By the time we get to Numbers chapter 20, a lot of time has gone by.
At the beginning of Numbers chapter 20,
the Israelites are on the verge of entering the promised land which means that we’re
at the end of the 40 years,
which means that a lot of decades have gone by. And we’re not told exactly what happened but
we find in Numbers chapter 20 that some things haven’t changed
because in Numbers chapter 20 do you know what the people start doing?
Complaining
about the lack of variety with the food, about the lack of water, and who do you think they start complaining to?
Moses.
As they’re on the verge of entering the promised land,
they complain.
Some things never change.
But in this case, something had changed for Moses.
We’re told in the first verses of Numbers chapter 20 that
his sister, Miriam, had just died.
His sister died.
And the people start complaining
right after it happened.
And we’re not told if everyone was aware of Miriam’s death, but Moses sure was.
And so maybe we don’t blame him for reacting the way that he did
when they started complaining about the lack of water
and he went to the Lord and said, “What should I do about it?” and
the Lord told him to do exactly what he told him to do 40 years earlier.
Just to go to a rock and speak to it and tell water to start coming out.
But he did a little bit more than that.
First he yelled at the Israelites.
He called them rebels
and got really upset with them. And then, then
he hit the rock a couple of times and water came gushing out
and there was water for everyone but
because Moses didn’t follow the Lord’s instructions
exactly the way the Lord spoke them,
there was a consequence.
God told Moses that now he wasn’t going to be able to enter the promised land
which just, just goes to show you that
God doesn’t play favorites.
His laws apply to everyone.
His standards apply to everyone.
But now, just think of all the ways that Moses was hurting.
He was hurting because people were coming at him with some criticism and that would have been hard.
He was hurting because
his sister had died.
He was hurting maybe now
with regret
knowing that he should have done something different but
now he couldn’t
and there was a consequence for it.
And again, I don't know if everybody was aware of all the different ways that he was hurting,
just like I don’t know that there’s anyone on this earth who is aware of all the different ways
that you are.
Maybe people have been harsh to you
and you didn’t deserve it.
Or maybe someone you love died
and you’re still having such a hard time with it.
Maybe you have a regret,
or many of them,
and it’s a heavy burden.
And if any of these things are true then
I just want you to notice what God did for everybody in this section,
whether it was Moses or any of the Israelites.
He satisfied them.
He gave them water.
And he gave them water from a place where they should have
rightly never expected it,
from a rock which cannot produce water.
And yet, he took,
he took something that doesn’t have the ability to produce water
and he produced water for all of them and he satisfied
all of them.
And it’s exactly what he promises to do for you.
When he took something that,
when you look at it,
we should have no right to expect that anything good could ever come from it.
God himself hanging on a cross.
God himself dying.
God himself being treated like the worst sinner of all,
not just by sinful men,
but by his Father in heaven.
And then he died,
just as certainly as Miriam did.
And what good could come from that?
Your eternal satisfaction.
A promise that
there’s nothing in all creation that's going to stop you from enjoying it.
We’re in a tough time right now,
for a lot of different reasons;
many that we all have in common, and
many others that are unique to you.
But don’t let the seeming impossibility of good things coming from them
discourage you.
Just remember that God has a long history of taking
difficult situations and difficult people
and accomplishing the very best things for his children.
Rest well tonight in that truth, my friends.
Your God knows how to provide satisfaction.