I have spent time reading about Moses in the Bible because he’ my namesake but also because he is such an interesting character. From the Burning Bush, to Delivering the Israelites out of Egypt to receiving the 10 Commandments to being forbidden to enter the Promised Land, his life was very eventful.
Number 12:3 even goes to say “Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.” and yet he was not allowed to enter the Promised Land for a simple mistake, or so I thought.
I stumbled upon GotQuestions and it totally gave me a new perspective on why God did what he did and it impressed on me how important it is to be obedient even in the simplest of task, here’s an excerpt from the article:
What did Moses do that warranted such a severe penalty from the Lord? First, Moses disobeyed a direct command from God. God had commanded Moses to speak to the rock. Instead, Moses struck the rock with his staff.
Second, Moses took the credit for bringing forth the water. Notice how in verse 10 Moses says, “Must we [referring to Moses and Aaron] bring you water out of this rock?” Moses took credit for the miracle himself, instead of attributing it to God.
Third, Moses committed this sin in front of all the Israelites. Such a public example of direct disobedience could not go unpunished. Fourth, it seems that God had intended to present a type of Christ in this circumstance. The water-giving rock is used as a symbol of Christ in 1 Corinthians 10:4. The rock was struck once in Exodus 17:6, just like Christ was crucified once (Hebrews 7:27). Moses’ speaking to the rock in Numbers 20 was to be a picture of prayer; instead, Moses angrily struck the rock, in effect, crucifying Christ again. His punishment for disobedience, pride, and the misrepresentation of Christ’s sacrifice was that he was barred from entering the Promised Land (Numbers 20:12).
Read the FULL ARTICLE HERE >>