Sunday evenings our high school students are reading through the Old Testament. This Sunday we’ll finish the book of Numbers.
A well-known incident is when Moses acts in disobedience and strikes the rock (Num. 20:10-13).
We can learn a few important things here. I learned these from Irwin Lutzer at a seminar at Moody’s Pastor’s Conference in Chicago in 2016.
First, disobedience is an assault on the holiness of God.
God said Moses disobeyed and did not regard God as holy.
We should never overemphasize grace to the point of neglecting God’s hatred of sin. Grace is sweet only when sin is bitter.
Second, past obedience is not an excuse for present disobedience.
Moses was obedient in the past, but that is no excuse for what he does now.
Read Psalm 90 to see how Moses felt about not getting in the Promised Land. Many have failed at the finish line.
Third, a leader is always tempted to take credit for what God does through him (“shall we bring water for you out of this rock”).
Unless we deeply repent of this desire to take credit, God will not use us.
Along the same lines, a leader should not make himself look better than he really is.
A pastor should not take every opportunity to promote himself in the pulpit. Instead, he ought to give credit where credit is due.
One of the most helpful prayers is this: “Glorify yourself today in my life at my expense.”
Fourth, success itself is not proof that God is pleased.
In the text, the water flowed and the people get to drink and are happy. Things looked good and now they liked Moses and wanted to keep him as their leader.
They couldn’t have cared less that Moses disobeyed in order to bring them water. Their kids were drinking water now! Whatever Moses did was great!
What are we doing in our church that is successful, but might not be pleasing to God?