Numbers
20 – Back at Kadesh
The
Israelites had been in Kadesh almost thirty-eight years before and now they are
back again, going nowhere. Once again, there is no water for the
congregation. They are complaining,
whining, and murmuring. This is the 7th
time they complained. When they arrived
here, Miriam had died and was buried. Nothing else was mentioned here about her
funeral or anything else.
We
all need to recognize that we are not here permanently. All of us are just pilgrims passing through
this world; we won’t be in any one place for long. So, we shouldn’t spend so much time
complaining.
When
the Israelites complained, the glory of the Lord appeared. God was not pleased
with their complaining. If we are whining and complaining saints, we are not
pleasing to God. God tells them to “take Aaron’s rod, Gather the assembly and
speak to the rock.” Now Moses is complaining. He has been with them all of
forty years in the wilderness and he is getting tired of them. Moses becomes
angry and does something he should not have done. He should not have smitten
the rock. It had already been smitten the first time they came through Kadesh.
The rock is a type of Christ. Christ
suffered once for our sins, never the second time. God told him to speak to the
rock, that is all he needed to do. The
water came out abundantly. The error of
Moses did not keep the water from coming out.
God shows his graciousness in this. Moses and Aaron took the credit upon
themselves for this miracle.
We
are to believe God and yield to Him in all things. We come now to the death of
Aaron. Aaron knew forty years of rugged
experience in the wilderness, but he never knew what it was to sit down and
enjoy the fruits of the Promised land.
He did not know what it was to drink the milk and eat the honey in the
land. Many of us rob ourselves of that because of our unbelief. The Israelites
mourned for thirty days. Eleazar became priest. Israel has finished the
wilderness journey and now gets ready to enter the promised land. God has a
‘promised land” into which He wants to bring us today. Christ is the one who can bring us there
right now.
Please read the chapter listed so that you can
understand God’s Word better.
If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God
Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.
J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick
Reference Commentary.
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