Numbers 20:1-12

Andy Flannagan

This story both amazes and scares me. The Children of Israel are complaining again - and again it's because of extreme thirst. For the umpteenth time Moses and Aaron get on their faces on their behalf before God and ask Him to do something. On my first reading of this, I thought - great - water comes from the rock - God has moved - everyone's happy. But no. This is the horrendous moment where God declares that Moses and Aaron will NOT enter the Promised Land, because they didn't honour him as holy. I thought hang on, what went wrong? See if you can spot it.

Look closely at verse 8. What exactly did God instruct them to do? Instead Moses decided to turn the event into a David Copperfield-esque spectacle, with his magic staff. God's judgment seems especially harsh, since just 3 chapters earlier, this is exactly what Moses had done correctly. But just doing what we always do, and what we know works may not always be what God has in mind. Our desire should always be to glorify Him, rather than simply doing what is practical.

This challenges me to my core. There are so many situations where I need to simply call out to God, but I just can't resist poking the rock. I can't stop myself making that extra phone call, or sending that text message to humanly make sure something happens, rather than letting it occur as God instructs, in His time. Are there any rocks that you need to stop poking? Remember short-term, the results may still look good, and make you feel better for a moment, but in the long-term you may not reach the promised land that God has for you.

Make a list of the times when you know you have "poked the rock", and those areas where you know you may be prone to do it again. Confess these things to God and a close friend.

Today's action is actually a resolution to inactivity rather than activity, when we need to let go, and let God. Pray for wisdom to know these moments.

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