THE WATERS OF MERIBAH
By Pastor James May
Numbers 20:1-2, "Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there. And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron."
Israel had finally reached the banks of the Jordan River after their deliverance from Egypt and the long march through the wilderness. God was ready to fulfill his promise to Abraham and give his people possession of the Promised Land. God was ready, but Israel was not. They believed the faithless report of the 10 spies and were afraid to enter in, so God turned them around and allowed them to wander in the wilderness for another 40 years until a new generation could grow up to become his chosen nation.
Now 38 years had passed and the Children of Israel advanced towards Canaan again. This wasn’t the same generation that had doubted God’s ability to give them the Promised Land. That generation had died and every one of them was buried in the wilderness. This was a whole new generation and they were only 2 years away from coming to the Promised Land once again. The problem was that they weren’t acting any better than their fathers had done 38 years before.
God had brought them through, delivering them, providing for them and protecting them. This new generation still knew the stories of slavery in Egypt because their parents had constantly drilled it into them. They knew of the miracle working power of God, of the guiding hand of God and of the promises of God, but they were still a rebellious nation. They would not trust God and they were constantly murmuring and complaining.
Oh how quick we are to forget what God has done for us in the past. If we would only remember how he healed us before, how he delivered us before and how he has provided for us all along, perhaps we could have greater faith in trust that He will do it again.
No matter how many promises God fulfills in us, we still doubt whether he will fulfill the next one. No matter how many times God provides our needs, we still wonder if he will supply our next need.
We can’t point fingers at Israel and accuse them when we refuse to pay tithes because we think we can’t afford to, or when we worry and fret over everything in life as though we didn’t believe that God could meet all of our needs as well.
Israel’s mindset was that God was untrustworthy and they he would leave them to fend for themselves in this dry, barren wilderness and that why it says in Numbers 20:3, "And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the LORD!"
Moses was God’s chosen prophet to lead Israel but Israel often argued with Moses. They constantly found fault with Moses’ leadership skills. They constantly argued with Moses and had sharp criticism for everything he did. Moses was God’s chosen man for the hour but the Children of Israel were constantly second guessing God and trying to figure out their own way.
To show just how little respect they had for Moses we have to remember that Moses’ sister, Miriam had passed away only days before and I’m certain that Moses was grieved in his spirit for his loss. Yet the people didn’t show him any respect or real love. Instead they argued with Moses and only made maters worse.
How many times have I seen Christian at one another’s throat or after the minister because of something that displeased them? It doesn’t matter that the preacher has their best interest at heart and has forsaken his own family many times so that other families’ needs could be met. They quickly forget the price that he has paid in service to them and all they can think about is right here, right now and my need.
Israel was so caught up in despair and hopelessness at their lack of water that they even began to envy those who had already died in the judgments of God. Huge numbers of Israelites had died under the judgment hand of God in Taberah. We talked about that just last week how that many died under the fiery hand of God as they pitched their tents in the outermost parts of the camp.
They also knew of the demise of Korah as his cohorts in a very similar manner.
Numbers 16:31-35, "And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation. And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also. And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense."
It wasn’t enough for the Children of Israel to see that God brought judgment upon Korah, they still murmured and complained and even accused Moses of murdering those who had died.
That’s when God sent a pestilence among them.
Numbers 16:49, "Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah."
Were these Israelites blind? Could they not remember God’ provisions and God’s judgments? Were their memories so short? It sounds so foolish to us, looking back, that Israel could have ignored God and continued to live as a rebellious people.
But let’s not forget how often we are blinded by Satan’s lies and we forget that God has been our supplier as well.
Numbers 20:5, "And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? It is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink."
Now the Children of Israel were becoming historical revisionists. They began to accuse Moses of forcing them to leave Egypt against their own will.
Again, all they could remember was the good things of their life in Egypt while their present situation in the way that God was leading them seemed to be hopeless.
They were in a place where no crops could be grown, no figs or vines or pomegranates. There was no field that could be irrigated because there was no river. There was only death. How can God do this to us? Doesn’t he care any more!
When we give up on God, who can we turn to then? Who else but Jesus has the answer we need? Who else but Jesus has the words of eternal life? Who else but Jesus has the power to forgive?
Lord help us for I know of too many people who will blame God for every bad thing that happens to them. They destroy their own marriage and then blame God when the spouse walks out the door. They don’t teach their children the ways of the Lord and then when that child grows up and gets rebellious they want to blame God. We spend way beyond our means to pay the bill and then when we are pushed to the brink of bankruptcy and beyond we want to get mad at God because he didn’t meet our needs.
Numbers 20:6, "And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto them."
Moses and Aaron had been surrounded by an angry mob. It kind of reminds me of the lynch mobs of the old west. Moses and Aaron ran from them in fear for their lives. They were afraid of being stoned.
They ran to the tabernacle and fell upon their face, crying out to God to forgive Israel for their sin. They remembered the judgments of God and they didn’t want a repeat.
Where do we run to when the storms of life come our way or we feel as though someone is attacking us without just cause?
We run to the Lord and say, why me? What have I done to deserve this? If that had been some of us who were under attack and threatened like Moses and Aaron we would have run to the Lord all right, but I wonder if our prayer would have been, “kill them all God, they are attacking your anointed and doing your prophets harm. Send an angel to destroy my enemies like you did the Philistine army.” I haven’t seen many people fall on their face before God and ask God to have mercy on those who were persecuting them.
Numbers 20:7-8, "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 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, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink."
God is so loving and merciful. Even though he had already had to allow an entire generation to die because of unbelief before he could fulfill his covenant; and even though this new generation wasn’t any better, God still heard the prayer of Moses and Aaron and stayed the hand of judgment. Instead God chose to perform another miracle of deliverance on their behalf. What a might, loving and merciful God we serve!
God told Moses to take his rod, that same rod that had been instrumental in crossing the Red Sea and had been used in miracles all along Israel’s journey; that rod that was a symbol of God’s anointing and power, and speak to the rock and then the rock would give forth its water.
Now we see a whole new test arising. Not only was Israel being tested in its faith in God, but now Moses and Aaron were being tested as well. They were accustomed to using the rod of Moses but it had always been used to strike something, not just to show as a symbol of God’s anointing.
At Rephidim God had told Moses to smite the rock and when Moses hit the rock with his rod, water came out. I suspect that Moses and Aaron expected God to move the same way and they just went about business as usual, forgetting what God had said.
This time they were not to hit the rock, they were to speak to it instead. This was to show that it was not the rod, and not the words they spoke, but that it was the miracle power of God in the rock that brought forth the water of life. They were to speak to a rock, just a plain rock that lay in the wilderness, as though that rock had intelligence and had power to answer their prayer.
Numbers 20:9-10, "And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him. 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?"
Can you imagine that scene as Moses and Aaron stood before this angry mob who was already on the verge of stoning them, and saying to them, “stand here and let us show you how we can get all the water you want. This is a special rock and in it is all the water you need.” How many of us would have thought that old Moses had finally gone off the deep end?
Moses was angry at Israel for its lack of faith and for its rejection of both he and Aaron! All right you scoundrels, you wanted water; you doubted God; you accused me of murder; I prayed for you but you didn’t care; I’m really upset with you and now you want us to give you water from a rock. You don’t really deserve this miracle but I’m going to it anyway. Get ready here it comes.”
Numbers 20:11, "And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also."
Some commentators say that the water only began to come out of the rock in drops at first and that caused Moses to strike it the second time, then it began to flow in abundance.
But there was a problem. God had mercy and performed a miracle for Israel. He honored his word to bring forth the rock, but he was angered by the disobedience and lack of faith of Moses and Aaron. They were to speak to the rock, not strike it, much less strike it twice.
The amazing thing to this whole story is that here were Moses and Aaron, leading Israel, being accused of something they didn’t do, then falling on their faces before God to beg for his mercy upon Israel, then calling all of the people together and watching God supply the need of the people, then ending up with God’s judgment falling upon them instead! What a turn around! What happened? Why did God get angry with Moses and Aaron?
Numbers 20:12, "And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them."
What made God angry with Moses and Aaron?
Some say that it was because Moses smote the rock instead of speaking to it. If that’s the reason alone, why was Aaron also punished? He didn’t hit the rock, Moses did.
Others say that it was Moses reacted in anger and accused God’s people, whom he was supposed to be leading, calling them rebels and that angered God who had chosen them. But we read in other places where God refers to Israel as rebels so why should that anger God now?
Others say that God was angry because Moses and Aaron said, “must we bring forth water” as though it was by their power that this miracle would come, but I don’t believe that Moses and Aaron meant that at all.
These things may have had a part in God’s anger with Moses and Aaron but the real reason for God’s judgment upon them was a result of their resentment against the Israelites and, most importantly, their unbelief that God would bring forth the water just by speaking to the rock.
Moses and Aaron, you must remember, were not allowed to enter the Promised Land the first time because of Israel’s rebellion. God had opened the rock at Rephidim for Israel but then condemned them to wander for 40 long years. Moses and Aaron had to go with them.
In their minds, Moses and Aaron probably looked at this second time that God had to bring forth water out of a rock and they were worried that it might mean another 40 years of wandering and they were too close to the Promised Land to miss it now.
In addition to that, Moses and Aaron doubted whether God would provide water for such an unbelieving people.
All of these things together, their unbelief, coupled with disobedience, brought God’s judgment upon both Moses and Aaron.
I am reminded of the verse that says that “judgment must begin at the House of God.” God will hold Christians to a higher standard than the world. He will hold those who are supposed to be ministers and shepherds to a higher standard still. The more responsibility that God gives to us the more he expects of us in being obedient and faithful.
In the last verse of this message found in Numbers 20:13 God says, "This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them."
This was the second time that God had called a place Meribah. He had done the same thing at Rephidim. In both places Israel wrestled with their faith in God. In both places Moses had his own doubts and fears.
In closing I just want to ask a simple question. Are you experiencing Meribah in your life right now? Are you striving with the Lord, questioning his provision for your life, wondering if he will really do what he says he will do? Are you growing impatient with God’s appointed leadership, perhaps even pointing fingers of accusation against them for leading your wrong?
It’s time to speak to the rock and get the flow of the water of life in you again.
That rock in the wilderness was a type and shadow of the “Rock”, Jesus Christ. He was smitten once for our sin and we are not to crucify him afresh. We are to have faith and learn to speak to Him and know that he will answer.
Speak to the Rock right now and watch your life giving water come. It will come in the form of great blessings from the Lord. He will supply your every need and he will bring new life to your soul.
Doubt and fear over your present circumstances can become the waters of Meribah for you!
Moses and Aaron never crossed into the Promised Land in this life. They never reached their full potential in Christ. I believe that both are in Heaven today, but what more could they have done for Israel? Don’t let doubt and fear cause you to miss God’s best for your life! Just trust in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
