A lesson on angry impatience
Numbers 20:8 Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.
:9 And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him.
:10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?
:11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.
:12 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.
:13 This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them.
Moses speaking:
“One of the first tests I was given was in the area of patience and faith. I failed that first test and was sent into the wilderness to learn. From that point on and throughout my life as leader of the children of Israel, it became my constant companion. Oh, I learnt to be humble through leading others, but the cost turned out to be heavier than I could bear, so my Savior took me home before we crossed the Jordan. Like your father David, I wasn’t that old and sick the day I climbed that mountain for the last time, but I had a debt to pay and having learnt the lesson of faithful patience, it was time to pass the rod of responsibility to my right-hand man.
That was my lot, and it has been a lesson that has remained with me since that time. But truly, and I can say this now because I have learnt many more lessons and have grown so much on this side of the veil, all because of the important step I made at the waters of Meribah. Yes, it was a misstep, but it was a step up, not down. The tendency for some leaders is to think that they have to do the bringing forth. In many cases, it is not intentional but simply immaturity. The tests our Lord puts his leaders through are for the purpose of bringing out the Waters of love and patience, trust and understanding.”
“The spiritual battle has increased, and your channel is one of the Enemy’s prime
targets, but I have given you the keys of preservation to guard and protect and cleanse it.”