Moses and the Rock – I

Holy intimacy is not profane familiarity. But, what begins as holy intimacy may slide into profane familiarity; or be propelled into profane presumption. On the obverse, legalism and self-righteousness may mask as holiness but it will seldom mask as intimacy for performance will nearly always be its middle “C”; relationships based on performance cannot be relationally intimate; how can we know one another if our focus is on behavior rather than heart?

John Chapter 17 reveals holy intimacy in the Trinity and in those in relationship with the Trinity; Moses striking the Rock in Numbers Chapter 20 portrays the tragedy of profaning that intimacy; a tragedy for Moses and a tragedy, I think, for Israel. While Moses’s intimacy with Yahweh was restored by Yahweh, it was restored through the mercy of judgment, “…you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” Moses accepted the judgment, he accepted the verdict of Yahweh…otherwise how would the narrative read?

What can the professing North American church learn from Moses striking the Rock? While we will explore Numbers Chapter 20 in a forthcoming post, I want to begin at the end of Moses’s life.

Moses came and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and Joshua the son of Nun. And when Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, he said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.” Deuteronomy 32:44-47

Above I termed Moses’s striking the Rock a tragedy for both Moses and Israel; in one sense it was and in another sense it wasn’t. How sad that Moses, in the midst of a long life of humble leadership, should throw away the experience of leading his people into their destiny. How sad that in pent-up anger he should cast off, for an extended moment, the mantle of humility and revert to the man who killed an Egyptian, taking things into his own hands. And what would it have been like for Israel if Moses had led them across the Jordan? Of course we don’t really know the answer to the question.

However, the God of Redemption redeemed Moses’s profanity and in that redemption the tragedy is transformed into glory and intimacy is restored.

Moses says with conviction and authority, “For it is no empty word for you, but your very life…” because he has experienced the doubled-edged sword in his own life and he has submitted to the work of that sword. He knows what occurs when man puts his own hand on the sword and attempts to have it to do man’s bidding; he knows what occurs when God says, “Speak to the Rock,” and man instead grabs the hilt and strikes the Rock. Moses knows the danger of attempting to force the Word of God to submit to the will of man; rather man submitting to the Word of God.

I wonder if we, as His people, know this danger? Do we seek to mold God’s Word and fashion it into our image, whether an individual image or a doctrinaire or collective image? Or do we trivialize it into trinkets and pithy sayings devoid of context?

The beauty of Numbers Chapter 20, and the beauty of the end of Moses’s life, is the Redemption of our Father; Moses submitted to the Word of God in repentance, intimacy was restored, Moses mentored his successor, blessed his successor, and Moses remains an example for us all. A future day, if it can be called a “day”, comes in the life of Moses when he appears on the Mount of Transfiguration and speaks with Jesus concerning the crucifixion and resurrection; ah…what a sacred moment that must have been…what a moment of holy intimacy.

To be continued…