Moses – His Disobedience, Death and Truth by Myra Kahn Adams for Town Hall
Thanks for joining our very brief study of Moses.
He was a servant of the Lord who led the ancient Israelites – God’s chosen people – out of Egyptian bondage to the edge of the Promised Land. Moses had several personal encounters with God but was never allowed to see His face. Nonetheless, God orchestrated numerous miraculous events through Moses’ leadership, including giving him The Law known as The Ten Commandments. Moses is also credited with writing the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). Hence, one could say that Moses is the Old Testament’s leading figure, with David in second place.
Given that I was born and raised Jewish but accepted Christ as the Jewish Messiah in 1975 – theological misinformation makes me cringe. For example, occasionally, fellow Jews equate Moses to Jesus, saying, “Jews have Moses and Christians have Jesus” – a preposterous statement proved false by the Hebrew Bible. So let’s begin with what the very human Moses did to offend God as recorded in Numbers.
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According to Bible Hub’s timeline, when the Israelites arrived in the “Desert of Zin” around 1407 B.C., they had been wandering for 39 years. With no water to drink, the people “quarreled with” and “gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron” [his brother], asking, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place?”
Responding, Moses and Aaron went before God where “they fell facedown and the glory of the Lord appeared to them.” Then:
“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.’ So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him.”
Moses and Aaron gathered the people at the rock, and Moses said,“‘Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?’” Raising his arm, Moses “struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.”
