He was frustrated. He was angry. He was tired of being blamed for
everything that went wrong. Year after year, he had gotten them through one disaster
after another. He was continually interceding on their behalf to keep them out
of trouble. But all he got for his efforts was more grief. Finally, in
exasperation, he said, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out
of this rock?” (Num. 20:10).
That suggestion might sound preposterous, but it wasn’t. Forty years
earlier, the previous generation had the same complaint: no water. God told
Moses to strike a rock with his staff (Ex. 17:6).
When he obeyed, water gushed out—plenty of water. When the grumbling started
again so many years later, Moses did the thing that worked before. But this
time it was the wrong thing to do. What Moses told the Israelites to do—to
listen—he himself had not done. God had told him to speak to
the rock this time, not strike it.
Sometimes in exhaustion or exasperation, we don’t pay close attention to
God. We assume He will always work the same way. But He doesn’t. Sometimes He
tells us to act; sometimes He tells us to speak; sometimes He tells us to wait.
That is why we must always be careful to listen before we take action.
Sometimes God tells us to act; sometimes He tells us to speak; sometimes He tells us to wait. (RBC)
