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And the people stayed in Kadesh, 
and Miriam died there and was buried there. Now there was no 
water for the congregation, so they gathered together against 
Moses and Aaron. And the people contended with 
Moses and spoke, saying, If only we had died when our brethren 
died before the Lord! Why have you brought up the assembly 
of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our animals should 
die here? And why have you made us come 
up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is not a 
place of grain, or figs, or vines, or pomegranates, nor is there 
any water to drink.' So Moses and Aaron went from the presence 
of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and 
they fell on their faces, and the glory of the Lord appeared 
to them. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Take the rod, 
you and your brother Aaron, gather the congregation together. Speak 
to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water. 
Thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give 
drink to the congregation and their animals. So Moses took 
the rod from before the Lord as he commanded him. And Moses 
and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock. And 
he said to them, Here now, you rebels, must we bring water for 
you out of this rock? And Moses lifted his hand and 
struck the rock twice with his rod. And water came out abundantly, 
and the congregation and their animals drank. Then the Lord 
spoke to Moses and Aaron, Because you did not believe Me, to hallow 
Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall 
not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them. 
This was the water of Meribah, because the children of Israel 
contended with the Lord, and He was hallowed among them. Now 
Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Eden. Thus says 
your brother Israel, you know all the hardship that has befallen 
us, how our fathers went down to Egypt, and we dwelt in Egypt 
a long time, and the Egyptians afflicted us and our fathers. 
When we cried out to the Lord, He heard our voice and sent the 
angel and brought us up out of Egypt. Now here we are in Kadesh, 
a city on the edge of your border. Please let us pass through your 
country. We will not pass through fields 
or vineyards, nor will we drink water from wells. We will go 
along the king's highway. We will not turn aside to the 
right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory. 
Then Edom said to him, you shall not pass through my land, lest 
I come out against you with the sword. So the children of Israel 
said to him, We will go by the highway, and if I or my livestock 
drink any of your water, then I will pay for it. Let me only 
pass through on foot, nothing more. Then he said, You shall 
not pass through. So Edom came out against them 
with many men and with a strong hand. Thus Edom refused to give 
Israel passage through his territory. So Israel turned away from him. 
Now the children of Israel, the whole congregation, journeyed 
from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor. And the Lord spoke to Moses 
and Aaron in Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying, 
Aaron shall be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter 
the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because 
you rebelled against My word at the water of Meribah. "'Take 
Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up to Mount Hor, and 
strip Aaron of his garments, and put them on Eleazar his son. 
For Aaron shall be gathered to his people and die there.' So 
Moses did just as the Lord commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor 
in the sight of all the congregation. Moses stripped Aaron of his garments 
and put them on Eliezer his son, and Aaron died there on the top 
of the mountain. Then Moses and Eliezer came down 
from the mountain. Now when all the congregation 
saw that Aaron was dead, all the house of Israel mourned for 
Aaron thirty days. Amen. Well, essentially what 
we have is a movement in terms of their location. So basically 
it's a new section in terms of that movement, and they've been 
in and around K-Barnea according to chapter 13 verse 1 all the 
way to chapter 19 and verse 22. Now they depart from K-Barnea 
and route to the plains of Moab where they'll arrive in chapter 
22 verse 1. And I would as well say that 
there's about a 38-year period between what we find in chapters 
16 and 17 and chapter 20. Moses, along the way, doesn't 
record every stop. He doesn't record every place. 
He doesn't record every detail. But when you look at the itinerary 
in Numbers 33, specifically in Numbers 33, 36 to 39, it indicates 
about a 38-year period because Aaron died 40 years after 
they had come out of Egypt. So there's a long span between 
the events recorded in chapters 11 and following up to this particular 
point. But I think what it shows us, 
or first of all, what it indicates, is that we're to read chapter 
20, even though it's 38 years later, with the remembrance of 
the previous chapters in terms of God's judgment, specifically 
against Korah, and against Dathan and Abiram, and even preceding 
that, when they listened to the antiprophets in terms of their 
false report concerning the land, and they wanted to stone Moses 
and Aaron. We're supposed to recall that, 
and as well, we're supposed to see that pretty much the first 
generation has all but died off. God had promised that the first 
generation would die off. He's including here in chapter 
20 even the leadership. The chapter begins with the death 
of Miriam. It ends with the death of Aaron. It tells of the death 
of Moses in verse 12. And we see Moses die in Deuteronomy 
34 prior to the entrance into the promised land. So what God 
said in terms of that first generation not entering into the promised 
land not only included the people, but it included the leadership 
as well. But I think that one of the emphases that we see, 
especially here in chapters 20 and 21, is that the same sorts 
of sins that were present in the first generation are the 
same sorts of sins that are present in the second generation. You 
can kill the first generation, but the sin remains on. In fact, 
if you read, or as we look through chapter 20 tonight, we will see 
many of the same sorts of things that we have seen in the previous 
section that does call out for God's judgment and God's wrath 
upon them. So the same sort of whining, 
the same sort of complaining, the same sort of murmuring, the 
same sort of challenges against Moses' leadership, and as well, 
this remaining desire to return to Egypt. It's almost as if they 
cannot shake that particular sin, that idol in their heart, 
where they'd rather be slaves in Egypt if it meant a few good 
meals during the day and a place to sleep at night. They would 
rather be slaves with benefits accorded to them than free men 
on their way to a promised land that flows with milk and honey. 
So though the first generation is passing away almost completely, 
nevertheless the sins of the first generation continue on 
in the second generation. So basically there are three 
sections in chapter 20. First, the water at Meribah. 
in verses 1 to 13. Secondly, the resistance of Edom 
in verses 14 to 21. And then finally, the death of 
Aaron in verses 22 to 29. So let's look first at the water 
at Meribah. Certainly this is similar to 
what you find in Exodus chapter 17. In verses 1 to 7, there was 
a similar instance there. Some have suggested that the 
editor in Numbers just duplicated that. There are differences, 
to be sure. In the Exodus passage, Moses 
was commanded to strike the rock. In the passage before us, he's 
commanded to speak to the rock. He's not supposed to strike it. 
So there are differences, and certainly it wouldn't be out 
of line for the people of God, wandering through wilderness 
settings, to have a desire for water on more than one occasion. 
So very similar with Exodus 17, verses one to seven. But note 
the chapter begins with the death of Miriam. So verse one says, 
the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the wilderness 
of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh. 
Now there's probably two Kadeshes. Kedashoy, maybe is the plural 
form of that. There's a Kedash that is associated 
with the wilderness of Perun in chapter 13, verse 26. And 
here, Kedash is associated with the wilderness of Zen. So it's 
a bit difficult to know precisely. I mean, there's maps, and there's 
atlases, and all that sort of a thing. But some of it is a 
bit speculative. So again, doing the best that 
we can tonight. So there they are. The people 
stayed in Kadesh and Miriam died there and was buried there. So 
Miriam again is the passing away of the leadership of that first 
generation. There's an obvious connection 
to the death of Aaron that ends this chapter in verses 22 to 
29. So the death of the first generation was promised by God. You can turn back to Numbers 
chapter 14. This is after the spies spy out 
the land. The people listen to the 10 antiprophets. They are deflated. They want 
to stone Moses and Aaron. Moses intercedes on behalf of 
the children of Israel. God promises not to immediately 
destroy them, but God does give them a foreshadowing of what's 
going to take place. If you notice in 1430, except 
for Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, verse 29, the carcasses of you 
who have complained against me shall fall in this wilderness. 
All of you who are numbered according to your entire number, from 20 
years old and above, except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and 
Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which 
I swore I would make you dwell in. But your little ones, whom 
you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall know 
the land which you have despised." So those little ones are now 
older ones, and they're the ones that we're dealing with in chapter 
20. Verse 32, But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in 
this wilderness, and your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness 
forty years, and bear the brunt of your infidelity until your 
carcasses are consumed in the wilderness. According to the 
number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, 
for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty 
years, and you shall know my rejection. I, the Lord, have 
spoken this. I will surely do so to all this 
evil congregation who are gathered together against me. In this 
wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die." So 
God always relates the rebellion of the people, not in the first 
place as a rebellion against the leadership of Moses, in the 
priesthood of Aaron, it is certainly that, and it is expressed by 
the people in those particular terms, but to rebel against God's 
ordained leaders is to ultimately rebel against God himself. And 
it is intriguing as we move through chapter 20, as we move through 
the chapters previous to this, the utter disregard for God's 
providence. God's providence tells us, or 
the doctrine of providence is that God governs all his creatures 
and all their actions according to his holy, wise, and purposeful 
plan. So when you hear these people 
grumble, and when you hear these people murmur, and when you hear 
these people whine, and when you hear these people contend 
with Moses and Aaron, they're basically crying out as victims. 
They're victims of their own circumstances. They're not subjects 
of God's providence. That is a recurring theme in 
the section that we're dealing with, a recurring theme as you 
move through the Old Testament, and certainly a recurring theme 
in the hearts of God's people. We need to resist that temptation 
to look around at the afflictions of the hardships and the difficulties 
and cry out, oh woe is me. No, God is sovereign in everything 
that befalls us. God is orchestrating everything 
for our good. You know, we cite and recite 
Romans 8, verse 28, where we know that God causes all things 
to work for good to those who love God, to those who are the 
called according to His purpose. But as soon as something bad 
happens, we immediately forget that verse and wonder, what's 
happening? How come all these bad things 
have come upon such a nice guy like me? Well, God causes all 
things to work together for good. I think the all things, or the 
emphasis on the all things there, are the bad things. We don't 
need to be told that God causes good things to work for our good. 
We don't need to be told that God causes job promotions, or 
an increase in pay, or family unity and stability. We don't 
need to be told that those things work for our good because we 
experience the good. Paul's point in Romans 8 is to 
tell us that the bad things are overruled by God for His own 
glory. We have several illustrations 
of that in scripture. Remember the case of Joseph in 
Genesis chapter 50, verse 20. He says, you meant this for evil, 
but God overruled it for good. Acts 2, we looked at on Sunday 
morning. How does Peter describe the crucifixion 
of the Lord Jesus Christ? It was just sort of a haphazard 
event. It was just unlucky. It was a stroke of fate that 
we never saw coming. No, it happened according to 
the predetermined plan of God. So the very worst things that 
have happened in history to the very godliest of men have nevertheless 
been overruled by God to bring out good from it. And I realize 
as one speaking these things that struggles with these things, 
that it's not always easy to look into the midst of affliction 
and hardship and difficulty and say, oh yeah, God's working this 
out for my good. Sometimes you don't realize it 
till years later. Sometimes you don't realize it 
probably till decades later. Sometimes you may never fully 
realize it at all. I remember many years ago, we 
had a speaker here. It was a fellow that was in charge 
of Voice of the Martyrs. He has since died. He gave a 
presentation here, and he gave a good illustration. We look 
at one puzzle piece. If you look at one puzzle piece, 
you don't see what the puzzle's all about. You've only got the 
one puzzle piece, and that's the way that we interpret Providence. 
We see that one puzzle piece, and it's trial, hardship, and 
affliction, so of course, We're the victim of circumstance. Well, 
of course, God has the whole puzzle. God sees the whole thing. 
God has orchestrated all things for his glory and for our good. 
Difficult lesson to be sure, one that is hard experientially 
to internalize, but one that nevertheless is taught in scripture. And so what we have here is the 
second generation duplicating the sins of the first. Notice 
then the complaint of the people in verses two to five. The target 
of their complaint is Moses and Aaron. Not surprising based on 
chapters 11, 12, 14, and 16. We have seen that over 
the last several Wednesday nights as we've gathered together. They 
come to Moses, they come to Aaron, and they reject their leadership. 
They blame Moses and Aaron for everything. All the bad things, 
all the afflictions, again, we're victims of bad leadership. We're 
victims of a murderous Moses. We're victims of all these things 
that you have brought us out here to do to us. That's not 
the way to interpret this, guys. You're supposed to take stock 
that you're the children of the living and true God. Notice back 
in chapter 16, after the deaths of Korah and Dathan and Abiram 
and company. And the way that God wiped them 
out was pretty epic, through fire coming down upon them, and 
then from opening the ground underneath them. Why did God 
do that? Because they challenged the leadership 
of Moses and Aaron. Notice in 16.3. Korah wanted 
to be a priest. Korah wasn't happy being a Kohathite. Korah wanted more than just to 
simply carry the articles associated with the tabernacle. He wanted 
to enter into the holy place and he wanted to offer up sacrifice. 
So notice in 16.3, they gathered together against Moses and Aaron 
and said to them, You take too much upon yourselves, for all 
the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is 
among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly 
of the Lord? Moses understands that the specific reference is 
against Aaron. Notice in verse 11, Therefore 
you and all your company are gathered together against the 
Lord, and what is Aaron that you complain against him? Complaint 
was, we want, or at least Korah wanted, to serve as a priest. And as far as he was concerned, 
Aaron was an obstacle to that service. But it wasn't just Aaron 
in terms of Korah and his rebellion. You had Dathan and Debirah, and 
they seemed to have a specific ax to grind against Moses himself. 
Notice in verse 13 or verse 12, and Moses sent to call Dathan 
and Abiram the sons of Eliab, but they said, we will not come 
up. Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of 
a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness 
that you should keep acting like a prince over us? So again, Moses 
and Aaron are the targets of their complaints after the fiery 
death, after the earth swallowed them up. Notice in chapter 16 
at verse 41, on the next day all the congregation of the children 
of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron. You think they 
would have learned their lesson. You think they would have taken 
stock. You think they might have thought, well, you know what? 
This didn't work out too well for Korah and his challenge against 
Aaron. It certainly didn't work out 
too well for Dathan and Abiram and their challenge against Moses. 
Perhaps we should shut our mouths, zip our lips, and not complain 
against Moses and Aaron. But no, they don't do that. They 
continue to murmur. And the same is true with this 
second generation. Notice in verse 2, chapter 20. 
Now, there was no water for the congregation, so they gathered 
together against Moses and Aaron. They are victims of circumstance, 
not subjects of providence. And their particular desire isn't 
bad. Not at all. If you don't have 
water for you and your animals, you're going to die. Their assessment 
in terms of the dire straits they're in is absolutely positively 
accurate. If you don't have water, you're 
not going to continue on. You're not going to make it to 
the promised land without water. But as well, there's at least 
a hint of a lack of faith that we see here and that we see in 
verse 3. So God had promised to give them 
the land. God had promised to bring them 
to the land. Certainly the God who promised 
to give them the land and bring them to the land is going to 
make sure they have water and route to the land. So the very 
thought or the very idea that they didn't presently have water 
and their first recourse is not to pray, not to seek the Most 
High, not to beseech the living and true God, but rather it is 
to gather together against Moses and Aaron indicates that their 
hearts are not right. Now note the nature of their 
complaint specifically. First, they wish for a speedy 
death. No, brethren, I don't blame them here. I think I'd 
rather get consumed by fire in an instant or have the earth 
swallow me up. As long as that meant death immediately, 
the idea of being stuck in the earth being alive doesn't particularly 
thrill me. I saw a picture of a guy that 
got stuck in a cave and he was basically head down this way 
and he couldn't move and he died like that. would not be my forte. But I understand their statement 
here in verse three. The people contended with Moses 
and spoke, saying, if only we had died when our brethren died 
before the Lord. Again, the wish for a speedy 
death. In light of what befell Korah, 
Dathan, and Abiram, the immediacy of death versus the death by 
dehydration, three days, organ failure, confusion, all sorts 
of horrible things. Robert Alter says, instantaneous 
deaths that now seem preferable to slow death by thirst. But again, the underscored message 
is that they lack faith. If only we had died when our 
brethren died before the Lord, their immediate conclusion in 
the absence of water presently is that they'll always be an 
absence of water because the God who promised the land the 
God who promised to get us to the land is a God who can't deliver 
in terms of water to keep us for that land notice as well 
they assume Moses responsibility for their scenario verse 4 why 
have you brought up the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness 
that we and our animals should die here Now brethren, if you 
search back through the Pentateuch, you'll find out quickly, this 
whole venture wasn't Moses' idea. Moses didn't just come across 
this thought, you know what, I'm going to be a religious political 
reformer, I'm going to march right into Pharaoh's office, 
and I'm going to demand that he let my people go. And I'm 
going to get those people, and I'm going to lead them to this 
land of promise. And I'm going to make a tabernacle, 
I'm going to... None of it was Moses' idea. But 
again, instead of thinking in terms of God and providence and 
the hardships and the afflictions that are often associated with 
that providence, that's the reality, they immediately turn on Moses 
and assume his responsibility for their particular problem. 
Notice as well their assertion that Moses is a killer. Why have 
you brought up the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness 
that we and our animals should die here? Same thing they do 
back in chapter 16. I didn't read that verse, I'll 
continue on. I know, verse 41, you have killed 
the people of the Lord. As we saw there, it wasn't Moses 
that opened heaven and poured out fire upon Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. It 
wasn't Moses that calculated the opening up of the earth so 
that it would swallow these rebel sinners against the majesty of 
God. It wasn't Moses that was killing these rebels. It was 
God that was killing these rebels. So they assert that Moses is 
a killer. Moses, you know, must have had 
a pretty thick skin to deal with what he had to deal with in terms 
of the various things that people said about him all along the 
way. It really does underscore why 
he prays the way he does in Numbers chapter 11. Numbers chapter 11. Remember when we saw that? You 
can turn there. Verse 10. Gives us a bit of a 
window into the heart of a man of God. And remember in Numbers 
11, this is how the fun begins. They're yearning for meat. They're craving meat. And it 
wasn't because they were starving. It wasn't because they were far 
into their journey. It wasn't because they didn't 
have food. They had plenty of food. They 
just didn't want the food that God had given them. They wanted 
the food that the Egyptians had given them. And they say as much 
in verse 5. We remember the fish which we 
ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, 
and the garlic. But now our whole being is dried 
up. There is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes. Well, 
just because you don't like the food doesn't mean you have the 
right to complain to the giver of the food. And it doesn't mean 
you have the right to have a longing to go back to where you preferred 
the food. That was slavery. That was bondage. I love that. in a sort of ironic 
way in verse 5, we ate freely. Yeah, with a gun to your head, 
with a whip to your back. You were forced laborers. You 
were slaves. It's amazing how quickly they 
forgot. Now, verses 7 to 9 isn't a menu. It is rather a description of 
the multitude of uses with manna. In other words, it exacerbates 
their sin, grumbling and whining and complaining about the lack 
of food. No, you can do a lot with manna. 
You can do all kinds of things with manna. Just because you 
don't like it doesn't give you leave to rebel against God. Note Moses' prayer in verse 10. 
Then Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, everyone 
at the door of his tent, and the anger of the Lord was greatly 
aroused. Moses also was displeased. So Moses said to the Lord, Why 
have you afflicted your servant? Why have I not found favor in 
your sight that you have laid the burden of all these people 
on me? Did I conceive all these people? Did I beget them that 
you should say to me? Carry them in your bosom as a 
guardian carries a nursing child to the land which you swore to 
their fathers. Where am I to get meat to give to all these 
people? For they weep all over me, saying, Give us meat that 
we may eat. I am not able to bear all these people alone, 
because the burden is too heavy for me. If you treat me like 
this, please kill me here and now, if I have found favor in 
your sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness. God, if 
I have found favor in your sight, deliver me from this by death. 
Now we read that and we say, wow, that's getting a bit too 
close for comfort in terms of prayer. You can't be that real 
at the throne of grace, can you be, Moses? Notice God answers 
his prayer. God answers his prayer, verse 
16 and following, find 70 men. You said you can't do it alone? 
I'm going to give you a Sanhedrin. I'm going to give you a committee. 
I'm going to give you a large group of guys that are going 
to assist you in these particular situations. So God answers what 
appears to be a prayer that perhaps crosses a line in terms of openness 
and candidness. I think we get glimpses into 
the heart of Moses along the way. We get reminders like we 
get in 12.3. Now the man Moses was very humble. 
more than all men who were on the face of the earth. Most likely, 
Moses didn't write that because it would be sort of self-contradictory. The most humble man in the world 
doesn't write that he's the most humble man in the world. There's 
no thing precluding an editor that would come along and put 
that under the inspiration of the Spirit. And I think we have 
to enter into what Moses is going through to some degree. He's 
been the one responsible for bringing them out here. He's 
the one that's murdering them in cold blood. Notice, they then 
go on in verse 5 to indicate, verse 5a, their desire to return 
to Egypt. And why have you made us come 
out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? What's implicit? We'd rather be in Egypt than 
in this evil place. We'd rather be slaves. We'd rather 
be forced laborers. As long as we get those leeks 
and those melons and those garlics, as long as we get that plenty 
of fish, we're okay with slavery. We don't want this venture. We 
don't want to be God's free people. We don't want to be God's free 
people in the land that he is giving us that flows with milk 
and honey. The desire to return to Egypt. But notice as well the language 
in verse 5a. And why have you made us come 
up out of Egypt? That's not what happened. It 
wasn't Moses that inflicted the Egyptians with the ten plagues, 
culminating in the tenth plague, which was the death of the firstborn. 
That was God. God is the one who delivered 
them from bondage. That's the preface to the Ten 
Commandments. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the 
house of Egypt, out of the bondage of Egypt. Now they're predicating 
that of Moses to blame Moses for bringing them out of that 
place of so-called safety where they always ate freely to this 
wilderness now that they can die. It was better for us there. Same complaint as in 11, 5 and 
in 14, 2 and 3. So you see the sins of the first 
generation are the sins of the second generation. We could argue 
that the second generation heard their parents arguing and complaining 
and whining and grumbling and simply ate them. Or we could 
argue the doctrine of sin. Sin is sin. Whether you're a 
first generation or second generation, we sin. We're prone to wander. We're prone to leave the God 
that we love. Notice as well their complaint about the present 
situation in 5b. They describe it as an evil place 
because it's not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates 
nor is there any water to drink. Now the promise was that the 
promised land would flow with milk and honey. The promise was 
not that the journey to the promised land would flow with milk and 
honey. You've got an objective. You've got a mission. You've 
got a target. You've got a terminus. You've 
got an endpoint where all the blessings of God are going to 
come. There's oftentimes a lot of trial and travail and difficulty 
and affliction on the way to those promises. And certainly, 
we can jump from the region of Kadesh Barnea into this new covenant 
era and see a parallel construction in terms of the Christian life. 
We're going to have all the blessings of heaven itself. We're going 
to gaze upon the Lord of Glory. But until that time, we may be 
absent a few things. We may not get the pomegranates 
that we're longing for. We may not get all the grain 
or the milk and the honey that we desire. So what do we do? 
Do we say, well, forget it and renege? Or do we say, by God's 
grace, I want to persevere, deal with the afflictions, in light 
of Romans 8, 28, he's working even these things out, for my 
eternal good, knowing that at the end of this age, I enter 
into the presence of the Lamb who was slain. And there I have 
eternal blessing and benefit in the presence of God, most 
high, forever and ever, world without end. So many things that 
you see in these wilderness wanderings parallel to a degree the nature 
of the Christian life. Providence is still in play for 
the people of God. God still abides by the promise 
of Romans 8.28 May it be the case that we pray to God to increase 
our faith to lay hold of those promises, understanding that 
we are in a place, a wilderness at times, where we don't have 
everything that we're going to have in heaven to come. The purpose 
is that we are conformed unto the image of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
and Jesus learned obedience through suffering, according to the book 
of Hebrews in chapter 5. So if God's purpose and plan 
there in that bit in Romans 8, 28 to 30 is that we're predestined 
to be conformed to the image of His Son, if the Son Himself, 
according to His humanity, learned obedience through suffering, 
then the adopted sons of God will probably have to go through 
some of that suffering and some of that affliction and some of 
that fig-less, pomegranate-less you know, life in this wilderness 
wandering that we have. Now note the response of the 
Lord. Moses and Aaron, after they hear this, do what they 
have done previously to this, in chapter 11, chapter 14, and 
chapter 16. Notice verse six. So Moses and 
Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of 
the tabernacle of meeting, and they fell on their faces. Now 
when they do that, they're not running from the congregation, 
they're running to God. They need divine aid. They are 
not the ones that are responsible for having delivered the children 
of Israel from bondage in Egypt. They're not the ones that are 
able to provide water for that many people and that much or 
those many animals. They're not the ones that have 
the resources to fulfill the demands and the contentions of 
what the people are demanding. And so they do what godly men 
do, they seek the face of the Lord. The leaders appointed by 
God humbly seek the help of God, and the leaders appointed by 
God receive the help from God. That's the emphasis in 6b, and 
the glory of the Lord appeared to them. God does not leave them 
on their own. God does not say, well, Moses, 
you've got quite a problem there. You know, I hope you can come 
up with a solution. I hope you can figure it out. 
No, God appears and God then gives instruction. We see the 
word of the Lord come to Moses and Aaron." Notice in verses 
7 and 8, the commands are simple. Take the rod, probably Moses' 
rod, not Aaron's rod. Aaron's rod that budded in chapter 
17. Most likely this was Moses' rod 
and not Aaron's. And then the command to speak 
to the rock. Remember in Exodus 17, he was supposed to strike 
the rock. Here he's supposed to speak to the rock. And then 
the command to give the water to the people and the animals 
in verses 7 to 8. So Moses complies with that according 
to verse 9. Now notice he rebukes the people. Now, I've sided with the people 
in their yearning for water. Of course they need water. It's 
a basic human need, right? We got to drink water. A lot 
of things we don't have to do, but we have to drink water. So 
you can enter in. You can enter in to, you know, 
why they're upset, why they're concerned. Again, it shows some 
faithlessness. It is directed at the wrong persons 
in terms of Moses and Aaron. But at a basic human level, you 
get it. I can kind of enter in with Moses here in his attitude. I'm not condoning it. I'm not 
suggesting this is the way that we talk to our two-year-olds 
when they want another drink in their sippy cup. Here now, 
you rebels. But notice how Moses responds 
according to verse 10. So God gives the remedy. God 
gives the way to deal with this. And so Moses rebukes the people. 
Verse 10, Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before 
the rock, and he said to them, hear now you rebels. Hear now 
you rebels. Makes perfect sense. They're 
contending with Moses and Aaron. They're upset with Moses and 
Aaron. They're blaming Moses and Aaron. I get it at a human 
level. God's going to reprove Moses. 
And it's a bit tough, as we move through this little section, 
to know what specifically Moses' crime was, or Moses' evil. Because God acknowledges that 
the children of Israel are rebels. Right? It's not that it's not 
objectively true. It's not that he made this up. It's not he's just name-calling 
for name-calling. They really are rebels. But then 
note what he goes on to say at the end of verse 10. Must we 
bring water for you out of this rock? It's kind of the same language 
that they used in verse 5. Why have you made us come out 
of Egypt? Well, Moses wasn't the author 
of the Exodus. Well, according to verse 10, 
Moses says, must we, Moses and Aaron, bring water for you out 
of this rock? That's probably part of the problem. Moses, this isn't up to you. This isn't your job. You're not 
sovereign. You're not omnipotent. You're 
not able, in and of yourself, to find a rock, speak to it, 
and have the certain expectation that water is going to flow out 
of it. So Moses has kind of shifted the narrative here in terms of 
responsibility. Again, I'm not trying to be mean 
to Moses, not trying to upset anybody here, but this is a bit 
where, you know, why does God not react, but speak the way 
that he does to Moses? So here now, you rebels, must 
we bring water for you out of this rock?" Then Moses lifted 
his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod. See, typically 
people think, and I'm not saying this is wrong, well, God said, 
speak to the rock, and he struck it twice. That's his act of rebellion, 
therefore. I think it's a bit more complicated 
than that. I think part of it is the presumptuousness 
of Moses. Must we bring water for you out 
of this rock? A similar convention to their 
statement in verse 5. Why have you made us come out 
of Egypt? And I get it, he's frustrated, 
he's angry, he's got, you know, probably fire in his eyes with 
having to deal with all of these people. But there's a subtlety 
there that does bespeak a lack of of remembrance in terms of 
who's God and who isn't. Then Moses lifted his hand and 
struck the rock twice with his rod, and water came out abundantly, 
and the congregation and their animals drank. Now, God's judgment 
is pronounced in verse 12, and the place is named in verse 13. Note what God says in verse 12, 
Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, Because you did not 
believe Me, So whatever happened, it was a lack of faith on the 
part of Moses and Aaron. Again, the specific references 
in the context. Some suggest it was the expression 
of anger, according to verse 10. Some suggest it was the striking 
of the rock instead of speaking to the rock in verse 8. And then the presumption involved. 
the Moses idea that he was going to bring water out of the rock. 
Whatever one it was, probably a combination of all three, the 
overarching concern was that it was a lack of faith in God. Not just on the part of the people 
who grumbled and complained and whined because they didn't get 
water, but on the part of Moses and Aaron as well. Because that's 
who God condemns here. And I don't mean condemned like 
to the everlasting fires of hell, but condemned in terms of, you're 
not going to enter into the promised land. Now for us, we read that 
and we think through that and we say, well, you know, he died 
and he went to heaven. Brethren, I gotta think that a man who 
was as invested as Moses was in this venture, who had as much 
skin in the game as he had, would have probably liked to sample 
that milk and honey for himself in that promised land. So let's 
not, you know, so eschatologicalize this reality. Moses got to go 
be with the Lord and that's great. Yeah, he did. But the nature 
of verse 12 indicates that this was chastisement from God upon 
Moses. Moses not being able to enter 
into the promised land, even though he's going on into heaven, 
the promised land typifies or points forward to heaven. Moses 
isn't going to lose out on that eternal reward, but this is seen 
as a negative. This is not a good thing for 
Moses. Now, we might think back to chapter 
11, well, Moses was ready to die back then. Yeah, you know 
what? Life changes. Sometimes you're asking God to 
take you out because you're in a bad mood, or you've had a bad 
day, or you've had a bad year. Next year, things are okay. You 
really don't want to die. So, you know, in terms of the 
frame of mind, we just have to understand that what God does 
here is a chastening of Moses. So he says, because you did not 
believe me to hallow me in the eyes of the children of Israel, 
therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which 
I have given them. That's why I suggest it's probably 
a combination of all three. His sharp reproof of the people, 
his presumption that it's he bringing the water out of the 
rock, and the fact that he strikes the rock instead of speaks to 
it. What is that evidence? A lack of faith in the living 
God, which if the leadership evidences a lack of faith in 
the living God, that does not shine the spotlight upon the 
living God. So God says, because you did 
not believe me, to hallow me in the eyes of the children of 
Israel. In other words, Moses, you had one job. All you had 
to do was stand in front of the rock and speak to it. You didn't 
have to reprove them of their rebellion. God's perfectly capable 
of doing that, even if it means fire from heaven and the earth 
opening up. You didn't have to presume that 
it was within your power to produce water from that rock. And you 
certainly didn't need to strike that rock in anger and frustration 
versus speaking. So in that episode that Moses 
engaged in, along with Aaron, Aaron's always side by side with 
him, it denigrated, or you can't touch God's essential glory. 
There's no taking away from God's glory. There's no addition to 
God's glory. but the demonstrated glory of 
God. The demonstrated glory of God hinged upon Moses doing exactly 
what he was told. Moses not doing exactly what 
he was told took away from that demonstrated glory of God. There, 
at the end of verse 12, is Moses chastening, therefore you shall 
not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them. 
So yes, he gets heaven, doesn't get Canaan. But I doubt he had 
no disappointment over that. I would imagine he did have disappointment. And then this place is called 
Meribah, because that means contention, because the children of Israel 
contended with the Lord, and he was howled among them. So 
many lessons, I think, there in this section of the wilderness 
wandering for the children of Israel, or the children of the 
New Covenant Israel, in our wilderness wanderings in this lower world. 
We'll then note the resistance of Edom in verses 14 to 21. Moses first attempts diplomacy, 
and then we see the resistance of Edom. Notice the target of 
negotiation, 14-1, now Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to 
the king of Edom. If they could pass through Edom, 
it would really cut off some miles from their journey. Again, 
the geography, I'm sure others have it figured out. I don't 
have the time on a Wednesday to solve every riddle. But I 
do know that them not being able to pass through Edom, or the 
land of Edom, really did make for a longer, difficult journey. If you look at chapter 21, specifically 
at verse 4, then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the way of 
the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom, and the soul of 
the people became very discouraged on the way. And the people spoke 
against God and against Moses, Why have you brought us up out 
of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, 
and our soul loathes this worthless bread. So this negotiation with 
Edom obviously fails, but it's obviously important for the benefit 
and the morale of this body that has to move from point A to point 
B. So Moses sent messengers from 
Kadesh to the king of Edom, and then the nature of the negotiation 
is seen in 14b to 17. The messengers remind Edom of 
their relationship, the messengers review the history of Israel, 
and the messengers request a safe passage. Note the reminder of 
the relationship, they're brothers. Verse 14b, thus says your brother 
Israel. We know of course that Jacob 
is Israel and Esau is Edom. And as Robert Alter points out, 
the sending of messengers to Edom recalls Jacob's sending 
messengers to his brother Esau. You can see that in Genesis 32 
and 33, after two decades of separation. This heir of Esau, 
however, behaves quite differently from his ancestor, flatly rejecting 
Israel's claim to brotherhood and its accompanying request 
of transit through his territory. So it's a good way to approach 
diplomatic relations, establish rapport, establish camaraderie, 
establish the bond, thus says your brother Israel. Basically, 
come on guys, let us pass through your land. Then they rehearse 
what had happened to them in terms of the hardship that befell 
them under God's providence relative to their stay in Egypt. Verse 
14, the last part, you know all the hardship that has befallen 
us, how our fathers went down to Egypt and we dwelt in Egypt 
a long time and the Egyptians afflicted us and our fathers, 
when we cried out to the Lord, he heard our voice and sent the 
angel and brought us up out of Egypt. Now here we are in Kadesh, 
a city on the edge of your border. They make a simple request, verse 
17, please let us pass through your country. We will not pass 
through fields or vineyards, which would be tough when you've 
got that many people. I mean, that would be a tough 
one, but you know, they got to present it in the best possible 
light. I think what they're saying is we're not going to be a nuisance 
as much as, you know, several hundreds of thousands of people 
aren't a nuisance, but We'll not pass through fields or vineyards, 
nor will we drink water from wells. We'll go along the King's 
Highway. The King's Highway probably does not mean that it was a government-funded 
trans-Canada highway with all the bells and whistles and speed 
zones where everybody could go faster, but you have to slow 
down because it's the King's Highway. It was probably a well-traveled 
path. Everybody knew it was a road 
that you used to traverse that section. They say, we will not 
turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have 
passed through your territory. Edom says, no, not going to happen. Then Edom said to him, you shall 
not pass through my land lest I come out against you with the 
sword. Pretty strong threat there of violence. We'll meet you with 
the sword, we'll decimate you, and we won't have you in our 
land. So they try renegotiations. The first attempt at diplomacy 
doesn't work. Try it again. Up the ante. Verse 19, so the children of 
Israel said to him, we will go by the highway, and if I or my 
livestock drink any of your water, then I will pay for it. Let me 
only pass through on foot, nothing more. So they're saying that 
if we actually do have to use something, you'll be compensated 
for it. They didn't engage. They didn't fight, they didn't 
battle, they just turned away. And as we saw there in 21.4 and 
5, it created for them a longer journey, a more arduous journey, 
a more difficult journey. And again, in 21.4 and 5, instead 
of interpreting it as the providence of God, they lash out at Moses, 
they say, why have you brought us out into this land to kill 
us? Always the same refrain with the people of an undisciplined 
heart. And then that brings us to the end, the death of Aaron. 
We've got the journey beginning again in verse 22, the children 
of Israel, the whole congregation journeyed from Kadesh and came 
to Mount Hor. So God then speaks concerning 
the death of Aaron, the announcement and reason for his death. Notice 
in verse 24, Aaron shall be gathered to his people for he shall not 
enter the land which I have given to the children of Israel because 
you rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah. So when 
we see that section concerning Meribah in the first part of 
chapter 20, it was because you did not believe me. The symptoms 
of that non-belief was lashing out, striking the rock, presuming 
that you had the power to deliver the water. Notice the command 
to bring Eleazar, and this is encouraging. This is encouraging. Aaron's gonna die, but the priesthood 
isn't. Aaron's gonna go the way of all 
flesh, but the priesthood's gonna continue. Aaron may breathe his 
last, but Eleazar is gonna take the mantle. Notice in 25, or 
take the priestly garments, 25, take Aaron and Eliezer, his son, 
and bring them up to Mount Hor and strip Aaron of his garments 
and put them on Eliezer, his son, for Aaron shall be gathered 
to his people and die there. Robert Alter again says, the 
divestiture of Aaron leaves him naked in his human vulnerability 
without accouterment or office before the universal fact of 
death. but clothing his son in the priestly garb is also a concrete 
manifestation of the continuity of his line and it's satyr-dotal 
authority. Satyr-dotal refers to priesthood 
or priestly activities. This is one reason why traditional 
Hebrew commentaries see Aaron's demise as a blissful death. So while he is dying as a result 
of the rebellion at Meribah, he gets to see that priestly 
garment placed on his son as a token and an encouragement 
that as he breathes his last, the priesthood lives on. He dies, 
according to verse 28, and then the congregation mourns for 30 
days. Now, the fact that Moses was 
a target of resentment, or I'm sorry, Aaron was a target of 
resentment and the people's anger and they certainly expressed 
their displeasure with him. The mourning for 30 days indicates 
that they understood the nature of his office and the benefit 
of his office. Remember we saw that in chapter 
17, I'm sorry, chapter 16. When God comes to bring judgment 
upon the complainers, verse 46 in chapter 16, take a censer 
and put fire in it from the altar, put incense on it and take it 
quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them. For 
wrath has gone out from the Lord. The plague has begun. And Aaron 
took it as Moses commanded and ran into the midst of the assembly. 
It's a beautiful picture that we have here. He runs into the 
midst of the assembly where the plague is poured out. And already 
the plague had begun among the people. So he put in the incense 
and made atonement for the people. And he stood between the dead 
and the living. So the plague was stopped. Remember, 
we saw that that's a great picture of Jesus. And Jesus runs into 
the mess. And Jesus brings atonement for 
the mess. And Jesus stands between the 
dead and the living and stops the plague. So what we find in 
Numbers 16, what we find in much of Numbers, pretty much all of 
Leviticus, is Jesus. And so the people, though at 
times harbored some serious resentment against Aaron, the fact that 
they mourned for him for 30 days really does indicate that they 
understood that all in all he was a very valuable player on 
Team Israel. Well, in conclusion, the sinfulness 
of the people, I think we see that very clearly. The hardship 
for Moses. It's not only the promised death 
before entry into the land and the rebellion of the people, 
but his brother and sister died. You might say, well, the number's 
12. They challenged his authority. Yeah. Siblings have their squabbles, 
don't they? I would imagine that he got much 
comfort from Miriam and Aaron along the way in his life. So, 
you know, the man Moses is probably, I mean, he's, we all, if you 
ask, you know, 100 Christians, you know, name 10 heroes in the 
Bible. You know, certainly Moses would come up, but we see him 
standing on Sinai with the tables of the law thundering, you know, 
the lightning of God behind him. We don't see him as often as 
we do in numbers. Lord, take me. If you favor me, 
kill me. Take me now. We don't see him. Here now, you rebels. You know, 
we don't get as much of the human element in our picture of Moses 
as hero. I'd suggest that when we get 
that human element, the heroicness of Moses is even better. I think 
that Moses is a wonderful, wonderful representation of a man who persevered 
in the midst of great adversity. And then the providence of God, 
brethren, these people need to embrace it. We need to embrace 
it in our wilderness wanderings. And then, of course, the text 
always indicates the patience of God and the faithfulness of 
God. I mean, we probably would have wiped him out and said, 
that's it. You know, God expresses that by way of in the manner 
of men at occasions earlier. But God's patience, God's long 
suffering, and God's faithfulness to his promise to Abraham, Isaac, 
and Jacob, he will get you from point A to point B. You may not 
like some of the things along the way, We're gonna get to heaven. We may not like some of the things 
along the way, but that's not part of the arrangement. Actually, 
it is part of the arrangement. It's God's means to conform us 
evermore to the image of His beloved Son. Well, let's close 
in prayer. Our Father in Heaven, thank You 
for Your Word. Thank You that all Scripture is given by inspiration 
of God. We thank You for its profitability 
in our lives. I pray that You would help us 
to receive these things and help us, God, to glorify and to honor 
You, increase our faith. and our faithfulness in terms 
of our service to you and God cause us to keep the faith and 
to shine as lights in a crooked and perverse generation and to 
be bold with the truth as it is in Jesus Christ. Go with us 
now. Watch over us in the remainder 
of our week. Bless all the families of our local church here. Be 
with Nathan and Carla and keep them safe there in Guatemala. 
Bring them back home safely. We just thank you for your goodness 
to us and we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.