love, not judgment

This morning I read, among other things, the story of the whiny Israelites and the miracle of the water from the rock at Meribah. You remember, God told Moses to speak to the rock.  But instead, this is what Moses did (Numbers 20:9 -12):  

“So Moses took the staff from the Lord's presence, just as he commanded him. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, ‘Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?’ Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank. But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.’”

I always thought that Moses was punished for hitting the rock. I totally got Moses, because I would want to hit some Israelites, and the rock would make a safe substitute.

Today, though, I think I was wrong; I think Moses’ mistake was speaking harshly to the people instead of gently to the rock. It seems to me that, for whatever reason, in this case God wanted to show his grace, his undeserved mercy, to his stubborn people. In the face of their complaining, he wanted to simply provide what they needed.

If that observation is correct, then Moses’ sin was this: he took it on himself to judge God’s people, to decide how God’s representative among them should respond. In fact, he decided that God’s instructions didn’t go far enough.

When I read it that way, the story changes. Instead of a case history in how bad things come from losing your temper, it becomes a warning about judgment. It reminds me that very seldom am I to be God’s agent in punishing people. That God is a God of grace, and I am normally a means for him to provide grace. Certainly I must never judge where God forgives, or punish where He shows grace.

I’m reminded of advice I got from an experienced elder when I first was on consistory. He said, “When in doubt, show love. God can handle judgment better himself.”