DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- DOING IT MY WAY

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – DOING IT MY WAY

"Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 'Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals...Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod, and water came out abundantly ...." (Numbers 20:7-8, 11)

The journey of the Israelites had brought them into the Wilderness of Zin. It was a barren place and there was no water. The people rose up against Moses and complained.  Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the LORD. God said for Moses to speak to the rock and it would produce water.

So what went wrong? Remember the prior time that God gave them water from the rock. It is recorded in Exodus chapter 17. They were encamped at Rephidim where there was no water. The people complained to Moses, and God told Moses to strike the rock with his rod. He did, and water came out of the rock.

This time God told Moses to speak to the rock. But in his anger, Moses struck the rock twice. He went beyond what God had told him to do, and he and Aaron both suffered the consequences for Moses' disobedience and were not allowed to enter the Promised land. Moses did things his way rather than God's way.

The real significance of these incidents is that they were prophetic illustrations of the Lord Jesus. The Apostle Paul alludes to this rock as an example when he wrote that Israel "all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ" (I Cor. 10:4).

Here's the rub. Jesus was struck once for all time when He was crucified. He does not need to be struck again. When Moses struck the rock the second time, He went beyond God's expressed plan for him to speak to the rock.

I sometimes fall into that trap of going beyond what God has told me to do. Maybe I act out of my anger and frustration and do things my way instead of God's way. Or I get into a pattern and think, "That's the way it worked before, so maybe I should do it again." God may have a different plan than He did last time. I need to be careful to not go beyond what God has revealed as His will.

Love, Dad