August 15, 2010 Lesson 14 of Numbers 20

Notice Moses’ and Aaron’s reaction to the people’s discontent (V6). What did God desire to achieve through this incident? See V 6, 8, 12. How did Moses and Aaron fail, and in what terms is their failure described? See verses 10, 12, 24; cf. 27:14; Deut 32:15. Answer: He was hoping to bring them closer to Him. They failed in that they more or less sided with the people and did not put their full faith in Him at this moment.


God’s anger with Moses and Aaron may at first seem to us out of proportion to the extent of their failure. What ought we to learn from this? What ought we also learn from the fact that ‘rash words’ (Ps. 106:33) come from ‘humble’ (12:3) Moses’ lips? Answer: I think of this as if we are all children. We know what we should not do and how we should treat one another in order to show God’s love. Do we all ways do that; no. I am sure that our kids many times think that our punishment is too drastic for the crime. But seeing the bigger picture allows us to effectively rear our children. This is what God does for us as well!