Moses’ Error at Kadesh
“Then the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, 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, “Hear 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; 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 (Contention), because the children of Israel contended with the Lord, and He was hallowed among them.
Passage Through Edom Refused
Now Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom. “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.
Death of Aaron
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 Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar 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.”
Poor Moses and Aaron! The Israelites are at it again! The Israelites have camped at Kadesh, where Miriam, Moses,’ and Aaron’s sister, dies. But there’s another water crisis. Last time, God ordered Moses to strike the rock and water would gush out. This time God orders Moses to SPEAK to the rock, indicating a higher degree of trust in God’s provision. Earlier, we learned that Moses is the most humble man in all the earth; however, even the meekest man in all the earth has a breaking point, and Moses has reached his. Moses demands, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” Even though Aaron doesn’t say anything, he still agrees with Moses. The upshot of this mistake is that both Moses and Aaron lose the chance to enter the Promised Land.
The nation of Edom has its origins in Esau, Jacob’s brother. As distant relatives, the Edomites should be willing to help the Israelites, but they refuse, even though the Israelites promise to pay for everything and to remain on the King’s Highway. Centuries later, this mistake will prove the undoing of the Edomites. Then the Israelites move on to Mount Hor, where Aaron dies. Before Aaron dies, God orders Moses to strip Aaron’s priestly robes and place them on Eleazer, his son.
APPLICATION: James 1:19-20 tells us, “Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” No matter how patient we might think we are, Moses’ failure at Kadesh demonstrates that even the most humble among us may still lose it if sufficiently provoked. When we lose our tempers, we hand those around us the chance to take advantage of us and manipulate us. When angry, we may readily say things we will bitterly regret later. We may lash out unreasonably, hurting those we love the most.
Today’s story is a terribly sad one. Moses has done so well for so many years. Moses has faced all kinds of rebellions, food and water crises, and continual death threats from the very people whom he has led out of Egypt. Even though Moses’ brother Aaron is a smooth talker, he is a weakling with all the backbone of a limp noodle. When the going gets tough, Aaron can be spotted by the dust cloud raised by his feet as he runs away. The only One on whom Moses can truly rely is God. But the stress has been building and this time, Moses finally loses his patience. Little does Moses realize that he will also lose his opportunity to enter the Promised Land.
How well do most of us handle stress? The Perceived Stress Scale is a widely used measuring tool for determining cumulative stress in one’s life. The tool involves a variety of questions regarding stressful events with scores being assigned depending on the degree of stress one has faced. Had the PSS existed when Moses and Aaron were alive, their stress points would have been astronomical. Several years ago, we attended a training on missionary stress shortly after weathering a small tribal war. Our stress points were through the roof.
Could Moses have avoided his failure? Who knows? It’s likely that we don’t even know all the horrible things the Israelites have pulled against Moses and Aaron. Would any of us have done any better? Highly unlikely! The first time the Israelites began whining, we might have been willing to let them go back to slavery in Egypt.
What can we learn from this chapter? No matter how faithful we are, no matter how patiently we behave, any of us can have a bad day and lose not only our tempers but also a chance to enter the Promised Land. May God help us to trust Him and to confide our stresses in Him!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to trust You when things become stressful and let You handle the stress instead of us. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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