God heard Moses and his
brother and He came down to meet them. “Moses, I have heard your prayers. Gather
the people and speak to the rock. The rock will give water, which will be enough
for the people and their livestock to drink. Is that clear?”
“Yes, my lord,” Moses
bowed his head gently.
God smiled down at them and
moved into a shadow.
Moses rose to his feet. He
grabbed his rod with an iron grip and swallowed hard. Rather than stay happy
for his prayers that was answered, a ray of anger flushed over his face. It was
easy to tell why he was angry. He was frustrated by the unbelief of the people.
Aaron was with him and
they went back to the people. Angry, Moses said to them, “You rebels, why cry
over little things? Must you drink water from the rock?” Before the people
could say a word, Moses raised his rod and hit the rock two times with it.
Water came out of the rock. The people and their animals drank and they were
happy. While everyone including Moses drank to their fill, God watched them sadly
from His corner. Moses did not do what he was asked to do.
While the people drank
water from the rock as if there was no tomorrow, God looked on in anger because
nobody said “thank you” to Him. Moses and his brother Aaron did not tell the
people that God gave the water. The people thought Moses was the one that made
the water to come out of the rock!
Later on that day, Moses
was alone. He sat on a piece of wood, probably thinking about the Promised Land.
Then God appeared from the evening’s shadows and walked up to him. “Moses!” He
tapped him on his shoulder.
“Yes,
my Lord,” Moses raised his head. He answered, smiling.
“Come,” God wore a frown. Moses rose to
his feet and followed Him to a corner.
“What have you done?” God
thundered.
“What? I did what you asked me to do,” Moses shrugged. “I did
not do any wrong.”
God shook his head as He breathed fire from His nostril.
Chewing His lower lip, He said, “No, you failed, Moses. I did not ask you to
hit the rock. I said speak to the rock!” Red with rage, God crossed His arm
over His body. “I was always there in your time of need, but you took me for
granted. You forgot me! I made you, and the world is mine! Since you did not
tell the people that I gave the water, you will not take them home!”
Moses fell on his knees,
with his hands stretched out and palms up. He cried out, “Ah! My Lord, I did
not mean to hurt you. I was angry and I forgot…”
It was rather too late as
God’s voice echoed as He walked away, “It is normal to be angry. It is only wrong
if you cannot control yourself!”
It is good to get to the
end of a thing. Moses always wanted the best for his people and he was always
there for them.
After the meeting with
God, Moses had a meeting with the people of Israel. He told them to be good to one
another, which include strangers. After the meeting, Moses walked to his tent.
As he laid down to rest, God came into the tent. He walked to the side of the
bed where Moses had laid down to sleep. “Moses!” He tapped him on the shoulder and
Moses woke up. As he raised his head to check who had tapped him, he saw a
bright light by the side of his bed. God cleared His throat and said, “We need
to talk, Moses.” The bright light stood and crossed his arms over his body.
Moses rolled out of the
bed and sat up. He lowered his head and avoided eye contact with God. “I am
listening, My Lord!”
“Not here,” God smiled
faintly. “Follow me!” He turned and walked quietly out of the tent. Moses rose
from the bed and followed Him outside.
They had a walk out on the
field. After covering a good distance, and a huge silence hung between them, God
cleared His throat and said, “You have done enough for these people, Moses.
Your time is up. Leave the people alone and go to Mountain Abarim and die!”
Shocked, Moses said, “I
don’t understand, My Lord.”
“You are a good man. You
have done enough for mankind. It is time you step aside for another to lead,”
God revealed, gazing into space.
“Why? But I am still
young? I can carry on much longer,” Moses protested.
“No. you cannot. You are
old. It is my grace that has brought you this far, Moses. You have done well. Another
man must lead.”
“My lord, you sound as if
you have not forgiven me,” Moses cried. He began to sob gently.
God gave Moses a pat on
the back. “I have forgiven you, my friend. The truth is: you need a break. There
are chances that you will offend me again and I don’t want that to happen. I
love you, Moses. As you know, you are the meekest man on earth. You have served
me well enough. You deserve a break.
“I am a just judge. I
don’t want you to offend me again. How can I kill or destroy a man that I so
much love? Moses, it is not your fault. The people are also part of the reason
you did what was wrong. Listen, you should be happy that I will bury you
myself. Such are only reserved for men of good conscience. Go now.”
Moses shook his head as
tears began to roll down his face.
“Don’t cry, Moses. I have
nothing to lose if I bury you,” God smiled.
It was a hard move, but what could Moses do?
He wiped his tears with the back of his hand and walked away. God watched Moses
walked up to the mountain.
Moses never aged. He was
like a man of forty even when he was already over eighty years old. That is the
work of your God...
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