Do Not Strike the Rock

#108: Learning from Mr. Moses


Do not strike the rock.
Calm down, Gladys. Do not strike the rock.

You see, that was Moses' downfall. They were on their way to the Promised Land - he, leading and the Israelites, following. (Well, grumbling but following.) The Lord had shown His faithfulness time and again and had proven Himself to be worthy of their complete trust. But when Moses was told by the Lord in Numbers 20 to take the staff, gather the people (the grumbling ingrates rescued from slavery), and speak to the rock before their eyes and let it gush forth with water to satisfy the community and their livestock, Moses went only as far as taking the staff and gathering the people before losing it. In what I imagine to be a thunderous explosion, he booms, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?" Or maybe it is a fiery hissing such that Moses hissed with eyes blazing, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring water out of this rock?"

Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out and the community and their livestock drank. He was able to get the antsy mob their water. He got his intended result, right?

Well, yes. But at such a high price tag. In verse 12 of the same chapter, the Lord brings down His judgment upon 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." Youch.

Three key things:

1. Moses did not obey the Lord's instruction, choosing instead to show his frustration by striking the rock, not once, but twice.

2. Moses did not trust God enough in that situation. Maybe he couldn't control it any longer. Maybe he needed to strike the rock to let off steam. Or maybe he needed to strike the rock just to make sure that water will really come out and not leave him looking like an idiot - asking some rock to please kindly give the annoyed (and increasingly annoying) crowd water. Or maybe it was just for dramatic effect. Bottomline is, he leaned more on his staff, on his action of striking, on what he was expecting the people to say, than he did on His God.

3. Moses did not honor the Lord as Holy before the people. Not only did he claim the act as coming from him (and Aaron) in saying, "Must WE bring water out of this rock," Moses also displeased the Lord with the way he chose to disobey His specific instructions. And this was a disobedience carried out before the people. You see, the Lord wanted to show His grace to the Israelites by displaying His wonderful provision in the middle of nowhere, but Moses chose to eclipse that with his drama.

And so Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land. He saw it from afar but his 40 years in the desert leading the people did not end in actual enjoyment of the fulfillment of the Lord's promise.

This becomes extremely relevant to me because I am so close to the actual unfolding of one of the Lord's particular promises. But each day that brings me closer to it pushes me closer as well to the brink of 'striking the rock.' The list just keeps getting longer every day. And the task of throwing out each item in the name of patience, restraint and respect just keeps getting exponentially harder. I've been wanting to explode for how many days now that all that's keeping me from completely losing my cool and giving someone a piece of my mind is the gentle tug of the Lord's soft whisper, "Do not strike the rock."

And so I hold back and trust in the Lord's sovereign hand. He is after all the One who designated this person to be my thorn, my burden and my boss. His ways are always perfect. Ask Moses.

Deuteronomy 32:3-4

I will proclaim the name of the LORD.
Oh, praise the greatness of our God!

He is the Rock, his works are perfect,
and all his ways are just.
A faithful God who does no wrong,
upright and just is he.