Change

Change. To some it is a thing to be avoided at all costs. Others embrace change and thrive on it. The rest of us fall in the middle somewhere; happy to go along with how things are if they are good and looking for change when they are not. Numbers Chapter 20 is full of changes. The old regime is ending and a new one is going to prepare to enter the Promised Land. In this case, change is very painful yet it is going to lead to a step out of the wilderness for Israel and that is very good.

This is a difficult chapter for Moses.  He loses both his siblings and his right to enter the Promised Land all at the same time.  In this chapter, we see the ending of the old regime.  God is paving the way for Joshua to take over the mantle of leadership and guide His people into the Promised Land. 

First, Miriam dies at Kadesh.  The last time we were told of their location was when the spies were sent out in chapter 13.  At that point they were in Kadesh at the Desert of Paran.  Now they are at Kadesh in the Desert of Sin (or Zin).   Later, in Numbers 32:8 we are told that the spies were sent out from Kadesh-barnea.  “This single verse has caused scholars for over a hundred years to assume, incorrectly, that all the references in the Torah to Kadesh are simply shorthand for Kadesh-barnea,[11] and to ignore the ancient identification of Kadesh in the Zin Wilderness with Petra as well as the simple meaning of many biblical narratives. This has resulted in hundreds of incorrect maps of the biblical world, and much confusion as scholars have attempted to reconstruct itineraries and understand narratives![12] “ (http://thetorah.com/solving-the-problem-of-kadesh-in-the-wilderness-of-paran/) 

Miriam’s death is a mere sentence in description. It seems that Israel did not properly mourn this important woman in Israelite history.  It was assumedly Miriam who watched over Moses when he was set adrift in his basket in the Nile in Exodus (chapter 2).  Miriam was called a prophetess and led the women in singing after the crossing of the Red Sea in Exodus 15.  She was one of Israel’s leaders, according to Micah 6:4 which states, “I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam.” Numbers 20 records no mourning or ceremony, swiftly moving from Miriam’s death to the people once again complaining about not having water.   

The time frame in Numbers 20 is considered to be 38 years into the desert wandering. (Matthew Henry) Apparently, not much was notable for the past 36 years.  However, the Israelites are acting the same as they did at the beginning as far as opposing their leaders and blaming them for their hardships.  They are also persistent in painting false pictures of Egypt, supposedly missing the “good life” they had enjoyed there.  Moses has reached the end of his patience with the Israelites.  Perhaps he is also offended that they are not being respectful of him right after he just lost his sister.  Moses and Aaron turned from the quarreling people to the tent of meeting and fell face down before the Lord.  The glory of the Lord appeared to them. 

God told Moses to take the staff and speak to a rock for water.  The staff was the one used for parting the Red Sea, visiting the plagues of Egypt, and striking the rock for water.  This special staff was apparently in the tent of meeting because verse 9 says Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence.  It seems that Moses is angry.  He calls the people rebels and he touches the glory of God.  He says “must WE bring you water out of this rock?”  God honors Moses before the people and still brings water from the rock even though Moses struck the rock not once, but twice when he was not supposed to strike it at all.  By not speaking to the rock as instructed, Moses also showed a lack of trust in God.  As if the action needed to be more dramatic, more strenuous.   Moses also touched the glory of God, attributing this miracle to his effort as well as God by using the little pronoun WE. This is a critical word in this statement. When God did miracles through Moses, it was never Moses' power, but God's. Moses was a very humble man, but in this case he showed pride.

Immediately, God judged Moses and Aaron and said they had not trusted Him enough nor honored Him as holy in the sight of the people.  For this disrespect, they would lose their entry to Canaan.  They would no longer lead the people but would die in the desert.  “As the ones closest to the Lord, they bore the highest responsibility to preserve his reputation.” (NIV Application comm. Page 674)  God must deal radically with sin among His leaders, just as Jesus tells us to deal radically with sin in our lives. 

DO NOT TOLERATE SIN IN YOUR LIFE!

In the greatest sermon ever spoken, the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew Chapters 5-7, Jesus tells us to deal radically with sin. He says, "If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell." (Matthew 5:29-30) Do you think Jesus really wants us to undergo physical amputation? What could this passage mean? We need to cut things out of our lives that lead us away from our walk with the Lord.  Dealing radically with our own sin spares us the discipline of God and gives us a testimony among others. Is God convicting you of something right now you need to remove from your life? Pray for help, guidance and a friend to help you through and keep you accountable. 

Another example of God dealing radically with sin is when He is doing something new and/or momentous.  There are many examples of this in the Scriptures, but I will choose one. 

In the book of Acts, God is telling us how the church began. After the Holy Spirit came down at Pentecost and filled the hearts of believers (Acts 2), they could now do greater things than Jesus (John 14:12). Because of this great gift and power, there was much spiritual activity, just as there was when Jesus walked the earth. God was doing a great work. The new believers did everything together and supported one another. The Bible tells us that from him to whom much has been given, much will be required.” (Luke 12:48) One couple in the church decided to sell some property and give the money to the church. However, when the man, Ananias, got the money for his property he held some back for himself and his wife Sapphira. There was nothing wrong with holding the money back, it was his; however, when Ananias took the money to the church, he misrepresented the amount and said that was all the money he had received for the property. God gave Peter discernment as church leader to know that Ananias lied.  

Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?  Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal?What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” Ananias fell down dead. Later the same day, his wife came in and Peter asked her how much they got for their property and she lied as she and her husband had agreed. She was also struck dead. (Acts 5:1-11) God did not want sin to be tolerated in the new church. 

Just as these scenarios paint a harsh picture of God’s judgment, so also we see how much grace God extends to us constantly by not judging us.  In Numbers, it is almost the end of the desert wandering, so God may have been harsher with Moses and Aaron as he was with Ananias and Sapphira because he is preparing to do a new thing.  “By punishing Moses and Aaron, the Lord shows that no amount of human merit amassed through past obedience can atone for even one sin.” (NIV Application Comm p. 675) We cannot rest on our past works for God and think we are special, not deserving to be held accountable.  Accountability is what can really help today's believer to keep short accounts with God, confessing sin and asking God to cleanse it out of his or her life. Everyone needs someone they can share their struggles with.

“What made Moses act the way he did in this situation?  Was he disappointed that the Lord had not burst out against his people, as had happened time after time?”  The Expositor’s Commentary suggests, “Suddenly the accumulated anger and frustration of forty years bore down on Moses, servant of Yahweh. The death of his sister was the death of an era, yet nothing had changed; the children were as rebellious as ever.” (Expositor’s p. 867) Whatever the cause, the result is the same. Moses will not enter the Promised Land. 

There is more to the disobedience and disrespect of Moses in this situation.  In 1 Corinthians 10:1-5, it says, they “drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.” The rock is somehow a symbol of God and His provision.  Remember that God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not like ours (Isaiah 55:8), so just because we don’t understand does not give us the right to judge God and call Him unfair. Moses took some of the glory for a miracle and disobeyed God in the process. It is God’s right to judge.