I saw a few things in today's reading that made me smile. I'm sure at the time these events were occuring it was no laughing matter. You find Moses at the point of just pulling his hair out in Numbers 20:1-5. The Israelite community had rose opposition against Moses and Aaron, saying "Why did you bring us out of Egypt to this terrible place?" After the Israelites rude discourse the next verse says, "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." Way to go, Moses! You took the high road of praying for the people instead of writing them off , which most of us probably would've done. When Moses didn't know what to do, he knew where to go! So he falls facedown before the Lord. The Lord reveals to Moses a way to provide the Israelites with water. Moses goes back to the people and says, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring water out of this rock?" Now if Moses had done what God had told him to, it would've been awesome, but he didn't obey the instructions God had given him and the whole community was punished.
It feels great (to our flesh) to feel like you have won a battle with your words or even with actions. Inside you're saying, "I showed them..." But just like Moses, we can allow our anger and hostility to over-ride the voice of God. Moses knew exactly what to do, he went before God and presented himself. God spoke. And that was as far as it went. What would've happened if Moses had been a mouth piece for God and spoke to the rock instead of using blunt force to bring water out of the rock? I have to believe that 1) a quicker trip to the Promise Land would entail 2) Moses would've gained Godly respect 3) Moses would've been able to experience the Promise Land
So today, before you allow your anger and hostility to detour you. Seek God first and allow the Holy Spirit to direct your steps. We were made to be overcomers!
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