|
The Zin of Moses
By Brian Hennessy
After nearly 40 years of faithfully shepherding some two-and-a-half
million ungrateful whiners and complainers around the Arabian desert,
Moses was almost home. The Promised Land was within sight. All he had
to do was keep it together for a few more dusty miles and his job was
done.
It was not to be.
As they entered the Wilderness of Zin the brats let out one more wail
of complaint over the lack of water, and Moses lost it. Not only his
temper, but the chance to complete his life’s work and receive divine
kudos for a job well done.
In a fit of exasperation, he took his staff and smacked the rock to
bring forth water, not once, but twice. And although God honored his
supernatural demand of the rock, and cool, refreshing water flowed
forth, it was accompanied by an even colder, career-ending
pronouncement.
“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” (Nu. 20:12).
It was over. Both Moses and his brother Aaron, who shared in the
disobedience, were fired on the spot. Moses would soon be replaced as
leader by Joshua, and Aaron as high priest by one of his sons. The two
brothers would join the multitude of corpses who fell in the
wilderness.
How tragic
And how seemingly unfair. I remember thinking the first time I read
the story in Numbers 20, “Gosh, did God get up on the wrong side of
the bed that day?” Because the punishment sure didn’t seem to fit the
crime.
But we know that God is a good God, a compassionate God, and an
eminently fair and just God. So how do we explain His sharp dismissal
of Moses after so many decades of devoted service? I mean this was the
man who gave Israel the Law for heavens sake!
The answer is found, I believe, when you compare this miracle to a
similar one that occurred earlier in the exodus. That’s where we can
discover a hidden message God wanted to teach future generations.
Namely that the gospel of faith righteousness is the only gospel God
has ever preached from Genesis to Revelation. And that He simply used
Moses’ meltdown to drive home that message once again.
God’s Hidden Pearls
Just so you don’t think I’m reading between the tea leaves here,
remember what the apostle Paul revealed concerning all the things that
happened to Israel:
“These things happened to them as an example, and they were written
for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” (1 Cor.
10:11)
A good example of this type of “instruction” is found in his letter to
the Galatians. There Paul contrasts the two women who had mothered
sons for Abraham.
“For it is written that Abraham had two sons [Ishmael and Isaac], one
by the bond woman [Hagar] and one by the free woman [Sarah]...This
contains an allegory; for these women are two covenants [the Old and
New Covenants].”
(Galatians
4:22,24)
This same spiritual discernment, I believe, can be applied to the two
miracles Moses performed in bringing forth water from the rock. And
the understanding gained reveals that once again the two covenants
were being contrasted.
Meribah and Meribah
Scripture records two occasions when the people threw a tantrum over
the lack of water and God told Moses to miraculously bring forth water
from the rock. The first time was at a campsite a few clicks from
Mount Sinai, known as Rephidim. The second took place years later in
the infamous Wilderness of Zin, just south of Kadesh-Barnea.
Now both locations, besides being connected by the rock thing, were
also nicknamed “Meribah,” which means “contention, or “dissention.” A
memorial, no doubt, to the flexible, easy-going disposition of the
Israelites.
But as similar as they appeared, there was one major difference.
At Rephidim (see Exodus 17), when Moses cried out to God for help to
deal with the rebellion, he was told to take his staff and strike
the rock. And when Moses dutifully obeyed, water miraculously
appeared and everyone was temporarily satisfied.
However, at the Wilderness of Zin the instructions were different:
“Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the
congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it
may yield its water.” (Num. 20:8)
Now Moses had just buried his sister Miriam, so maybe he was a little
self-absorbed with his personal sorrow and didn’t hear God say the
word “speak.” Or maybe he was just so steamed at the chronic
belly-aching of his charges that he blocked it out. Or perhaps he was
so wedded to that miracle staff of his he didn’t have the faith to
just speak the water into existence. Whatever the reason, he
immediately reverted to what he did at Rephidim and whacked the rock.
Then whacked it again for good measure. And then called the whole mob
“rebels,” in case they didn’t get how he really felt.
That’s when God lowered the boom. But unlike the rest of Israel,
Moses didn’t cop an attitude against God, but humbly accepted his
fate.
So what is the hidden message in all this?
“Just do it” vs. “Just say it”
To understand the message, you have to see how these different events
could represent the two covenants.
The events that took place at Rephidim, because of its close proximity
to Mount Sinai, I believe represent life under the Mosaic Law. (God
even called the rock he struck, “Horeb,” another name for Mount
Sinai.) Under the Mosaic Law, which was a works covenant, God simply
handed Israel all His commandments and said, like the Nike slogan,
“Just do it!” If they did, they’d be blessed. If they didn’t, they’d
be cursed. By physically hitting the rock, Moses was symbolizing the
works of the Old Covenant.
But the Wilderness of Zin, which was post-Sinai, represents life under
the New Covenant, which is strictly about faith. Faith that in Jesus
there is no more curse. And faith that in Him all the blessings are
now ours, starting with salvation and righteousness. And that the way
we receive those faith blessings is to just believe - and then open
our mouth and speak them into existence.
“For with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with
the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” (Rom 10:10)
That’s why I believe God switched it up on Moses and told him to speak
to the rock at Zin. I believe He wanted to establish a type or shadow
of the new covenant, revealing that the Law covenant was not His final
covenant. That it would be replaced one day by “a better covenant
enacted on better promises” (Heb. 8:6), which would be activated by
words of faith. And even though Moses didn’t obey and establish the
shadow, God simply took his disobedience and used it to send another
important message. Namely, that when the New Covenant is introduced,
there would be no going back to the old way.
That’s why God sacked Moses. When Moses struck the rock at Zin he was
in effect returning to the way of the Old Covenant. He was back into
works. So no doubt God wanted to warn future New Covenant generations
that if we do that, we too would forfeit our chance to enter the
kingdom of God.
“For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself a
transgressor. For through the Law I died to the Law, that I might live
to God.” (Gal. 2:18,19)
In fact, that lesson was so important I’d say Moses was deliberately
set up by God to make that point. That is, God knew Moses had a
hidden, apparently unresolved problem with anger management (he had
also murdered an Egyptian as a younger man). And He knew Zin would not
only reveal it so God could finally heal him of this weakness of the
flesh, but it would serve to accomplish His purposes as well.
And God had several purposes in mind.
Moses never had a prayer
In hindsight, I believe Moses was a marked man from the start. That he
was never going to set one sandal inside the promised land, no matter
what.
Why?
Because Moses whole persona was identified with the Law. Even his name
was attached to it.
If he had been allowed to lead the nation into the land it would have
proclaimed a false gospel. It would have established a type and shadow
that taught that anyone can come into the divine inheritance by
following Moses. And we know that isn’t true. “For if those who are of
the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified”
(Rom. 4:14).
There is only one way a believer can come into the inheritance and
that is by the righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus. And
since “the Law is not of faith” (Gal 3:12), its righteousness doesn’t
qualify. Therefore Moses had to stumble so God could replace him with
Joshua. Only Joshua, which is the Hebrew name for “Jesus,” can bring
us home.
In addition, Moses’ colossal failure would also stand as a reminder
for all time that no man can walk in total obedience to God’s
commands. Not even Mr. Law himself. And for those who think they can,
his demise demonstrated that even one slip-up will sink you. “For
whoever keeps the whole law and stumbles in one point, he has become
guilty of all” (James 2:10).
Moses’ redux
Even though Moses was pink-slipped by God, his story actually has a
happy ending. When we get to the New Testament we find he not only
didn’t lose his pension (his eternal inheritance), but he also made it
to the Promised Land.
We discover this happy postscript in the 16th chapter of
Matthew where Peter, James and John accompany Jesus up the Mount of
Transfiguration, which is located in some unidentified part of Israel.
All of a sudden Moses and Elijah show up and start talking to Jesus.
So obviously Moses was still on God’s payroll. And still enmeshed in
the details of God’s great plan of salvation.
I thought it was really cool that God brought Moses out on stage, so
to speak, at this point. It was almost like He wanted him to have a
front row seat to see the completion of His work. Because even though
Zin had prevented him from leading the nation into the land, his
faithful obedience in establishing the Law covenant would eventually
lead the people to Messiah (Christ). “Therefore the Law has become our
tutor to lead us to Messiah, that we may be justified by faith” (Gal.
3:24).
Our Wilderness of Zin
Moses aside, this whole story speaks volumes of hope to us for the Zin
in our own lives. For no matter how faithful we think we may be to
Jesus, the chances are one day we too will fail just as Moses did. And
if you think, “oh no, I would never do that,” talk to the apostle
Peter.
How comforting to know then that God has already planned for our
failure. And will no doubt ‘set us up’ to reveal it so He might heal
us of that weakness and further His plan of salvation for our lives,
just as He did for Moses. For we know that “God causes all things
to work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are
called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28).
Including our Zins.
June 2010
www.bhennessy.com
|