“We are Forerunners. Guardians of all that exists. The roots of the Galaxy have grown deep under our careful tending. Where there is life, the wisdom of our countless generations has saturated the soil. Our strength is a luminous sun, towards which all intelligence blossoms… And the impervious shelter, beneath which it has prospered.”

Sunday Scripture: The Waters of Meribah

by | Feb 4, 2024 | Sunday Scripture | 1 comment

Now there was no water for the congregation. And they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. And the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Would that we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord! Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we should die here, both we and our cattle? And why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink.” Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them, and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.” And Moses took the staff from before the Lord, as he commanded him.

10 Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. 12 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” 13 These are the waters of Meribah,[a] where the people of Israel quarreled with the Lord, and through them he showed himself holy.

— Numbers 20:2-13, English Standard Version

These passages are quite difficult to understand, because of verse 12 above. It just doesn’t make sense, at least on a first reading, as to why the Lord would be so angry with Moses and Aaron. You have to read a lot more closely to understand the passage:

The simple answer is:

Moses actually disobeyed the Lord when he struck the rock with his staff.

What God ACTUALLY told him to do, was to TELL the rock to open up, and therefore show his faith in his Lord. But Moses did not do that, and undertook to do something on his own initiative.

The lesson here is clear. Disobedience to the Lord, even in trivial things, can have devastating consequences.

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1 Comment

  1. furor kek tonicus ( "fake and gay" is not redundancy, it's emphasis of the syllable )

    It just doesn’t make sense
    .
    sure it does. multiple times God made explicitly clear that He was doing what He was doing in order to demonstrate unto the Israelites His power and ability.
    .
    what were the instructions God gave to Moses?
    “Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water”
    .
    what does Moses actually do?
    ” And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?

    11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly”
    .
    it’s not merely that Moses smote the rock instead of speaking to it. it’s that Moses claimed credit for himself and Aaron, instead of giving glory to God.

    Reply

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