LIFE LESSON FOR TODAY, 7/16/14

PAINTING: 

MOSES STRIKES WATER FROM THE STONE

BY FRANCESCO BACCHIACCA, 1540s




One of my aunts lived in my neighborhood.She was also a school teacher.  She used always tell us when we were bad,  "God doesn't like ugly!"   My parents also punished us when we were bad. I learned early that being bad and disobeying was not good. There were consequences!!

This week I will look at a few people in the Bible who disobeyed God.  I'll share scriptures which will show  the  consequences of their sin. 


God chose Moses to go to Egypt and the
Israelites  from the bondage of Pharaoh
Moses led them across the Red Sea and
through the wilderness. He was leading
them to their final destination which was
a land flowing with milk and honey.  The
Israelites complained often; however,the
Lord always supplied their needs.  They 
witnessed many miracles. The Lord did
allow Moses to do some of the miracles.
These miracles happened when Moses 
followed the Lord's specific instructions. 
Today, I'll share scriptures about Moses.
He disobeyed the Lord and there were
dire consequences due to his actions.


LIFE LESSON:

THE ISRAELITES ARE THIRSTY AND THE LORD TELLS MOSES HOW TO GET WATER FROM THE ROCK. THE WATER COMES OUT OF THE ROCK 
AND THEY HAVE WATER TO DRINK.

EXODUS 17: 2-6


² Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, “Give us water, that we may drink.”
So Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the Lord?”
³ And the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses, and said, “Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”
 ⁴ So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!”
⁵ And the Lord said to Moses, “Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which
you struck the river, and go.
⁶ Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.”


LIFE LESSON:

THE ISRAELITES COMPLAIN OF THIRST AGAIN.
THE LORD TELLS MOSES TO GET WATER BY SPEAKING TO THE ROCK. MOSES DISOBEYED
AND STRUCK THE ROCK.


EXODUS 20:5, 7-12

⁵  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.” 

⁷ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,  
⁸ “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.” 
⁹ So Moses took the rod from before the Lord as He commanded him.
¹⁰ 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?”  
¹¹ 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.


LIFE LESSON:

AARON IS MOSES' BROTHER AND HIS 
HELPER.  THE LORD GAVE MOSES AND 
AARON  INSTRUCTIONS CONCERNING
GETTING WATER FROM THE ROCK.THE
LORD PUNISHED BOTH OF THEM. 

LORD TELLS MOSES AND AARON THEY
WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO BRING THE
ISRAELITES INTO THE PROMISED LAND
(LAND FLOWING WITH MILK & HONEY)
 
EXODUS 20:12
 

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.”

NUMBERS 20:23-26, 29

²³ And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying: ²⁴ “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.
²⁵ Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up to Mount Hor;
 ²⁶ and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; for Aaron shall be gathered to his people and die there.” 

²⁹ Now when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, all the house of Israel mourned for Aaron thirty days.


DEUTERONOMY 34: 1-4, 7-8

1Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is across from Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead as far as Dan, 
² all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea,
³ the South, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. 
⁴ Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.” 

⁷ Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished. 
⁸ And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. So the days of weeping and mourning for Moses ended.

LIFE LESSON:

I was upset when I read what happened
to Moses.He had to hear the complaints 
and endure the attitudes of the children
of  Israel. He became angry and struck 
the rock.The Lord had told him to speak  
to the rock. I can be impatient at times 
and I wondered if I would have gotten 
into trouble like Moses. I did complete 
study of  books, Exodus and Numbers.
I began to understand why Moses and
Aaron were harshly punished. 

Moses had intimate relationship with the
Lord. He and the Lord talked many times. 
He had witnessed the power of the Lord
often.  The Lord spoke to him from the 
burning bush.The Lord gave him the Ten Commandments. He delivered messages 
from the Lord to the Israelites.Moses was
given the ability to do miracles. The Lord
gave Him detailed instructions so that the
children of Israel would fear and respect
HIM. 

The point is, the Lord is supposed to get 
the glory for the signs,the wonders, and
the miracles, not Moses.  

I asked the Lord to forgive me for questioning 
HIS judgement of Moses.  He revealed to me
the "TRUTH" in HIS WORD. I know that HE is
perfect and I am not.There is no human in this
world that has more wisdom than HIM.

One Example of God's Glory