Num
20:2-8 (NIV) Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered
in opposition to Moses and Aaron. 3 They quarreled with Moses and said,
"If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! 4 Why
did you bring the Lord's community into this desert, that we and our livestock
should die here? 5 Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place?
It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to
drink!"
6 Moses
and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and
fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. 7 The Lord said to
Moses, 8 "Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the
assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out
its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and
their livestock can drink."
NOTE: There has been
one catastrophe after another for Moses and the leaders. Water is a critical
element because while one can survive without a lot of things for some time,
that is not the case of water while traveling in the desert. This is a hot button
issue for the people. And the button they are pushing is God's. I'm convinced
that at this stage the people did not doubt God's power. I think Hebrews 3
highlights this story for the same reason. The people did not doubt's God's
power, they doubted his care. Did he really care for them personally? Can I
trust Him, not just for the long term, but for the short term immediate needs
of my life? Will he intervene or are those things left for me to figure out?
Finding water for 3M people in the desert is a problem far beyond Moses and the
leaders. So Moses does exactly the right thing -- he falls down before God and
seeks his help. God immediately answers this urgent request because God truly
does care, he truly will provide for the urgent needs, and He truly can be
trusted. I believe real faith is not believing in God's power but in God's
care (his love for me).
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