Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Numbers chapter 20 verses 2 through 12:
2 Now there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses and against Aaron. 3The people quarrelled with Moses and said, ‘Would that we had died when our kindred died before the Lord! 4Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here? 5Why have you brought us up out of Egypt, to bring us to this wretched place? It is no place for grain, or figs, or vines, or pomegranates; and there is no water to drink.’ 6Then Moses and Aaron went away from the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting; they fell on their faces, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. 7The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 8Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and your brother Aaron, and command the rock before their eyes to yield its water. Thus you shall bring water out of the rock for them; thus you shall provide drink for the congregation and their livestock.
9 So Moses took the staff from before the Lord, as he had commanded him. 10Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, ‘Listen, you rebels, shall we bring water for you out of this rock?’11Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff; water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their livestock drank. 12But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not trust in me, to show my holiness before the eyes of the Israelites, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.’
Moses crossed a line, acted out of frustration, took things into his own hands, and it cost him.
The LORD told Moses to take his staff, symbol of power and authority, and command the rock to give up its water. But Moses wanted to show the people his force. They were questioning his leadership, so Moses decided to demonstrate his power. He not only spoke to the rock; he struck it. I’m sure the people were struck also — with fear and with awe and perhaps with increased fury. Water gushed out. But Moses had gone too far. He would now not enter the Promised Land.
The point: the end doesn’t always justify the means. Desperate acts of frustration and anger can fell even the best of people. The will to hold on to power can lead even the best of leaders to cross a line.
Today’s Lesson is a warning for us all. It is especially a warning for those in positions of leadership. Watch our tempers. Check our use of power. Do not overreact. Never use force unnecessarily. Never use a staff when words will do.
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