3: The Sin That Really Kept Moses Out Of The Promised Land

Hello, and welcome to the Ready for Eternity podcast. My name is Eddie Lawrence. God did not allow Moses to enter the Promised Land. The big question is, why not? The typical answers all seem to have one thing in common.

That is, they all seem more like inferences or guesses than solid biblical answers. Does the Bible reveal the sin that really kept Moses out of the Promised Land? Let's find out.

Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them, and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.

Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, Hear now, you rebels, shall we bring water for you out of this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock.

Numbers 20 verses 8 and 10 through 11.

Moses messed up. He did something which resulted in God banning him from the Promised Land. What did he do to warrant such a punishment? Most of us have been taught that Moses' sin was hitting a rock to obtain water when God told him to speak to it.

Others say that Moses' sin was that he took credit for obtaining water from the rock when it was really God who performed the miracle. If you read all that the Bible has to say about this, God did not say that either of these actions was the problem, nor did Moses believe these were the problem.

In fact, nowhere does the text say Moses' sin was striking the rock instead of speaking to it or taking credit for the miracle. What did God say Moses' sin was? God said Moses' sin was a failure to trust.

And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.

Numbers 20 verse 12.

That's all God had to say about it. He didn't criticize Moses for striking the rock when he was told to speak to it. Similarly, God did not indicate that Moses was trying to take credit for the miracle.

He said Moses had failed to believe in him. What did Moses have to say about his failure? Moses said that his failure was in some way connected to the people.

Even with me the Lord was angry on your account and said, You also shall not go in there. Deuteronomy 1 .37. But the Lord was angry with me because of you and would not listen to me. And the Lord said to me, Enough from you, do not speak to me of this matter again.

Deuteronomy 3 .26. Furthermore the Lord was angry with me because of you, and he swore that I should not cross the Jordan and that I should not enter the good land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.

Deuteronomy 4 .21.

Three different times Moses connected God's anger with him to something the people did. So how did Moses' faith falter and what did the people have to do with it? To answer this question, we must examine a pattern that developed in the book of Numbers.

Three times prior to the incident at the Rock of Meribah, the people sinned, God decreed punishment for them, and then Moses interceded on the people's behalf, and then God pardoned the people. If you take the time to read these events in Numbers chapters 11, 14, 16, and 20, you'll see a pattern emerge.

In Numbers chapter 11 at Taberah, the people sinned, God decrees punishment, Moses interceded, and then God pardoned them. In Numbers chapter 14, the twelve spies came back and most of them gave a bad report and the people failed to trust in God and that was their sin.

So God decreed a punishment, Moses interceded on their behalf, and then God pardoned the sin. Likewise, at Korah's rebellion in Numbers 16, the people sinned, God once again decreed punishment, Moses interceded on behalf of the people, and once again God pardoned them.

So when we get to Numbers chapter 20 at the Rock of Meribah, again the people sin, so what do we expect to happen next? Based on the pattern so far established in Numbers, we expect the next step would be for God to decree punishment.

But that doesn't happen. The pattern breaks down. Instead of decreeing punishment for the people's sin, God simply tells Moses to give the people water by speaking to the rock. This is a significant departure from the previous pattern.

When a Bible author develops a pattern and then breaks it, we should pay attention, because this signals that the author wants us to notice something important. Why didn't God decree punishment for the people at Meribah?

To understand why God didn't pronounce judgment, let's notice what Moses did. He led the people to the rock, called them rebels, and instead of speaking to the rock, he hit it twice with his staff. Moses is having a temper tantrum.

In the prior examples in Numbers, Moses never speaks harshly or loses patience. Moses is also breaking the pattern, and this is the clue to understanding his sin. Moses has reached the end of his rope.

He's been patient with these complaining and rebellious people, but he couldn't take it any longer. Their constant ingratitude and rebelliousness caused Moses to lose faith in the people. This is the people that were supposed to be God's treasured possession.

A holy nation of priests who had agreed to be in covenant relationship with God. What a disappointment they had turned out to be, and Moses was finished interceding for them. God knew Moses was not going to intercede for the people at Meribah, therefore he didn't ordain punishment for them.

So how does this connect back to Moses being barred from entering the promised land? Because the people were unfaithful and so difficult to lead, Moses' own faith suffered. This caused him to lose confidence that God could develop the Israelites into a faithful covenant people who were meant to be a nation of priests and a means of blessing the nations.

And this was understandable. Haven't you had people in your life who were so difficult that you've jokingly said that even God couldn't do anything with them? I think Moses had reached this point, but he wasn't joking.

If there's any doubt this was Moses' problem, this verse removes it.

Because you broke faith with me in the midst of the people of Israel at the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, and because you did not treat me as holy in the midst of the people of Israel.

Deuteronomy 32 .51.

Moses' sin wasn't striking the rock when he was told to speak to it. His sin was losing faith in God's ability to use the Israelites for anything positive. This is why God could say that Moses didn't trust him.

And it's also why Moses could say that God was angry with him on account of the people. God expects and requires his people to trust him. Trust is easy when everything is going well. Our faith matters most when things are going wrong, and we don't understand why.

During these bad times, will we trust in God or not? Moses' trust in God temporarily faltered, and it cost him the promised land.

And the word eternity, readyforeternity .com. We would like to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment on the Ready for Eternity Facebook page or reach out on Twitter. That's all for now. Keep studying your Bible, growing closer to God, and getting ready for eternity.

See you next time.