Exodus 14:15 “The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go on dry ground through the sea.””
Exodus 17:5-6 “And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people taking with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand the rod with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock and water shall come out of it, that the people may drink.””
Numbers 20:8-9 “Take the rod and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water; so you shall bring water out of the rock for them; so you shall give drink to the congregation and their cattle.” And Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as he commanded him.”
Numbers 20:11-12 “And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his rod twice; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation drank and their cattle. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “BECAUSE YOU DID NOT BELIEVE IN ME, TO SANCTIFY ME IN THE EYES OF THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL, THEREFORE YOU SHALL NOT BRING THIS ASSEMBLY INTO THE LAND WHICH I HAVE GIVEN THEM.””
Thoughts:
Moses’ punishment always seemed so harsh for such a seemingly small disobedience. It seems that Moses used the rod twice before to do miracles, once to strike the Nile and then to strike the rock for water. Then in Numbers 20:8 he is told to take the rod and TELL the rock.
I can see Moses’ side of this. Perhaps he wasn’t listening so closely and since he had always used the rod, just assumed that was what he was to do this time also. It doesn’t seem fair after all he had done to lead his people out of Egypt and all he had put up with during the years in the wilderness.
But then it gives us insight into God’s thinking and what obedience means to him and what it means that we should fear God.
Perhaps he doesn’t want us to get in a rut. “But we have always done it this way.” Perhaps Moses was getting a little too attached to that rod, and thinking the power was in that instead of in God.
Do we ever do the same thing? A certain way has been successful for us and we feel the Lord leading us to do something in a different way and our instinct says, “Oh no, I have always done it this way. I feel comfortable doing it this way.” etc.
Also do we always use the same “tool” or method in doing something. We are not to rely on anything but only listen to God, and obey him.
Could it be sort of like athletes who have to wear the “winning” socks or shirts…because they wore it while winning, perhaps relying on that instead of the skill God has given them.
Perhaps we need to learn that if the Lord is telling us to do something in a different way that we have done before, in which we might also have had success, to not fight it but DO it. We must trust God and not our past achievements and not the instrument that we used in the past.
Deut 5:29 ” Oh that they had such a mind as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their children forever.”
Psalm 25:14 “The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.”
Rev 14:7 “…and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of judgement has come; and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the fountains of water.”
A good study is to look up all the verses on “fear” that you can. Try to understand the difference between “fearing” God but nothing else. What does it mean to fear God?
I think we need to come to a clear understanding about what it means to fear God, before we can really have an understanding about obeying him. So the two are really tied together.