In today's reading, "the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 'Because you did not believe that I could proclaim my holiness in the eyes of the sons of Israel, you shall not lead this assembly into the land I am giving them.'" If one were to read this out of context, one would think that God was not being fair to Moses and Aaron, especially since it was the Israelites that were being stubborn and difficult to deal with. But why did the Lord make such a drastic decision?
When we look at the reading, we would discover that the Israelites had been behaving like spoilt brats, complaining about being taken out of Egypt even though it was for their own good. Moses and Aaron, being leaders of the people, were supposed to remain calm and patient with the people, since God had assured all that He would eventually lead them into the land He is giving them. But in the reading, we can see that in Moses and Aaron's disgust and resentment with the complaints of the rebellious
Israelites, Moses taunted them before he struck the rock twice to make
water flow from it.
It seems like Moses had reached the limit of his tolerance and patience and had only harsh and heated words for the people. Such a response by Moses was intolerable to God, as his duty and responsibility was to be God's mouthpiece, and do what God instructed with humility and patience. Because of this, Moses and Aaron were punished by not being allowed to lead the people into the promised land.
What about us? Have we misused our duty and responsibility, instead of serving with humility and patience? May we come to realise that what God expects of us is obedience and patience, since He will know what to do with the people, and all that is expected of us is to do His will. May we not allow pride and arrogance to affect our tasks, and ultimately leave it in the hands of the Lord.
No comments:
Post a Comment