When the Lord was Angry with Moses

There is an interesting passage in Scripture, in which Moses recounts to the Israelites their wanderings in the wilderness and reminds them three times that the Lord was angry with him because of them. Let's take a look at that and see what the Holy Spirit might want to teach us through it.

Moses said, "Because of you the Lord became angry with me also and said, 'You shall not enter it, either.'" (Deu 1:37). In this first instance, Moses told them that it was on account of them that the Lord was angry with him and refused to allow him to enter the promised land.

The second time Moses mentioned this to them, he told how he had pleaded with the Lord to change His mind and permit him to enter the promised land to see it first hand.

He said, "I also pleaded with the LORD at that time, saying, 'O Lord GOD, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand; for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as Yours? 'Let me, I pray, cross over and see the fair land that is beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.'" (Deu 3:23-25). On so many other occasions, Moses had fasted and prayed for the rebellious Israelites, interceding for them before the Lord, and the Lord had answered his prayers on their behalf. However, that was not to be the case on this occasion when Moses prayed to God for himself.

Moses said, "But because of you the Lord was angry with me and would not listen to me. 'That is enough,' the Lord said. 'Do not speak to me anymore about this matter.'" (Deu 3:26). In this second instance, in which Moses mentioned that God was angry with him, he again placed the blame on them and told how the Lord would not listen to his prayer. It's interesting to note how even for such a great man of God as Moses, there was a time when He wouldn't listen to him or answer his prayer. In fact, the Lord told him that He had enough of that, and He didn't want Moses to ever mention it to Him again. Knowing how much God loved Moses, this response from God shows that it was not God's will for Him that Moses should enter the promised land, and He wasn't going to change His mind about it. There was a reason for that, which we will see later.

In the third instance in which Moses reminded the Israelites about how the Lord was angry with him, he said, "The Lord was angry with me because of you, and he solemnly swore that I would not cross the Jordan and enter the good land the Lord your God is giving you as your inheritance." (Deu 4:21). So now he discloses yet more details, saying that the Lord at that time actually swore to him solemnly that he would not cross the Jordan and enter the land. God was firmly decided on the matter and would not be persuaded to reverse His decision.

The incident which Moses spoke of when the Lord was angry with him was the time when he struck the rock in the wilderness at Meribah Kadesh in the Desert of Zin. It was not the only time the Lord had ever been angry with him. Actually there was another time at the beginning of his ministry when he experienced God's anger toward him. Here is what happened when he was around forty years old and the Lord called him into ministry to deliver the people of Israel from Egypt. Moses argued with God that he was not a good speaker. He reminded the Lord how he had never been eloquent and how he was slow of speech and slow of tongue. Nevertheless he prayed that the Lord would send whomever it was His will to send. "Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and he said, 'What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you.'" (Ex 4:14). So we see that the Lord had been angry with him once before, but that incident was not enough for the Lord to permanently bar Moses from the promised land. So what was the difference between that and the other incident at the waters of Meribah?

In the desert at Meribah, the Israelites grumbled because they were thirsty, so God told Moses to speak to the rock and it would bring forth water for the people to drink. However, Moses was angry with the people for their constant grumbling, So instead of speaking to the rock, he disobeyed God and struck the rock in his anger with his staff.

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. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, 'Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?' Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank." (Num 20:9-11)

In a separate account of a similar incident in Exodus, it states that God told Moses to strike the rock with his staff and water would come out, but in the account of Numbers, it says God told him to speak to the rock. The Numbers account occurred first during the first month when they were in the Desert of Zin (Num 20:1). The second account in Exodus is not the same incident, but rather it is one that occurred later. In that second incident, God did tell Moses to strike the rock, but the first time God told him to speak to it. The sin that Moses committed in the first incident at Meribah was that he struck the rock twice in his anger, rather than speak to it. In doing so, he did not uphold God as holy in their sight.

"But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 'Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” (Num 20:12). God repeated this once again at the end of Moses' life in both Numbers and Deuteronomy:

In Deuteronomy we read the account of the Lord telling Moses to go up on Mount Nebo and view Canaan, where He tells Moses that he will die there and be gathered to his people just as Aaron was on Mount Hor. He said, "This is because both of you broke faith with me in the presence of the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Desert of Zin and because you did not uphold My holiness among the Israelites." (Deut 32:51, NIV).

Likewise Scripture it is recorded thus in Numbers, "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Go up this mountain in the Abarim Range and see the land I have given the Israelites. After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, for when the community rebelled at the waters in the Desert of Zin, both of you disobeyed my command to honor me as holy before their eyes.' (These were the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the Desert of Zin.)." (Numbers 27:12-14).

Therefore, the sin of Moses was that he disobeyed God and broke faith with Him, because he did not trust Him enough to honor Him as holy before the people.

Some Closing Thoughts
Of course, some people will say that this whole matter of God getting angry was just something that used to happen under the Old Covenant, and that it is relegated to the Scriptures that come before the book of Malachi. However, that is simply not true. This was not just something that happened in the Old Testament, and it is not limited to any particular covenant. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

There are some things that still make God angry. For example, there was the time when Jesus got angry and drove out the money changers from the temple, because His Father's house is called a house of prayer, and they had made it a den of robbers (for more on this, see my thought-provoking article called The Sale of Christian Music and Art -- A Robbers' Den?). In it I cite the modern examples of people merchandising in the house of God, buying and selling things of God that were never meant to be bought or sold, but were freely received and were meant to be freely given. Other current examples include His people dressing immodestly or not keeping Sundays holy

Even in all of these, though God may be angry, He loves the sinner and longs for the backslider to repent and come home. He gets excited when we return to Him.

As a side note, I just want to say that one of the enemy's most common tactics against true believers is to deceive them into believing that God is angry with them. While it is true that God is angry with some people, the fact remains that according to God's Word, if we have repented and asked forgiveness from God for a particular sin, then the Lord has washed and cleansed us from that sin (1 Joh 1:9). So if you feel like God is angry with you and are feeling guilty, first check to see if you have any sin in your life that you have not repented for, and if you do, then repent, ask forgiveness, and amend your ways. But if you know you have confessed your sin to God and repented, then resist the enemy's temptation to put false guilt on you. Walk in the mercy and grace of God and receive His forgiveness.

He is gracious and compassionate, full of mercy, slow to anger and abounding with love (Ps 103:8; 145:8; Jam 5:11). In fact, this is what Moses heard when the Lord passed in front of him the time that Moses asked to see His glory. "And He passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, 'The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.'” (Ex 34:6-7).

Indeed there is a price to pay for disobedience. Yet even though he punishes His children and disciplines those He loves (Pro 3:12; Heb 12:6), the fact is that He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities (Ps 103:10). In fact, that was the case with Moses, too. While He did not allow Moses to enter the promised land, Moses still entered the promised land up in glory. We know this because the disciples saw him appear in glory on the Mount of Transfiguration with Elijah, talking with Jesus (Mt 17:3; Lk 9:30-31). So he is alive and well. He may not have entered the promised land of Canaan here on earth, but he entered the beautiful, Holy Land in heaven. This shows us that even in judgment, God showed mercy to Moses.

Hopefully this has helped us all to fear God, appreciate His holiness and the need for us to uphold it before others, but hopefully it has also helped us to see God's compassion, grace, and mercy, and His great love for sinners.

Attribution notice: Most Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission. Moses Striking Water from the Rock, oil on canvas 1649 by Nicolas Poussin, public domain.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like Sin and Consequence, The Dangers of Disobedience, Sins That Will Keep You From Heaven, The Straight and Narrow Path, and Holy Living in a Perverted World. I also recommend Ask for the Ancient Paths, Restored Truth, God Forgives and Forgets, and God's Amazing Plan for Your Life. Some other related articles available on the Home page include:

Law of Love in the New Testament	The Law Established Through Faith	Costly Grace
Is Obedience Optional?	The Cost of Discipleship	Obedience by the Spirit
The Law Fulfilled in Us	The New Covenant	Deleted Scriptures in the Bible?

You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Him.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

The Spirit of the Law

Dear Kingdom workers, in my previous article, The Spirit’s Law of Life, I indicated that the Law of the Spirit and the Law of Christ agree with the Law of God.  Having posted that, I feel the need to write here today about the Spirit of the Law to ensure that I am making myself clear.

I can say with the apostle Paul that I worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as a follower of Jesus Christ, and I believe everything that agrees with the Law and that is written in the Prophets. I have the hope in God that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. “So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.” (Ac 24:14-16)

If you need to know God’s definition of sin, read the Law and Prophets. For starters, in order to get an elementary level of understanding, go back and read The Ten Commandments, and realize that none of them have been abolished, not even the Fourth Commandment -- not one (Ex 20:1-17; Mt 5:17-20).

So am I suggesting we seek by the flesh to fulfill only the letter of the Law? Certainly not! The letter kills but the Spirit gives life.  As the apostle Paul said:

"He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." (2 Co 3:6)

As a Gentile follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, I am no longer looking for instructions about circumcision, various gifts, sacrifices, food, drink, and ceremonial washings, which were merely shadows of the realities we have found in Christ (although I can still learn about God through those passages).  I’m not looking for laws to perform with regard to religious festivals, New Moon celebrations, or Sabbath days, since they are "things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ." (Col 2:16, 17).

By the way, the word for the Sabbath is the Greek word "sabbaton," which means "the Sabbath (that is, Shabbath), or day of weekly repose from secular avocations (also the observance or institution itself); by extension...the interval between two Sabbaths; likewise the plural in all the above applications: - sabbath (day), week."  (Strongs). The apostle Paul's statement that "no one is to act as your judge in respect to...a Sabbath day," simply means not to let any man judge you with regard to this.  You must not let any man judge you with regard to how we keep the Sabbath, as the Pharisees did in accusing Jesus of breaking it by healing on that day, or doing anything else that is good and right in God's sight, or breaking traditions of men on that day.  You must keep it holy according to God's Word, and He will be the one to judge you if you truly break it.  One application of this is let no man judge you for not keeping the Sabbath on the seventh day of the week, as some people are known to be quite judgmental of others in this regard (see Seventh-day Adventist Heresies).  As I said, you must do what is right in the sight of God.

Since we know Paul agreed with the Ten Commandments, and everything written in the Law (Ac 24:14-16), and he upheld the Law (Rom 3:31), and he said that what matters is the keeping of God's commandments (1 Co 7:19), we know he was not suggesting we break the Fourth Commandment.  Some think he may have been referring to the plural form of Sabbath (as in "Sabbaths"), rather than the weekly "Sabbath Day."  If so, that would refer to other “special Sabbaths”, like what we would call national holidays that occur throughout the year.  Likewise, he may have meant "weeks," such as "the Three Weeks of Sorrow" and "the Seven Weeks of Comfort".  If so, that would explain why he said that these are "things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ." (Col 2:17). Therefore, I am not suggesting we break the Fourth Commandment. But we are living according to the Spirit that gives life, and not the letter.  That means that we most surely honor the Lord’s day and keep it holy (1 Co 16:2; Re 1:10).  (See my blogs Resting from Work, Keeping Sundays Holy, Keeping Sundays Holy - Part II, and The Lord's Day).

Moreover, it’s a higher standard spiritually than what is written. Remember, Jesus explained God’s standard regarding the commandments in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5).  God looks at the thoughts and intentions of the heart, and His standard is high. This means we should always uphold the spirit of the law, and ask the Lord what His heart is for us today for His holy people with respect to these things. His heart is always that we love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and love our neighbor as ourself. (Mark 12:29-31) His heart is always that we restrain sensual indulgence (Co 2:23) by the power of the Holy Spirit, taking up our cross. His heart is always that we pursue holiness, know the Truth, and seek His righteousness (Mt 6:33; Heb 12:14, Ro 14:17; Jn 8:32-36; 14:6). His heart is always the message of the cross, repentance and forgiveness of sins, believing the gospel of the kingdom, and following Jesus in His eternal purposes (1 Co 1:18; Ac 2:38; Jn 3:16-21; Jn 4:24) Lk 13:5; Lk 24:46-47). His heart is always preaching the gospel of salvation to all creation, and rescuing lost souls from perishing in hell. (Mk 16:15; Lk 15:1-7; 2 Pe 3:9). His heart is always to destroy the works of the evil one (1 Jn 3:8). His heart is always for us to do good, do what is right, obey His commands, help the weak, the orphans, and the widows, and keep ourselves unstained by the world. (Ps 82: 3-4; 1 Jn 3:7-8; 5:3; 2:15-17; Jas 1:27).

The Holy Spirit may lead you to celebrate a special Sabbath found in the law, as a time of putting aside everything else to seek Him personally or corporately, or He may lead you to celebrate a Jewish feast found in the law as a time to worship the Lord Jesus, who is typified in all the feasts. But if you are not led to do so, don't let any man judge you with respect to such things.

By the same token, you will be viewed as odd or even judged, in these last and evil days, if you do not celebrate the so-called Christian holidays on the certain days -- and in the worldly ways -- that the apostate Church celebrates them. But if you are going to look for feasts and holidays to celebrate by gathering together, and you feel a need for that, then why not look at the Hebrew feasts that are already in Scripture? Aren’t they good enough?

Obedience is Essential for Disciples
Here are just some of the other blogs I have written, which provide a clear and biblical response to the concerns that my obedience doctrine is legalism, especially the first three in the left-hand column:

Is Obedience Optional? The Law of Christ  Faith Works! The Law Fulfilled in Us The Law Established Through Faith The Cost of Discipleship The New Covenant Costly Grace Deleted Scriptures in the Bible? Did Jesus Nail the Law to the Cross? Is Practical Righteousness a Lost Truth? The Law is Good if Used Lawfully

The Obedience of Faith Striving to Enter the Kingdom of God Aim for Perfection Righteous Deeds and White Robes Doing What is Right Your Rewards Are Based on Your Practice Partaking of the Divine Nature Walking in the Perfect Will of God Pressing on Toward the Goal Obedience by the Spirit What Then Must We Observe?

Putting it All Together
We should believe everything that agrees with the Law and that is written in the Prophets.  The Lord Jesus did.  The apostle Paul did.  The apostle John did. The apostle James did.  If you think I am being legalistic, then you will have to also call the Lord Jesus and the apostles legalistic.  As a matter of fact, you would also have to say the same about John Wesley, D.L. Moody, Philip Henry, and his son Matthew Henry, the author of the famous, Bible commentary.

Let’s get back to the Bible and seek to live our lives according to God’s Word, not according to the letter, but in the new way of the Spirit. "We have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code." (Rom 7:6b). Do not rely on your obedience to the Law to save you, because it is only by grace that you are saved through faith (Eph 2:8-10).  Always remember that we can do nothing apart from the Lord Jesus (Jn 15:5), and if you keep His commandments, you will abide in His love (Jn 15:10).

“May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.” (1 Thes 3:12-4:1).

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Most other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, unless otherwise noted.  The "Holy Spirit" painting © 2012 Danny Hahlbohm, all rights reserved by the artist.

Author's note:  Also see part one, called The Spirit's Law of Life and my other articles called, Is Practical Righteousness a Lost Truth?, Zipporah Mushala’s Second Testimony of Hell, Obedience by the Spirit, The Person of the Holy Spirit, and Baptized with the Spirit. You can access the Main Directory for Working God's Way, or my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Him.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

___________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

God Has Not Rejected His Jewish People, Has He?

The Dohány Street Synagogue in Budapest, Hungary

Some of you may be aware that Hungary has a large population of Jews.  Today, the estimated population of Jews living in Hungary is around 120,000,with 110,000 mostly concentrated in Budapest.  In fact, the Jewish synagogue in Budapest, known as the Dohány Street Synagogue, is Europe's largest.

Since I have lived in Hungary for nearly five years as a missionary to Eastern Europe, in June of 2012 I had the privilege of visiting that synagogue in Budapest, as well as the Jewish Heritage Museum, and the Jewish sector of Budapest. You can read more about that tour of mine in my Hungarian Jewish Heritage article. Next to the nation of Israel itself, the countries with the highest population of Jews are first and foremost the United States, then France, Canada, Russia, Argentina, Germany, Brazil, Australia, and Ukraine.  Hungary is fairly high in the ranking beneath those countries.

We know from Scripture that the apostle Paul always preached the gospel first to the Jew's when he entered a city.  And he wrote, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile."  So it seems that we should also have that same heart!

However, I have discovered that Jews are accustomed to antisemitism from Gentile people, which is racial prejudice against them.  In fact, I was surprised to learn that antisemitism is quite common among Christians! Jews often seem surprised when Christians treat them with love and respect.  Yet that should not be! God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew, so why should we?  As the apostle Paul said, "For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen." (Rom 9:3-5).  The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Hebrew patriarchs. And of course, Jesus Himself is a Jew!  He loves the precious Jewish people and wants to save them, too.  For Paul also said, "This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus." (Eph 3:6). 

At The Dohány Street Synagogue, June 2012

I have developed a blog called Yeshua the Messiah.  On this blog, I share my testimony, Why I Trust in Yeshua, and I write various evangelistic articles that help to show from Scripture that Jesus Christ is the Jewish Messiah.  Some examples are Yeshua Ha'Maschiah in the Tanakh, The Brit Chadashah is Jewish, YHWH as Both Father and Husband to the Hebrews, Is the Trinity Originally a Hebrew or Christian Concept?, Yeshua is Yahweh, HaShem - The Name, and The Amazing Sign of Yonah. Although I have tried to develop the blog in a way that is somewhat culturally relevant for Jews, using some of their linguistic expressions and preferred ways of writing the name of God, we would like to clarify that we ourselves have not become Messianic Jews.

As the psalmist said, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: 'May those who love you be secure.'" (Ps 122:6)

Please Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and the salvation of the Jewish people.  And please use the Yeshua the Messiah blog yourself, as you share Jesus with your Jewish friends and loved ones.

Attribution notice:Most other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, unless otherwise noted.

Author's note:  I invite you to see these related articles of mine: Why Paul Lived Like a Jew Among the Jews, Deleted Scriptures in the Bible?, Keeping Sundays Holy, and The Law Established Through Faith. You can access the Main Directory of this blog at the Home page for Working God's Way, and you will find my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus Christ personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what the God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_______________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.