Moses’ Big Mistake

Moses’ Big Mistake

Q. How did Moses disobey God?

• a. He did work on the Sabbath.
• b. He struck the rock twice instead of speaking to it.
• c. He entered the Tabernacle of God without permission.

Why didn’t Moses get to enter the Promised Land? He disobeyed God. The Israelites were staying in an area that had no water. The people were thirsty. They started blaming Moses for their troubles. So Moses asked God for help. God told Moses to speak to a rock to get water from it, but Moses hit the rock twice with his staff instead.

There are several theories on why this was a serious matter to God. One is that the rock symbolized Christ: “They drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4). The rock was acting as a symbol of Christ, so God only wanted Moses to speak to the rock.

Another theory is that Moses and Aaron were trying to claim the miracle as their own. Moses had shouted to the people, “Listen, you rebels! Must we bring you water from this rock?” It wasn’t Moses and Aaron that brought the water from the rock. Without God’s power they could have talked to or hit the rock all day, and nothing would have happened. God deserved credit for the miracle.

The reason why Moses’ disobedience was serious to God isn’t as important as knowing that it’s necessary to obey God in both the little and big things, and this is what Moses forgot.

For You

You may not understand why God has the rules he does, but that doesn’t matter. Do your best to follow them even if you don’t understand. God doesn’t bless those who aren’t willing to do things his way. After all, his way is the best way.

Answer: b

Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the staff, and water gushed out. So the entire community and their livestock drank their fill. But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!”   Numbers 20:11-12

(The Whole Story: Numbers 20:1-13)