Numbers 20:1-13
The Anger Within
Road Rage! This is a fairly new term for us. But it stands as a warning that we’re sitting on an emotional powder keg. When you add in the factor of physical abuse and domestic violence and the like we begin to realize that we live in a world of anger. The text for this morning brings us to the time when the children of Israel had settled at Kadesh and Miriam dies. It must have been a very terrible and moving experience for a brother. Moses was Miriam’s brother. It must have been traumatic for the community of God’s people to loose such an important person as Miriam. We find her listed in scripture as one of those leaders in the book of Micah 6:4. There is something working inside of Moses and maybe it is from the anger within. Moses is angry!
The first lesson is anger stems from unbelief. When I say that Moses was angry, I say that with facts. It doesn’t say that he was angry but his verbish, “You rebels” indicates it. God didn’t say that ‘you go and preach to the Israelites and just give them the low down about who they are with all of their grumbling and complaining’. God says to go and speak to the rock and bring forth water. Moses, in his language, tells us that there is something going on when he just comes out and says ‘You rebels! You have rebelled against God!” Moses, instead of speaking to the rock, strikes the rock twice, not just once but twice. We can since anger within Moses.
In Exodus 2, remember when Moses began to mingle with the Hebrew people and he realized that his call was to lead the children of Israel. He sees an Egyptian beating a fellow Hebrew. He looks one way and then the other and takes the Egyptian’s life. Can you imagine the anger that has to be built up within him to take another person’s life?
Then we move to Exodus 11:8, between the 9th and 10th plague, Moses has a meeting with Pharaoh. In that verse Moses is hot with anger. In chapter 32 of Exodus, Moses is on Mount Sinai receiving the 10 commandments from God. As he was coming down the mountain with Joshua they hear noises from the camp. Joshua thinks it’s a battle and Moses says ‘it’s not a battle noise’. When he got there, the people were rebelling against God and throwing one big, giant party. They were drunk and reveling. In verse 19, Moses, again, burned with anger. He threw the 10 commandments down and shattered them. It’s like this little boy who asked another boy “Who was the most sinful person in the Old Testament?” The other little boy shook his head and said, “I don’t know.” “It was Moses. He broke all 10 commandments at the same time!”
We might justify the killing the Egyptian because one of Moses’ fellow Hebrews was being beating and we might even give Moses a little slack by being angry with Pharaoh and even finding the people rebelling is why Moses breaks the commandments. Religious indignation, right? Moses should be angry.
But consider this, if God wanted the Egyptians killed, he would have done that himself. Couldn’t God take care of Pharaoh by hardening his heart? So Moses didn’t need to be heated with anger. What about the tablets, the word of God, how sacred and how important these are? But Moses looses his cool and breaks the tablets. I say this because Exodus 34:1. God tells him to go and cut the stones out. ‘I’ll write on them to replace the tablets that you broke.’ We see a lot of anger built up in Moses.
In coming to this point, rather than obeying God, he disobeys God. Rather than speaking to the rock, he strikes the rock not just once but twice. I’m saying that anger comes from unbelief. That is what God said to him, “Because you did not believe (trust) in me”. You see, Moses didn’t trust God enough to follow his instructions. Sometimes anger gets to us and is stemmed from our unbelief, or no trust in God to handle the situation.
From the people’s point of view, they are afraid because they are quarreling, grumbling, complaining. They are in the wilderness and have been traveling some 30 plus years. They are almost to the Promised Land. But they are still grumbling and complaining. That’s enough to give anybody reason to be angry. Hebrews sheds some light on this event. God says to His people in Hebrews 3:18-19, “And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.” Disobedience and unbelief are two sides of the same coin. Moses didn’t trust God or didn’t believe God enough that He could handle the situation. The people were grumbling and complaining because they didn’t trust God enough to handle the situation. In the longer reading of Mark 16:16, “ Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned”. With God and Jesus salvation, hinges on our belief or trust in God. When we disobey God, when we don’t follow His commands fully, we find ourselves in a situation where anger is within. It stems from our disobedience and our lack of belief.
Sometimes we can get so angry and so determined because it’s my will I want to do and not God’s will. God has such a better plan for us. But, because of our anger and what we want to do with our lives, our jaw becomes set and our teeth are clenched and we want to do whatever we want to do regardless of what God desires for me in my life. I don’t know how many times I have seen brothers and sisters become angry with one another and it’s usually because one wants their way over the other. The anger within is because we do not trust what God can do in our lives. Turning it over to Him is the answer.
The second lesson is anger steals God’s glory. In verse 12 God says to Moses, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites”. You see Moses’ anger as you look back up to verse 10 as he says, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” Now wait a minute Moses. What are you saying? We! Is it you that’s going to bring water up out of the rock? Is it Aaron that’s going to bring water up out of the rock? Where is God in all of this? Where is God being honored in this with the His children drinking from the flow of water from the rock and being nourished by the fountain? What is happening with Moses is that he becomes so angry that he’s giving credit to himself and God’s glory is being dishonored. Moses’ unbelief to trust God enough did not give Him the honor and glory of His holiness. Because of this Moses is not allowed to enter into the Promised Land.
James has the best counsel of all (James 1:19-20), “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.” When I become angry and I profess to be a Christian then it defames the name of God. God said “Be holy because I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44; 1 Peter 1:16). In our anger, we defame the name of God and His holiness, glory and honor. When I loose control, I am saying that God is not in control of my life. When I become angry, I’m in control. I’m not allowing God to do anything in my life because I’m doing what I want to do. In Revelation 3:15, Jesus says to the church at Laodicea “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either one or the other!” Why is that? Because Jesus wants His people hot. If you are not hot, then I want you cold. “So, because you are lukewarm- neither hot nor cold- I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” ‘You make me sick at my stomach’. When we allow anger to take control of our lives then we steal God’s glory. The moment I speak words of anger, God is not honored.
The third lesson is anger suffers consequences. Again, God told Mosses “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor my name as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them”. Our anger has to suffer the consequences. Moses was not allowed to go into the Promised Land. Well, does this mean that Moses was not forgiven? When Moses dies, it is God who buries him. Who is it that we see on the Mount of Transfiguration in front of Jesus? One of the three is Moses. Yes, Moses was forgiven. But Moses had to suffer the consequences of his lack of faith, his disobedience, and not giving God the glory. He had to suffer the consequences. King David, his sin with Bathsheba, did he suffer the consequences? Most definitely! When we read about one of his sons, Amnon, raping his half sister, Tamar, or when Absalom is sleeping with David’s concubines, or when Absalom rebels against his father, David suffered the consequences. But was David forgiven? YES! There is hope. If there is anger within us and we mess up there is hope of forgiveness. But sometimes when we say a word or we strike someone or we do an act that dishonors God, there will be consequences to suffer. But the anger within, can be controlled by Jesus.
There is an anger where we do not sin. Paul says in Ephesians 4:26 “Be angry but sin not.” But that is not what is happening in Moses’ life. It was not just religious indignation. Moses lost control. God can take care of that anger within you. Come to Jesus and allow Him to bring the comfort and peace that passes all understanding. Your past will be forgiven. Only, if we had the ability to go back and to change things that we have done in the past? There is no way we can change those kinds of things, but we can change today by bringing our lives to God, and trusting in Him and being obedient to Him. It will take faith. It will take a heart of repentance. It will take courage to let God take control of your life and claim Jesus as Lord. It will take courage to give your life to Him totally by participating in His death, burial, and resurrection in baptism. Let God take control of your life. Let the past be gone. Release the anger within.
