But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust Me to show My holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them." But the LORD said to Moses and AaronThis phrase introduces a direct communication from God, emphasizing the gravity and authority of the message. The Hebrew name for God here is "Yahweh," which signifies the covenantal relationship between God and Israel. This divine address underscores the seriousness of the situation, as it is not merely a human judgment but a divine decree. Historically, Moses and Aaron were the leaders chosen by God to guide the Israelites, and this direct communication highlights their accountability to God. Because you did not trust in Me
The Hebrew root for "trust" is "aman," which conveys a sense of firmness, faithfulness, and reliability. This phrase indicates a failure in faith, a critical aspect of the relationship between God and His chosen leaders. Trust in God was foundational for the Israelites, especially in their journey through the wilderness. The lack of trust here is not just a personal failing but a public one, as it impacts the entire community's perception of God's power and faithfulness. to show My holiness
The concept of "holiness" in Hebrew is "qadosh," meaning set apart or sacred. God's holiness is a central theme throughout the Bible, representing His purity, otherness, and moral perfection. By not demonstrating God's holiness, Moses and Aaron failed to uphold God's distinctiveness and supreme authority before the people. This failure to sanctify God in the eyes of the Israelites was a significant breach of their leadership responsibilities. in the sight of the Israelites
This phrase highlights the public nature of Moses and Aaron's actions. The Israelites were witnesses to their leaders' behavior, and thus, the leaders' actions had communal implications. The visibility of their actions meant that their failure to trust and honor God was not a private matter but one that affected the entire community's understanding and reverence for God. you will not bring this assembly into the land
The consequence of their actions is severe: Moses and Aaron are denied the privilege of leading the Israelites into the Promised Land. This punishment reflects the principle that leadership comes with great responsibility and accountability. The "assembly" refers to the congregation of Israel, God's chosen people, who were on a divinely ordained journey to the land promised to their ancestors. I have given them
This phrase emphasizes God's sovereignty and the certainty of His promises. The land is described as a gift from God, highlighting His grace and faithfulness. Despite the leaders' failure, God's promise to the Israelites remains intact, underscoring His unwavering commitment to His covenant. This assurance of God's promise serves as a reminder of His ultimate authority and the fulfillment of His divine plan, regardless of human shortcomings. Persons / Places / Events 1. MosesThe leader of the Israelites, chosen by God to lead His people out of Egypt and through the wilderness. In this passage, Moses is reprimanded for his lack of trust and failure to uphold God's holiness. 2. AaronMoses' brother and the high priest of Israel. He shares in the responsibility and consequence of the actions taken at Meribah. 3. The LORD (Yahweh)The covenant God of Israel, who is holy and demands faith and obedience from His people. 4. The IsraelitesThe chosen people of God, who are journeying from Egypt to the Promised Land. They witness the events at Meribah and the consequences of Moses and Aaron's actions. 5. MeribahThe place where the Israelites quarreled with Moses due to a lack of water, leading to the incident where Moses struck the rock instead of speaking to it as God commanded. Teaching Points The Importance of Trusting GodMoses and Aaron's failure to trust God fully resulted in severe consequences. Trust in God is foundational to our relationship with Him. God's Holiness Must Be UpheldThe incident at Meribah underscores the importance of honoring God's holiness. Our actions should reflect His character and commands. Consequences of DisobedienceEven leaders like Moses and Aaron faced consequences for their disobedience. This serves as a reminder that no one is above God's law. Leadership AccountabilityLeaders are held to a high standard and must lead by example. Their actions can have significant impacts on those they lead. Faith in ActionTrue faith is demonstrated through obedience. We must act in accordance with God's instructions, even when circumstances are challenging. Bible Study Questions 1. What does the incident at Meribah teach us about the nature of faith and obedience in our daily lives? 2. How can we ensure that we are upholding God's holiness in our actions and decisions? 3. In what ways can leaders today learn from Moses and Aaron's experience at Meribah? 4. How do the consequences faced by Moses and Aaron highlight the seriousness of disobedience to God's commands? 5. Reflect on a time when you struggled to trust God fully. How can the lessons from Numbers 20:12 guide you in future situations? Connections to Other Scriptures Exodus 17:1-7This earlier incident at Rephidim, where Moses also struck a rock to bring forth water, provides context for understanding the significance of Moses' actions at Meribah. Deuteronomy 32:51-52These verses reiterate the consequence of Moses and Aaron's actions, emphasizing the importance of obedience to God's commands. Psalm 106:32-33This passage reflects on the incident at Meribah, highlighting the impact of Moses' actions on the people and his own fate. Hebrews 3:12-19This New Testament passage warns against unbelief and disobedience, using the Israelites' wilderness experience as a cautionary example. People Aaron, Egyptians, Eleazar, Israelites, Miriam, MosesPlaces Edom, Egypt, Kadesh-barnea, King's Highway, Meribah, Mount Hor, ZinTopics Aaron, Assembly, Believe, Believed, Bring, Community, Congregation, Didn't, Faith, Hallow, Holy, Honor, Israelites, Sanctify, Sight, Sons, Spake, Spoke, Treat, TrustDictionary of Bible Themes Numbers 20:12 5102 Moses, life of
5878 honour
7258 promised land, early history
8032 trust, lack of
8224 dependence
8741 failure
9210 judgment, God's Numbers 20:1-13 5924 quarrelsomeness Numbers 20:2-12 5714 men Numbers 20:7-12 5072 Aaron, spokesman Numbers 20:7-13 4512 staff Numbers 20:8-12 5925 rashness Numbers 20:10-12 8718 disobedience Numbers 20:10-13 4354 rock Numbers 20:11-12 8723 doubt, results of Library August 17. "Speak Ye unto the Rock" (Num. xx. 8).
"Speak ye unto the Rock" (Num. xx. 8). The Holy Ghost is very sensitive, as love always is. You can conquer a wild beast by blows and chains, but you cannot conquer a woman's heart that way, or win the love of a sensitive nature; that must be wooed by the delicate touches of trust and affection. So the Holy Ghost has to be taken by a faith as delicate and sensitive as the gentle heart with whom it is coming in touch. One thought of unbelief, one expression of impatient distrust or fear, will instantly …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth The Waters of Meribah
'Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there. 2. And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. 3. And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the Lord! 4. And why have ye brought up the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Kadesh. Rekam, and that Double. Inquiry is Made, Whether the Doubling it in the Maps is Well Done.
The readers of the eastern interpreters will observe, that Kadesh is rendered by all Rekam, or in a sound very near it. In the Chaldee, it is 'Rekam': in the Syriac, 'Rekem': in the Arabic, 'Rakim'... There are two places noted by the name Rekam in the very bounds of the land,--to wit, the southern and eastern: that is, a double Kadesh. I. Of Kadesh, or Rekam, in the south part, there is no doubt. II. Of it, in the eastern part, there is this mention: "From Rekam to the east, and Rekam is as the …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica The Baptist's Inquiry and Jesus' Discourse Suggested Thereby.
(Galilee.) ^A Matt. XI. 2-30; ^C Luke VII. 18-35. ^c 18 And the disciples of John told him of all these things. ^a 2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent by his disciples ^c 19 And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them unto the Lord [John had been cast into prison about December, a.d. 27, and it was now after the Passover, possibly in May or June, a.d. 28. Herod Antipas had cast John into prison because John had reproved him for taking his brother's wife. …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Epistle xxviii. To Augustine, Bishop of the Angli .
To Augustine, Bishop of the Angli [136] . Gregory to Augustine, &c. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will (Luke ii. 14); because a grain of wheat, falling into the earth, has died, that it might not reign in heaven alone; even He by whose death we live, by whose weakness we are made strong, by whose suffering we are rescued from suffering, through whose love we seek in Britain for brethren whom we knew not, by whose gift we find those whom without knowing them we sought. …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great Travelling in Palestine --Roads, Inns, Hospitality, Custom-House Officers, Taxation, Publicans
It was the very busiest road in Palestine, on which the publican Levi Matthew sat at the receipt of "custom," when our Lord called him to the fellowship of the Gospel, and he then made that great feast to which he invited his fellow-publicans, that they also might see and hear Him in Whom he had found life and peace (Luke 5:29). For, it was the only truly international road of all those which passed through Palestine; indeed, it formed one of the great highways of the world's commerce. At the time …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life Peræa to Bethany. Raising of Lazarus.
^D John XI. 1-46. ^d 1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. [For Bethany and the sisters, see p. 478.] 2 And it was that Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair [John xii. 3 ], whose brother Lazarus was sick. [The anointing had not yet taken place, as John himself shows. For a similar anticipation see Matt. x. 4. There are five prominent Marys in the New Testament: those of Nazareth, Magdala and Bethany; the …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel The Hebrews and the Philistines --Damascus
THE ISRAELITES IN THE LAND OF CANAAN: THE JUDGES--THE PHILISTINES AND THE HEBREW KINGDOM--SAUL, DAVID, SOLOMON, THE DEFECTION OF THE TEN TRIBES--THE XXIst EGYPTIAN DYNASTY--SHESHONQ OR SHISHAK DAMASCUS. The Hebrews in the desert: their families, clans, and tribes--The Amorites and the Hebrews on the left bank of the Jordan--The conquest of Canaan and the native reaction against the Hebrews--The judges, Ehud, Deborah, Jerubbaal or Gideon and the Manassite supremacy; Abimelech, Jephihdh. The Philistines, …
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 6 Backsliding.
"I will heal their backsliding; I will love them freely: for Mine anger is turned away."--Hosea xiv. 4. There are two kinds of backsliders. Some have never been converted: they have gone through the form of joining a Christian community and claim to be backsliders; but they never have, if I may use the expression, "slid forward." They may talk of backsliding; but they have never really been born again. They need to be treated differently from real back-sliders--those who have been born of the incorruptible …
Dwight L. Moody—The Way to God and How to Find It Numbers
Like the last part of Exodus, and the whole of Leviticus, the first part of Numbers, i.-x. 28--so called,[1] rather inappropriately, from the census in i., iii., (iv.), xxvi.--is unmistakably priestly in its interests and language. Beginning with a census of the men of war (i.) and the order of the camp (ii.), it devotes specific attention to the Levites, their numbers and duties (iii., iv.). Then follow laws for the exclusion of the unclean, v. 1-4, for determining the manner and amount of restitution …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Numbers 20:12 NIVNumbers 20:12 NLTNumbers 20:12 ESVNumbers 20:12 NASBNumbers 20:12 KJV
Numbers 20:12 Commentaries
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