Misused and Abused
Scripture Reference: Numbers 20:7-12 (KJV)
7 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 8 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. 9 And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him. 10 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, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. 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.
I would like to take this opportunity and take the word misuse break it in half and tell a short story about it.
I met this woman named Miss Use she was so beautiful. She had beautiful skin a great sense of humor and was more than understanding of my situation. I mean Miss Use was fully aware of the fact that I was married and she still never had a problem with us talking late night while my wife wasn’t around. She would never disrespect me and would always say the kindest things. She was a close friend even to my kids. They loved her. The people of the church thought that she was the best thing that ever could have happened to the church. She was very helpful to everyone in the church I mean what man could have asked for a better secretary. We had so much in common we liked so many of the same things that it seemed that God made her especially for me. Although I hear the voice of God in the distance saying, “Go home and leave her alone“, maybe this is the one time that even God doesn’t recognize true love. I mean she liked the same sports I liked, the same food I liked, our birthdays were even around the same time and we would even go as far as to celebrate them together. Whenever she had a problem Miss Use would not hesitate to come to me and I would not hesitate to help in any way that I could. It was great. What man could have asked for a better secretary. It seemed as though I could do no wrong in her eyes. I don’t understand what could have ever happened. When I told her I was about to leave my wife she seemed so excited she said that she was happy about the fact that I was going to get what I wanted finally. Why is it that now that I have left my wife and family she doesn’t seem to have as much time for me as she used to. It seems as though now that I have dropped everything that I was doing her interest have somehow changed. Now what am I supposed to do? How could I be such an idiot? Ohh my God.
This is a story that could have just as easily been called “Misunderstood” but in any case Miss Use was not the answer. This man could have saved himself a lot of heartache and pain had he listened to and obeyed the voice of the true and living God.
Today’s scripture is somewhat similar to this situation. It is about Moses and how he misused his rod and abused the rock. This “easy to avoid” action caused him to never enter the promised land. (Exodus 4:1 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee. 2 And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. 3 And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. 4 And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: 5 That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.). This rod was the first thing that God used to prove to Moses that He was who He was that the people might believe Moses when he told them
The same thing that God used to help Moses do His will was the same thing that Moses used to prove to God that he didn’t truly believe
There are times when we do wrong and we want to blame it on God. “God it was that woman you gave me.”
Or, “God it was that car you blessed me with.”
“God it was the money. I was fine until you blessed me with all of this money.”
“It was that internet connection that you blessed me with.”
All of these things that I just named are gifts from God that we have decided to misuse for Satan time and time again.
This brings us to our scripture for today. It is (Numbers 20:7-12).
Let’s first look at the situation in which he finds himself
(Numbers 20:1 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.)
Moses is in a desert place - a tract incapable of supporting any considerable population without an artificial water supply
His sister has died - causing stress and the unavoidable questioning of God’s judgment
In the midst of people that don’t truly believe - causing him to feel lonely and unsupported
The people are tired, hungry and thirsty (Numbers 20:2 And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. 3 And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the LORD! 4 And why have ye brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there? 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.) so even if they do believe, the situation is causing them to doubt even themselves
It is important that we attempt to identify with Moses’ situation because some of us are in similar situations and we have to be careful that we don’t make a hasty decision that will keep us out of the promised land like Moses did
Moses smote (smite - to strike sharply or heavily especially with hand or an implement held in the hand) the rock when he was told to speak to the rock. It took faith to believe that speaking to a rock would cause anything to happen. The bible declares and I believe that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11-6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.).
Moses’ back was against the wall.
The people had begun to doubt and question God. He felt desperate but God had him just where He wanted him. He was in a situation where there was no way out except through God
Though our situations may seem desperate to us God is really just setting us up to experience something that only He can do
Not only did Moses misuse his rod by using it to strike the rock but he abused the very thing that God was about to use to bless His people.
This is the same thing we do today when we use the internet to access pornographic sites
This is the same thing today when we use our car to go places that we shouldn’t be, neglecting the fact that God needs the car to bless His people.
This is the same thing we do when we don’t give God His ten percent of the money that He blessed us with even though we promised that we would before we made it.
So many of us are walking in the blessings of God but will never get to the promised land because we are misusing and abusing the things that God has placed around us to bless His people with.
Let’s go back to our story. What if Miss Use had always had a problem with being promiscuous and that is why she came to the church to get away from that lifestyle anyway. What if she had a history of being sexually abused by every man that she ever respected because of her beauty and kindness. What if through her trust of the man of God she opened completely up to him only to be disgusted by his immoral, irrational and illegal behavior.
There is certainly something strange about this rock in this story.
This seems like the same rock that Jesus was talking about when he said that he wanted to use it to build his church upon (Matthew. 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.). Not only can the rock give a source of strength for building but it can also become a provider in the time of need. There is something special even about a rock when God deals with it.
I am sure that in the middle of a desert like where they were the last place that Moses would have expected water to come from was a rock.
Moses had seen God provide water from a rock before and last time he was allowed to smite the rock but God changed His commandment this time to Moses (Exodus 17:6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.)
Maybe God has your blessings in a place where you would never think that it would be.
And the only way that you can receive this blessing is through a method that is truly uncommon and unpopular to you or any other mortal man
The judgment against Moses for his actions were to never enter the promised land. This revelation alone should be enough for many of us to say, “Thank God for Jesus!” What if we had to face the same penalty for a single action of abuse and misuse of God’s property.
I know we say, “But we are not hurting anyone with our sins. We are adults we can handle it. No sin is greater than the other.”
I hear you saints because I too have used every excuse in the world as a reason for God to have mercy on me but to tell you the truth when we misuse or abuse His property He has every right to not allow us in His promised land.
CONCLUSION
Some of us are being tricked by Satan into thinking that our great works for the Lord grant us permission to sin against Him but look at the work that Moses had just completed for God. I don’t think that God has used many if any of us to part a Red Sea yet it was one act of abuse that utterly kept him out of the promised land forever no begging for mercy or anything no grace just truth saints. I don’t know about you but this revelation makes me eternally grateful for what Jesus did for me.
Let’s Pray
Thank You. May God continue to bless you and keep you. Amen
Your Friend
Minister Juan D. Lane
