Heart Matters: “Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod: and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beast drank, But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” Numbers 20: 11-13

Have you realized how much the sins of others influences you to sin in response? Truly we tend to act in like kind when someone wrongs or offends us. If someone dismisses, shuns, or behaves unloving towards us-we tend to respond by also distancing ourselves from them. If someone is nasty to us, we in turn will most likely become nasty to them. Feelings are the natural foundation for how we behave with and respond to others. When we live based on how we “feel” we can find ourselves caught up in a vicious cycle. Like being on a hamster’s wheel, we can continue spinning around and around as we sin in response to the sin we experience in our relationships. Sin can so easily beget sin. This is the reason we must learn the spiritual discipline of saying “no” to our flesh and being able to produce the fruit of self-control. It’s the first step in breaking the cycle of sin producing more sin. But since the devil is in the details and is the master manipulator when it comes to our sinning against God, it goes much more deeper than that. We must be aware of the fact that we not only sin in response to how others sins affect our feelings, we also sin in response to how their sins affect our struggles.

Sometimes our sins are the result of a completely different type of motivation than a “tit for tat” retaliatory response. There are times when the sinfulness of others will become the affirmation of our own inward struggles. Once again sin will beget sin-only this time the sin had already taken root, it was already there, it just needed a catalyst to cause it to reveal externally what already existed internally. When this is the case our issue is not so much with the vessel who was used to expose it; our issue is more one of disbelief. As such, although it is revealed through in horizontal manner; it is a vertical problem. In this type of scenario our sin is a direct result of our inability or undesire to trust and believe the LORD. In this case we can actually be thankful for that which provoked its appearance. Denial is such a strong deceiver. When the sinful heart attitude has manifested in a sinful act-the one good thing about it is that it’s no longer hidden and disguised. We can know that our consciouses are always searching for a justification for our sins-whether we are aware of it or not.

In the above passage, The LORD gave Moses a severe consequence for his disbelief. I believe this (Disbelief) is probably the foundation of most acts of sinfulness. I found it surprising that Moses’ act of striking the rock wasn’t what the LORD chastened him for. It seems the actual act was merely the product of a deeper issue (although the act of striking that rock did in fact dishonor the LORD). In that moment, Moses reacted to the children of Israel continual complaining, but he was revealing his very own lack of faith. The children of Israel had just complained -again- how he should have left them in Egypt where all the needs and pleasures of the flesh were abundant. (By the way Egypt is a representation of sin and flesh in the Bible. Having been delivered from it, as Believers, we should never desire to return to it. It is a matter of spiritually maturity and being able to rise above our feelings and squash our flesh). If you read about their journey through the wilderness, you will notice that they did this often. No doubt it wore on Moses this time. After all, what they were saying had some truth in it. They had been wandering in the wilderness for some time. They hadn’t yet made it to the promised land. They were still faced with having to trust God for their provisions (get it) and as a result of their environment, at times they felt miserable.

Moses usually was steady, able to remain humble in the face of their rebellion, but this time it was different. He still acted as their mediator and took their concerns to the LORD, looking to Him for the solution. But this time he didn’t fully follow the LORD’s instructions-he was told to “speak” to the rock, not to “smite” it.

Something was different because this time, Moses acted differently. Perhaps as the years passed by, Moses too also began to wonder when they would get to arrive? Perhaps this time when the children of Israel complained, internally, Moses related to them, agreed with them and was in alignment with them. Maybe his own exhaustion and expectation caused him to begin doubting too. The LORD told Moses: “Because you have not believed me…” (v. 12a)

Nothing causes us to act in frustration and irritation like an unresolved issue dwelling on the inside of us. Left unchecked, left undealt with before God, it will most certainly reveal itself through sin-most often released in a form of anger.

Moses struck that rock. “Those were the waters of Meribah..”(v.13) In doing so, he failed to treat God as holy. As a type of Christ, he was called to be an example of what it looked like to live righteously. But this time he seemed to internalized the grumblings of the Israelite’s-he said “shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” (v. 10) Instead of confessing his own sin of disbelief, he compounded his problems by bearing the weight of the disbelief of his brethren. Moses took on their sin issue as though it was his to own-but it was only a matter for God. Sin begets sin.

Sin also begets consequences from the LORD. The LORD told Moses and Aaron that because of their unbelief and failure to treat Him holy in the sight of Israel, they would not get to bring the assembly into the land HE had given them. “He had given them.” It was theirs already. Even though they hadn’t reached it yet, even though they doubted and complained, it was still already theirs. God said it and so it was.

To us it may seem like a harsh consequence for Moses (and Aaron). But we mustn’t forget that Moses was a “type” of Christ. A good one of course, and that was never taken away from him. I think of the Scripture which says “to whom much is given, much is required.” (Luke 12:48) Suffice it to say we also know that God is Good-all the time. God kept His Word, as HE always does. Joshua, not Moses led the children of Israel into the promised land. But Moses served for the season to which he was called. He was their mediator throughout most of their journey. And because our God is so good, Moses was able to step foot in the land as he met with the LORD JESUS on the Mount of Transfiguration.

The LORD says there was never a man more humbled than Moses. Imagine what Moses character was like! And yet in this account, he had a moment. He struggled to fully believe. If anything, this should serve to teach us all how desperately we need to stay close to God; how we should always remain open before Him. We need to continuously ask Him to examine and reveal our hearts to us. It is such a crucial component to navigating the stumbling blocks and overcoming sin.

We too have a purpose in Christ, we too have a land promised before us. But like Moses, we’re on this journey called life and it’s full of challenges and obstacles. It calls for spiritual stamina and steadfast perseverance. May we learn from our brethren and abide in a way so as to stay believing God. We are called to edify one another not incite sin within each other. Let’s all do our part to make sure those who are in the season of shepherding and leading are not sidetracked by their own flock. Moses sacrificed a lot to answer his call to lead them out of the land of bondage into the land of promise. He should have been fully supported by them at every turn. Yet even when others within the body of Christ begin to go astray, we are each responsible for our own individual walks of faith. Although complex at times, the very essence of what faith is-believing God-is non-negotiable. Hebrews 11:6 says “without faith it is impossible to please God.” It’s okay to struggle with our faith (like the man who said “Lord I believe, help Thou my unbelief) (Mark 9:24) Just as long as we do so with God. If we don’t, sin will always result from that struggle. We can’t live for Christ without living with Christ every single second and going to Christ with every single area of our lives.

HEART TO HEART: THE SINS OF OTHERS CAN’T NEGATIVELY AFFECT US IF WE KEEP SHORT ACCOUNTS WITH THE LORD.