Welcome and thank you again for taking a bible break to test your
knowledge of God's word. This week's question:

Moses, born in Egypt, raised and named by Pharaoh's daughter, flees Egypt for his life after trying to help his own people at age 40. He is then called from Midian at age 80 to lead his people out of Egypt to the promised land of milk and honey, Caanan! But because of the peoples not believing they can take the promised land, they are made by God to wander in the wilderness for 40 years.

To Numbers chapter 20 we go to find the Israelites short of water and wandering once again why they even left Egypt to be in the wilderness with no grain, no figs, no pomegranates, and no water. Both Moses and his brother, Aaron, fall on their faces before the Lord and the Lord tells Moses to speak to the rock and the water would pour forth.

Numbers 20:8-12 "Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the

congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield water. You shall

thus bring forth water out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink."

So Moses took the rod from before the Lord, just as He had commanded him; and Moses

and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. And he said to them, "Listen now

you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?" Then Moses lifted up his

hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly, and the

congregation and their beasts drank. But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you

have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you

shall not bring this assembly into the promised land which I have given them."

But Moses, when he stood before the people said "Listen now you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?" He then strikes the rock twice with his rod.

But God was not well pleased with Moses as he did not believe Him, that all he had to do was speak to the rock to have the water pour forth, and then to put himself on an equality with God by saying,"shall we bring forth water", and not giving the glory to God who brings forth the miracle. There is a consequence to this action. The Lord tells them: "you shall not bring the assembly into the promised land which I have given them."

Psalms 106:32-33 They also provoked Him to wrath at the waters of Meribah, so that it

went hard for Moses on their account; because they were rebellious against His Spirit, he

spoke rashly with his lips.

And at the border of Mount Hor, at the border of the land of Edom, Aaron is stripped of his garments in the sight of the congregation and they are put on his son, Eleazar. Then on the mountain top, Aaron is gathered up to his people, and they wept for Aaron for thirty days.

And so too, Moses at age 120, with a sharp eye and a sharp mind and body, is allowed to look into the promised land from the top of Mount Pisgah, and so too, is gathered up to his people, and no one would know of his burial place (Numbers 34:4-8). And they mourned for Moses for thirty days.

So there you have the answer to our question, Moses sinned by not believing God and speaking to the rock-and by not giving the glory of the miracle to God.

Let us recognize the consequences of our actions on earth this day. To believe in Him and follow His way, for in Jude 9 Michael the archangel disputed and argued over the body of Moses. Moses, so righteous a man, and yet there is Satan at death's door, wanting his soul. Are we thinking about who awaits us beyond this door? Think about it!