The Sin of Moses

A subject which has come up several times lately is the claim Moses was prevented by God from entering the Land of Promise because he "misrepresented" God.  Let us allow God Himself to speak on the subject directly before we misrepresent scripture!   The sins of Moses were unbelief, rebellion, and that he did not sanctify God among the people.  The following passages make it clear Moses was disciplined for these reasons, not because he ruined God's typology concerning Christ or according to many other theories I have heard.  Numbers 20:10-12 says, "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 struck the rock the first time (Exodus 17:6) and it seems he did not believe God to obey Him in only speaking to the rock.  God gave Moses authority, but he transgressed in acting as if the power of God was his to command, thus not hallowing God before the people.

The other main passage is found 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.)"  Moses rebelled against God's command and disobeyed by striking the rock.  If this does not convince you of the explicit reasons why Moses was strongly disciplined by God, it may be you are placing greater weight on the words of men than God.

The common claim of "misrepresentation" brings another pertinent question forward:  was Moses at any time supposed to "represent" God to the people?  That is how Roman Catholics view the Pope, yet I do not find any biblical evidence to support this approach.  Are pastors supposed to be elevated to godlike status who speak with the unquestioned authority of God?  God forbid!  Christians are called ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20), messengers (2 Corinthians 8:23) and thus representatives in a sense, but we do not represent Him to the world.  There is a difference from a representative and a representation.  We are called to direct the gaze of people to admire, worship, and praise God alone.  It is not my job to represent God to my wife, children, or friends, but to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ, believing and obeying  Him, hallowing God above all.  To "sanctify" or "hallow" means to consecrate God as supremely unique and distinct, to set Him apart as infinitely superior to me and all others.

By His grace God has made us holy and sanctified Christians unto Him, but we are not Him.  The Holy Spirit dwells inside us and empowers us, but we are not God and will never be.  Oh that we might live as He does righteously in this world, free from the stain of sin!  Moses made the mistake of rebelling against God in unbelief, not sanctifying God in the sight of the people.  God was angry with Moses for the sake of the people, for Moses was never to be their ruler:  God was.  The death of Moses is a stern reminder to all who God has called to minister unto Him that we must continue to believe, obey, and hallow God all our days.  Our steps may be made to stop just short of the full inheritance God has ordained for us on the planet.  We may see the promise afar off with our undimmed eyes, but we won't experience all the victories God has prepared for us.