In the classic movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie Bucket is a good kid. Kind, unselfish, grateful. Not like the other brats on the candy factory tour! That’s why Wonka seems so harsh when he tells Charlie he cannot have the grand prize just because he broke one little rule when he stole sips of fizzy lifting drink. But there is a happy ending when Wonka forgives him and Charlie gets the lifetime supply of chocolate and the whole factory, too.
When I read the story of Moses, I long for a similar happy ending. But it never comes. Because of one little incident (striking the rock instead of speaking to it) Moses is banned from the Promised Land. Even after all the good that Moses has done, God doesn’t change his mind or surprise Moses in the end.
Every time I have heard this passage taught, the focus has been on exact obedience down to every last detail. Moses didn’t do EXACTLY what God said so he was punished.
But is that the real reason Moses was banned from the Promised Land?
The last time I read this passage, I noticed something. God does not mention obedience. God mentions holiness.
Here it is from Numbers 20:
In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.
2 Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. 3 They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! 4 Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here? 5 Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!”
6 Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them.7 The Lord said to Moses, 8 “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”
9 So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him. 10 He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”
13 These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord and where he was proved holy among them.
Moses had a chance to show the Israelites how God once again provides for their daily needs in a miraculous way, but instead of showing God to be the holy provider, in verse 10, Moses says that he and Aaron are the ones who will give the water.
It’s like me at the end of the day when my kids ask me for one last drink of water. “Why do I always have to do everything around here?!?” It’s not really me that does everything, but those are the words that come out of my mouth.
Moses gave himself the credit for what God provided.
He had the chance to honor God as the holy provider. But he didn’t do it.
Later in life, Moses doesn’t take ownership of his sin, but he hints that he realizes it was all about honoring God as holy.
Here what Moses says in Deuteronomy 4:21-24:
The Lord was angry with me because of you, and he solemnly swore that I would not cross the Jordan and enter the good land the Lord your God is giving you as your inheritance. 22 I will die in this land; I will not cross the Jordan; but you are about to cross over and take possession of that good land. 23 Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. 24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
It’s like Moses is saying, “I let people think I was doing God’s job. But no one except God should be honored as the holy God.”
Although in our culture, we do not set up idols to worship, we choose whether or not to honor God as the holy provider.
We choose whether or not to thank God for providing our food before we eat.
We choose whether to not to attribute our possessions to our own smarts and hard work or to God’s gracious provision.
We choose whether or not to wait for God to show Himself as the holy provider.
Moses misses out on the Promised Land. What blessings do we miss when we don’t honor God as the holy provider?
Let’s give God honor for His holy provision. What is something specific that God has provided for you? Share in the comments!
Restoration in my family.
Wow. Praise God! He is all about reconciliation. I’m thankful you got to experience it in your family.
Thank you so much for your blogpost, Rachel!
Thank you, Aritha, for reading and commenting.
Often reading your blog. It still holds a special place in my heart. But I didn’t answer your question. Think about that. God had provided for me that I could be a writer. He gave me writing talent. I especially want to write for Him (there is so little knowledge about the Christian faith). My blog is a place where I share my writings about who God is (for me) what I read in the Bible., Biblereading tips etc. I can write at home for Him. That is real providence.
Thank you, Aritha. It’s so wonderful to know you–a sister in Christ halfway around the world from me! We are partners in the same journey of writing to encourage others to read their Bibles.
God has provided for me something we never thought we’d have as overseas missionaries: four generations in the same town! We revel in having our parents and most of our children and grandchildren here, for now. We know our parents won’t be with us forever and God may move our children to other places (one is planning on going to the mission field, possibly within the year), but we enjoy it now!
Wow! That is so unusual for missionary life! What a unique provision one that I’m sure you never thought would happen.
Too much to list! God has been so incredibly giving from anything from little things to health and safety for my children. I loved this post! Thanks for the perspective!
Thanks for reading and commenting, Hilary! Praise God for the big and the little things.
Good points, Rachel!
Thank you, Deanne! It was cool to see something new in such a familiar passage.
Interesting and powerful insights, Rachel! I hadn’t noticed that before, but I’m certainly just as guilty at times of the same attitude as Moses. I take credit when the credit clearly belongs to God! Thanks for nudging us gently to examine our own lives in this respect. Pinning!
Thank you! Yes, this was a good attitude check for me, too. I like to think that what I have is because of my own goodness, but that’s just not how it works. Thank goodness since God is so much greater!
Jehovah Jireh. My Provider. His grace is sufficient for me. He provides hand me downs for the kids, he provided a donated stimulant med pen when we were going through IVF and needed to be in the medicine an extra few days and our own insurance wouldn’t cover it, He makes it all happen….
Thanks for sharing, Rigel, specific ways God has provided for you. What a unique provision with the stimulant medication!
Good evening, Rachel. Something specific that God has provided for me is a spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind (1 Timothy 1:7). Glory, glory, hallelujah!! God has been, and still is, so good to me!!!
Praise the Lord! He is so good! What a blessed provision!
I really enjoyed this article and it prompted me to look at this incident again. God has pro ided me healing in my body and soul. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for reading, Pat, and commenting. I love when I read a familiar Bible passage and the Holy Spirit brings something new to my attention. Praise God for His healing!
I caught myself in this very sin the other day. We have a very nice vehicle — the newest, nicest vehicle we’ve ever owned. And I always feel like I have to apologize for owning it, which I do by saying “we saved up for it for a long time.” Which we did. But every penny we saved for that lovely car … GIFT FROM GOD. We didn’t give us that car, God did. And He didn’t stop there. Our second vehicle was also, beautifully, in exact-need timing, all of grace. They’re just vehicles; they’re privileges; they’re gifts, all of grace.
Beautifully put, Ruth! We can be bold in telling others that what we have is a gift from God. Thank you for sharing.
On this longer than planned, no answer on the horizon, journey we are on, God has provided time with family in FL, a vacation with Eric’s brothers in VA, painting work for Eric and decent temp work for me, as well as a dear friend to stay with until the Lord leads us to our next phase (whatever that may look like). He also gives me daily encouragement and reminders that Ge is in control and we are His.
Wow! It’s amazing how God has provided for you! Not just materially, but encouragement as well. He is so good!
Love this blogpost Rachel. I am so glad that he had provided you as a friend to me, you aren’t afraid to look closely at intimidating pieces of scripture. It gives me courage and encouragement too. 🙂
Thank you, Rachel. I miss you so much and am thankful for our friendship. You have inspired me to take deep dives into Scripture with an open heart. I like to use my head, but you inspire me to use both my head and my heart.
Thanks for this reminder. God has provided abundantly for me to raise my 3 children despite not having ever received one penny of child support in the last 9 years. I give God all the glory in the fact we’ve had a nice home, electricity, heat, a dependable car & have never been without a meal. I thank him daily for always providing even though it seems at times it’s impossible. Great article & post. I will be sharing as well.
Wow, thanks for sharing how God has provided for you and your kids. He is truly a good heavenly Father! Thanks for reading, commenting, and sharing!
Excellent observation!
Thank you!
He has given me a lot of His peace and I am grateful. There is a deeper application to Moses story as well, with Jesus being the rock, He had already been smote once, never again. That’s why the second time was disobedient and costly, because Jesus died and freely gave His water ( Spirit ), we should just talk to Him,and be headed for the Promised Land.
Yes! Isn’t that a beautiful Christ connection! Thanks for sharing.
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