Sometimes the biblical knowledge of a Christian can inhibit growth. This may seem strange, but it is a common malady. Our familiarity with a passage may lead us to gloss over key details which could greatly broaden our understanding. For instance, I have heard people describe God's love with the word "unconditional." Whilst it is true God's love is freely given according to His grace - no one deserves or could earn such love extended to all - I believe people can love unconditionally without God. I suggest there are people in the world who are die-hard, loyal until death supporters of sports teams which have never won! If our understanding of God's love is merely as "unconditional", we miss the richness of the depths of the knowledge of how deep God's love goes. I remember well my attempts to find the word "unconditional" in the Bible and was surprised I could not. I discovered God's "agapao" and "agape" love is unconditional, but that is an incomplete definition. Agapao is "the
active love of God for His Son and His people, and the active love His
people are to have for God, each other, and even enemies" (Strong's Concordance). 1 Corininthians 13 contains a great passage which describes God's love in detail. It is unconditional, but much more still!
Last night I read the passage where Moses struck the rock in Meribah. I thought about times I heard people limit their interpretation and application to how Moses "misrepresented" God. Because that is what some have taught, perhaps this is also what you think too. Did Moses "misrepresent" God? Frankly, I don't know that Moses ever intended to be a "representation" of God to the people. He was God's representative, but there is a difference. Anyways, I have always scratched my head over that interpretation of his actions because God lists several faults of Moses as reasons for him and Aaron being denied entrance to the Promised Land - and "misrepresentation" is not one of them. Moses was not denied the Promised Land because of losing his temper. As convenient as this application may be, the scriptures do not support it. I assure you my aim is not to take shots at anyone who has taught this (for no doubt I did at one time too) but to encourage all to be good students of scripture. We should not bring our oversimplifications, generalisations, or neatly bundled theology to the Bible and miss what the Bible says! If the Bible only exists to confirm our prior beliefs, we will not learn anything. Generalisations can be comfortable or convenient, but they are not always accurate.
Numbers 20 tells of how the people complained and murmured against God for their lack of water. They claimed they had been misled, expressed their distrust, and questioned God's wisdom. Moses and Aaron went to the tabernacle, fell on their faces, and God spoke with them. Numbers 20:7-12 reads, "Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 8 "Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals." 9 So Moses took the rod from before the LORD as He commanded him. 10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, "Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?" 11 Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank. 12 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them." Moses disobeyed God by striking the rock as he had once before (Exodus 17:6). His disobedience was a product of unbelief, as God said in verse 12. In addition to unbelief, God rebuked Moses and Aaron because they did not "hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel." If we look Exodus 17:6-7 passage at Massah, water from the rock was undeniable evidence God was among the people. In the Numbers 20 passage, Moses did not hallow God. He did not even mention God directly. One might think the power was within him: "Must we (Moses and Aaron) bring water for you out of this rock?" It would be preposterous to suggest Moses included God in "we."
If you were to read in other portions of scripture, more light is shed on the specific reasons God refused to allow Moses and Aaron to enter the Promised Land. Numbers 20:23-24 says, "And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying: 24 "Aaron shall be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you rebelled against My word at the water of Meribah." This is the third reason given for Moses and Aaron being denied entrance: rebellion and disobedience. God repeated this to Moses when he was told of his death by God in Numbers 27:12-14: "Now the LORD said to Moses: "Go up into this Mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the children of Israel. 13 And when you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was gathered. 14 For in the Wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command to hallow Me at the waters before their eyes." (These are the waters of Meribah, at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.)" Again, the rebellion of Moses was the issue God cited - not misrepresentation. The Bible never says God punished Moses because he messed up His typology. Moses affirmed in Deuteronomy 1:37 and 4:21 that God was angry with him for the sake of the people and he would die and not cross over the Jordan. God deserves glory, and Moses did not sanctify Him in the eyes of the people.
Moses was a faithful servant of God, but to whom much is given much is required. In Hebrews 11, Moses was not remembered by his faults but according to his faith in God. In Acts 7, Stephen compared Moses with Christ in his statement before the Jewish rulers and high priest. The grave of Moses has never been found, but God spelled out his offense clearly for us: unbelief, he did not sanctify God in the eyes of the people, and rebellion. God made Moses great and used him mightily, despite his flaws. In this I find great comfort. Should we relegate the sins of Moses to misrepresentation, we generalise something God clearly spelled out again and again. Let us be cautious to ensure we open the scriptures with minds ready to be changed, hearts willing to be confronted, and theology longing to grow. Instead of the sweet candy of catchphrases or oversimplification, let us feed on the milk and meat of the word. The Bible ought to be our authority, not a means of bias confirmation!
Last night I read the passage where Moses struck the rock in Meribah. I thought about times I heard people limit their interpretation and application to how Moses "misrepresented" God. Because that is what some have taught, perhaps this is also what you think too. Did Moses "misrepresent" God? Frankly, I don't know that Moses ever intended to be a "representation" of God to the people. He was God's representative, but there is a difference. Anyways, I have always scratched my head over that interpretation of his actions because God lists several faults of Moses as reasons for him and Aaron being denied entrance to the Promised Land - and "misrepresentation" is not one of them. Moses was not denied the Promised Land because of losing his temper. As convenient as this application may be, the scriptures do not support it. I assure you my aim is not to take shots at anyone who has taught this (for no doubt I did at one time too) but to encourage all to be good students of scripture. We should not bring our oversimplifications, generalisations, or neatly bundled theology to the Bible and miss what the Bible says! If the Bible only exists to confirm our prior beliefs, we will not learn anything. Generalisations can be comfortable or convenient, but they are not always accurate.
Numbers 20 tells of how the people complained and murmured against God for their lack of water. They claimed they had been misled, expressed their distrust, and questioned God's wisdom. Moses and Aaron went to the tabernacle, fell on their faces, and God spoke with them. Numbers 20:7-12 reads, "Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 8 "Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals." 9 So Moses took the rod from before the LORD as He commanded him. 10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, "Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?" 11 Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank. 12 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them." Moses disobeyed God by striking the rock as he had once before (Exodus 17:6). His disobedience was a product of unbelief, as God said in verse 12. In addition to unbelief, God rebuked Moses and Aaron because they did not "hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel." If we look Exodus 17:6-7 passage at Massah, water from the rock was undeniable evidence God was among the people. In the Numbers 20 passage, Moses did not hallow God. He did not even mention God directly. One might think the power was within him: "Must we (Moses and Aaron) bring water for you out of this rock?" It would be preposterous to suggest Moses included God in "we."
If you were to read in other portions of scripture, more light is shed on the specific reasons God refused to allow Moses and Aaron to enter the Promised Land. Numbers 20:23-24 says, "And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying: 24 "Aaron shall be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you rebelled against My word at the water of Meribah." This is the third reason given for Moses and Aaron being denied entrance: rebellion and disobedience. God repeated this to Moses when he was told of his death by God in Numbers 27:12-14: "Now the LORD said to Moses: "Go up into this Mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the children of Israel. 13 And when you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was gathered. 14 For in the Wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command to hallow Me at the waters before their eyes." (These are the waters of Meribah, at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.)" Again, the rebellion of Moses was the issue God cited - not misrepresentation. The Bible never says God punished Moses because he messed up His typology. Moses affirmed in Deuteronomy 1:37 and 4:21 that God was angry with him for the sake of the people and he would die and not cross over the Jordan. God deserves glory, and Moses did not sanctify Him in the eyes of the people.
Moses was a faithful servant of God, but to whom much is given much is required. In Hebrews 11, Moses was not remembered by his faults but according to his faith in God. In Acts 7, Stephen compared Moses with Christ in his statement before the Jewish rulers and high priest. The grave of Moses has never been found, but God spelled out his offense clearly for us: unbelief, he did not sanctify God in the eyes of the people, and rebellion. God made Moses great and used him mightily, despite his flaws. In this I find great comfort. Should we relegate the sins of Moses to misrepresentation, we generalise something God clearly spelled out again and again. Let us be cautious to ensure we open the scriptures with minds ready to be changed, hearts willing to be confronted, and theology longing to grow. Instead of the sweet candy of catchphrases or oversimplification, let us feed on the milk and meat of the word. The Bible ought to be our authority, not a means of bias confirmation!
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