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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Numbers 20:7 - 20:13
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Water Out of the Rock. —
v. 7. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
v. 8. Take the rod, the same shepherd's staff which had already figured so largely in various miracles, Exo_17:5, and gather thou the assembly together, thou and Aaron, thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes, in an address which was equivalent to a command and must yield results; 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. So the Lord chose to overlook the people's sin of grumbling and to treat them with a kindness which they did not deserve.
v. 9. And Moses took the rod from before the Lord, for it had probably been deposited in the Sanctuary, as He commanded him.
v. 10. And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he, Moses, said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels, must we fetch you water out of this rock? The thought seems to be implied: Your attitude is one of such perpetual nagging and grumbling that there is some doubt in my mind whether we really ought, and whether we shall be able, to provide you with water.
v. 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. So God proved Himself the patient and merciful Lord, and Jesus Christ, the spiritual Rock, who accompanied the host, made them a gift of the water.
v. 12. And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed Me not, because they had not firmly, unconditionally, and confidently placed their humble trust in His word, to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, to give evidence before the eyes of the children of Israel that He was the Holy One, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them. Neither of them would have this privilege, since by their fleshly zeal and disgust they had distorted and obscured before the eyes of the people the image of Jehovah Himself; neither of them would enter the Land of Promise. The occasional discontent which manifests itself in the lives of Christians, though usually a sin of weakness, is highly displeasing in the sight of the Lord, and often brings some evidence of His displeasure upon the offenders.
v. 13. This is the water of Meribah (strife), because the children of Israel strove with the Lord, in murmuring against His dispensations, and He was sanctified in them, both by exposing the unbelief of the people and by punishing the weakness of Moses and Aaron. Cf Psa_106:32-33. This incident is a warning, lest any one become secure. Even firm and tested Christians are not safe against temptation and falling, against disobedience, foolishness, doubt, unbelief. It is fortunate that the merciful God does not desert His children at such times, but renews faith in their hearts and keeps them safe unto the end.