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Moses Sins: Numbers 20
Though Moses was a man of faith, he was not flawless. This is seen in the fact that he sinned himself. In particular, Numbers 20 records a sin that he commits which would end up costing both him and Aaron the opportunity to enter the promised land.
Once again, the people were murmuring about their conditions, fussing that there was no water for them to drink. They complained that they would have been better off to die earlier, and asked why they were brought out there to die. Moses and Aaron went before the Lord, falling on their faces. God told them to take a rod, assemble the congregation, and speak to the rock so it would yield water. Moses took the rod and said, “Listen, now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” Then he struck the rock twice, and water came out.
Though it yielded water for the people, Moses had sinned in the way he went about it. God told Moses and Aaron that they had failed to believe Him, and did not treat Him as holy before the assembly. How so? Notice that God told Moses to speak to the rock, and Moses struck it. He failed to do exactly what God had said.
The consequences of his actions were that he could not bring the children of Israel into the promised land himself. This demonstrated how serious his offense was.
One lesson this account teaches is that no one can sin against God without punishment. Even those who are so highly regarded do not have a right to dishonor God. Failure to do what God says means that we fail to believe Him, and we fail to treat Him as holy. We would always do well to keep this in mind.
Discussion
1. What exactly did Moses do that was sinful?
2. Discuss the nature of sin in this context: how does sin show a failure to believe God? How does it fail to treat Him as holy?
3. What were the consequences of this sin? Why was it so severe?
4. Discuss lessons we may learn from the sin of Moses, and the consequences God issued. Is anyone immune from sin and its consequences?