Moses was to obey exactly. Before their eyes. The miracle was to be public, so that all Israel would see God's holiness and power. Numbers 27:14 later uses the same phrase: “to hallow Me at the waters before their eyes.” A picture of Christ. Many Christians see a picture here: the rock was struck once in Exodus and afterward only spoken to, just as Christ “was offered once” (Hebrews 9:28) and never needs to be offered again.

Moses and Aaron left the angry crowd. They went to the entrance of the Meeting Tent. They bowed down with their faces to the ground. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to them. God told Moses exactly what to do. He told Moses to take his walking stick. Moses and Aaron were to gather all the people. Then Moses would speak to the rock while they watched. Water would flow out of it. They would give the water to the people and their animals. This time God did not say to hit the rock. He said to speak to it. God wanted everyone to see His power. He would give water by His word.

Moses and Aaron prayed. God's glory appeared. God told Moses to speak to the rock. God had a good plan.

Gathered. “And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock” (20:10). Angry words. He said, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” (20:10). Rebels means people who fight against authority. Moses had lost his patience. Who brings water? Moses said “we,” as if he and Aaron were the ones providing. Only God can bring water out of a rock. Struck twice. “Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod” (20:11). God had said to speak, but Moses hit the rock, and then hit it again. Water anyway. “And water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank” (20:11). Abundantly means more than enough. A psalm remembers. “They rebelled against His Spirit, So that he spoke rashly with his lips” (Psalm 106:33). Rashly means without thinking. What this means for you. God was patient and kind that day, but Moses made Him look angry in front of everyone. When we lose our patience, we can give people a wrong picture of God. Ask Him for help when you feel angry, so others can see how kind He really is.

“Hear now, you rebels!” (20:10). The Hebrew morim (say: moh-REEM), rebels, is the word God had used of the people (17:10). Moses spoke it in anger. He had lost his patience, and Psalm 106:33 calls his words rash. “Must we…?” Moses said “we,” as if he and Aaron were the providers instead of the Lord. God was not angry. This time God did not rebuke the people at all. He simply told Moses to speak to the rock. The Lord is “merciful and gracious, Slow to anger” (Psalm 103:8). Moses showed the people an angry God when God was being gracious. That is how he misrepresented the Lord. Struck twice (20:11). Instead of speaking, Moses struck, and struck again. Paul tells us “that Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4). The rock was to be struck only once, in Exodus 17, and after that only spoken to. Grace anyway. “Water came out abundantly.” God did not punish the people for their leader's sin. His provision rested on His faithfulness. James 1:20. “The wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” Moses' anger was understandable, but it gave the people a false picture of God.

Moses and Aaron gathered everyone in front of the rock. But Moses had run out of patience with the people. He shouted, “Now listen to me, you complainers! Do you want us to bring water out of this rock?” Moses talked as if he and Aaron were giving the water. Then Moses raised his hand. He hit the rock with his stick. Then he hit it again! God had said to speak to the rock. God was being kind, but Moses made Him look angry. Still, water poured out for everyone. The people and their animals drank. God took care of His people, even when Moses failed.

Moses was angry. He hit the rock twice. Water came out anyway. God was still kind to them.

God's verdict. “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them” (20:12). Hallow. To hallow means to treat as holy. God was patient with the people that day, but Moses lost his patience. He made God look angry, so the people did not see what God is really like. Meribah. “This was the water of Meribah, because the children of Israel contended with the Lord” (20:13). Meribah means quarreling. God was honored anyway. “And He was hallowed among them” (20:13). Even when His servant failed, God still showed His people that He is holy. Moses remembers. Deuteronomy 32:51 repeats it: “you did not hallow Me in the midst of the children of Israel.” Aaron. At Mount Hor “Aaron died there on the top of the mountain” (20:28), and his garments were put on Eleazar his son. What this means for you. God is holy, and people learn about Him by watching us. When we trust and obey Him, they see Him truly. God was still kind: Moses would see the land from a mountaintop.

The charge (20:12). “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me.” Moses did not trust God's way, which was simply to speak. And in front of the whole nation he did not show God as holy. He lost his patience and presented the Lord as angry when He was being gracious. Hallow (20:12-13). The Hebrew qadash (say: kah-DASH), to treat as holy, appears twice. At Kadesh, the holy place, God would be shown holy, either through obedience or through judgment. Why so serious? Leaders are judged more strictly (James 3:1). Moses represented God before the whole nation, and his act misrepresented Him. Leviticus 10:3 states the principle: “By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy.” Meribah (20:13). Meribah (say: MAIR-ih-bah) means strife. The same name was given in Exodus 17:7. Psalm 95:8 warns, “Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion.” Mercy in judgment. Moses would still see the land from Mount Nebo (Deuteronomy 34). Many Christians also see God's kindness in this: Moses later stood in the land with Jesus at the transfiguration (Matthew 17:3). Aaron (20:22-29). Aaron died on Mount Hor after his garments passed to Eleazar. Israel mourned thirty days. Before that, Edom refused to let Israel pass through its land (20:14-21).

Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said they had not believed Him. They had not shown the people that He is holy. So they would not lead the people into the land. This was very sad for Moses. He had led the people for forty years. Now he would not enter the Promised Land. Moses had shown the people an angry God, not a kind one. The place was called Meribah. Meribah means arguing. The people had argued with God there. But God still showed He was holy. Later Aaron died on a mountain called Hor. His son Eleazar became the new high priest.

God said Moses did not trust Him. Moses could not go in. God is holy. We should obey Him every day.