A Lesson In Repentance
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up to this mountain of Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the sons of Israel. When you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was; for in the wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command to treat Me as holy before their eyes at the water.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)
Numbers 27:12-14 (NASB)
Who remembers being punished by their parents for some thing that we probably knew was wrong? I certainly do, but I do not have time to recount the many times I deserved punishment as a boy. In such circumstances parents need to carry out a reasonable punishment, and not go soft in the moment. I remember our daughter pushing our buttons to see whether we would carry out the threatened punishment, and her shocked face as the punishment was fulfilled. I am not talking of corporal punishment but of grounding and removal of privileges, such as TV in the room. This is the Godly principle that we see in Numbers with Moses; who had disobeyed God’s instructions regarding the water to be provided at Meribah.
Moses’ disobedience by striking the rock at Meribah rather than calling out to God alone was punished; he was never to set foot in the Promised Land. But reading further than our chosen verses today will show us how Moses did not complain, but accepted the punishment from God. In verses 15 to 17 we read Moses praying for the people of Israel; that God would not leave them without a leader and would provide one worthy of the Holy duties of leading the people into the Promised Land. Further still in verses 18 to 21 God heard Moses’ prayer and answered it – Moses’ humble and repentant response was rewarded by Almighty God.
Alan Kearns is a Christian father and grandfather from Scotland. He was raised in the mining villages of Fife and came to know Jesus as his Lord and Savior in 1984. A major influence that leads Alan to Jesus was his Christian mum, grandparents and an aunt. Alan writes regular devotionals in his blog Devotional Treasures
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