“But after Moshe and Aharon had assembled the community in front of the rock, he said to them, ‘Listen here, you rebels! Are we supposed to bring you water from this rock?‘ Then Moshe raised his hand and hit the rock twice with his staff. Water flowed out in abundance, and the community and their livestock drank.”-Numbers 20:10-11
Yet again, an occurrence we’ve seen before rears its ugly head.
The Israelites begin grumbling.
This time they’re moaning because they’re thirsty and worried about how in the world they’re going to get water in the barren desert wasteland they’re currently inhabiting.
They also go back to comparing their present circumstances to how things were back in Egypt.
They complain about all of the figs, grapes and pomegranates they had easy access to and more relevant to this story how since they were living near the Nile, they had never lacked for water.
How do Moses and Aaron respond?
Well, it’s deja vu all over again.
They fall on their faces before the Lord and seek His counsel.
God responds as follows:
“Take the staff, assemble the community, you and Aharon your brother; and before their eyes, tell the rock to produce its water. You will bring them water out of the rock and thus enable the community and their livestock to drink.”-Numbers 20:8
Moses basically did as ordered but he did not follow God’s instructions specifically as he was told.
He gathered the people and began giving the unruly crowd a real piece of his mind.
When he had finished, he took his rod and then with full force whacked the rock…HARD…twice.
Water immediately began gushing out of the crevice of the boulder in huge volumes.
It must have been a heck of a lot of water because it had to be enough to quench the thirst of 3 million people and their animals!
According to some estimates, about 11 million gallons of water would have been necessary DAILY to keep that many people alive.
This reminds me of a comment I heard from a Rabbi who said that keeping three million people alive and healthy in the desert for 40 years is without a doubt one of the greatest miracles HASHEM has ever performed!
Well, the people are now satisfied because they got their water.
But there was another much more serious problem.
God was NOT happy with Moses and Aaron.
And he tells them in no uncertain terms that because of what they did, they had both been barred from entering the Promised Land.
OUCH!
There is no record of how Moses and Aaron reacted but boy it must have been super depressing.
After wandering in the desert for 40 years (remember this chapter takes place near the end of the 40 years of wandering), and just when they were at that point of much anticipation when they were going to enter in to the Promised Land, God tells them they’re not getting in.
Obviously, the common question that arises at this point is “Why such a harsh decree?“
Sure, Moses and Aaron weren’t perfect but for the most part they had faithfully served God and now just for the slight indiscretion of striking the rock instead of speaking to it, they’re barred from entering the Promised Land?!?!?!?
The consequences don’t seem to match the transgression committed.
Many theories have been proposed to explain why God issued such a harsh decree.
Some say Moses should have only struck the rock once instead of twice.
Others say, Moses losing his temper in front of the crowd was a big no-no and displayed a major character flaw that disqualified him from entering the Promised Land.
And still others say, and this is the classic reason given, is that Moses should have only spoken to the rock and not whacked it.
Okay, while I don’t necessarily have a problem with all of these theories, they only seem to be touching the surface and not getting to the real heart of the matter.
So what is the real heart of the matter?
Well, in order to properly explain, let’s first take a look at some of the commands we received from HASHEM back in Leviticus.
“‘Do not turn to spirit-mediums
or sorcerers;
don’t seek them out,
to be defiled by them;
I am Adonai your God.”
-Leviticus 19:31
And this verse…
“‘A man or woman who is a
spirit-medium or sorcerer
must be put to death;
they are to stone them to death;
their blood will be on them.’”
-Leviticus 20:27
Actually, this warning against sorcery also appears in Exodus.
“You shall not permit a sorceress to live”
-Exodus 22:18
And the warning is reiterated in the Book of Deuteronomy.
“There shall not be found among you anyone
who burns his son or his daughter as an offering,
anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes
or interprets omens, or a sorcerer.”
-Deuteronomy 18:10
See, here’s what the problem was.
Moses and Aaron took credit for the water coming forth from the rock and by doing so had validated the pagan belief that it was men who had control over the gods and could get them to do their bidding.
In other words, Moses and Aaron had unintentionally made themselves out to be sorcerers.
Remember, at this stage in Hebrew history, the Israelites were still very much Egyptian in their thinking.
They still really believed in magic, witchcraft and sorcerers who through their incantations could wield supernatural power to accomplish miracles.
Moses and Aaron were in a perfect a situation to give glory to HASHEM but instead snubbed Him.
Look at the Lord’s response:
“Because you did not trust in me, so as to cause me to be regarded as holy by the people of Israel, you will not bring this community into the land I have given them.”-Numbers 20:12
The Rabbis in referring to the original Hebrew text also say the same thing.
They say that Moses’ terrible sin was saying NOTSI in which in Hebrew means “shall WE bring forth water…“.
Instead Moses should have said YOTSI which means “shall HE bring forth water…“
Again, in saying NOTSI, Moses and Aaron were making themselves out to be sorcerers.
This was taking on the prerogatives that belong to HASHEM and HASHEM alone.
Because of what Moses and Aaron did, the HOLINESS and SANCTITY that should have been attributed to God became muddled in the minds of the spectators.
Trinitarians (and those that preach or teach the idolatrous God-man doctrine) should take note here.
In not paying proper respect to God, Moses and Aaron were in a sense making themselves out to be gods and thus were flirting with idolatry.
In light of this, I’m beginning to think that maybe God went easy on Moses and Aaron by just barring them from entering the Promised Land.
Usually, idolatry is a death penalty offense.
But to be fair, Moses and Aaron weren’t committing idolatry in terms of actually worshipping other gods.
They had misrepresented themselves and how their relationship with HASHEM functioned.
Now it’s important to understand that this is something the Messiah never did.
He always gave credit to where proper credit was due.
What many in the Christian church seem to have trouble understanding is that saying Yeshua is HASHEM is the same as saying he is NOT the Messiah.
Why?
Because the Messiah refers to one who is anointed by God.
In other words, the God-man doctrine is anti-Messiah.
No wonder the Roman/Constantine trinitarian churches are so anti-Torah.
It’s because God’s foundational instructions contained in the Torah so clearly expose their heresy.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
Yeshua gave them this answer:
“Very truly I tell you,
the son can do nothing by himself;
he can do only what he sees his Father doing,
because whatever the Father does
the son also does.”
-John 5:19
“Why do you call me good?”
Yeshua answered.
“No one is good–except God alone.”
-Mark 10:18
“I won’t be talking with you much longer,
because the ruler of this world is coming.
He has no claim on me;
rather, this is happening so that the world
may know that I love the Father,
and that I do as the Father has commanded me.”
-John 14:30
“You heard me say,
‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.
‘If you loved me, you would be glad that
I am going to the Father,
for the Father is greater than I.”
-John 14:28
“For the Day will not come until
after the Apostasy has come
and the man who separates
himself from Torah has been revealed,
the one destined for doom.
He will oppose himself to everything
that people call a god or make an object
of worship; he will put himself above
them all, so that he will sit in the
Temple of God and
proclaim that he himself is God.”
-2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
You have got to be kidding me ???
Are you denying that YAHSHUAH is the
Šöň ( Flesh and Blood of G-D )
You are waaay misinformed and verging on heresy !!
I tell you this out of PURE LOVE NO CINDEMNATION OR DIVISION
!!
But from a pure and ubdefiled heart !
You must revisit and study the scriptures and the Hebrew .. and only ASK – FOR GOD ALMIGHTY WILL AND OMLY BY AND THROUGH REVELATION – THROUGH THE RUSHING MIGHTY WIND OF GOD
RUACH CAN YOU KNOW THE ONE TRUE GOD WHO ROBBED HINSELF IN FLESH
AND BECAME THE ONE AND ONLY PERFECT LAMB OF GOD –
You are trying to explain GOD AND UNDERSTAND HIM IN THE FLESH
THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE !!
Only by the spirit can you allow GOD TO KNOW YOU AND REVEAL HIMSELF TO YOU AS THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY
I am not kidding. Yeshua is proclaimed to be the son of God, NOT God the son. I believe the trinitarians are the ones who are misinformed and bordering on idolatrous heresy. I’ll be dealing with this topic in greater detail in the future. Shalom.
I dont believe in a 3 person god either, like Geryon a 3 person pagan god. I dont believe in Orcus, pagan god of eternal punishment and broken oaths (Learned of these 2 in Percy Jackson.)
But I disagree about saying Jesus isnt God either. God decided to hop off His throne in heaven about 20 centuries ago to be the Final High Priest to start the Third Temple Service. If you look at all the times Hashem is mentioned in the Bible, it means The Name. Its a Hebrew fill in the blank. What other name is it? The Father showed us all whats its like to be His Son so that we can all basically say, “Jesus is My Father in Heaven.”
The 4 letter YHVH doesnt count much either, its like if instead of Richoka your name was “RCHK”, doesnt really say as much to other people. Is your name “Richoka” or “Rachiku” or etc.?
So YHVH is “Yeshua HaMoshiach Vemelekh HaYehudim”, or in another way could be “Yoshke HaNotzri Vemelekh Ha’Olam”. God is One Person. As He says in John, “He who sees Me sees The Father.”
Agree to disagree on this point brother. Be blessed.
This article is wrong….read the real rrason here
https://worldzionistreport.com/rabbis-lie-about-moses?.
I love when I’m wrong (if I really am). Thanks for sharing.
I am enjoying reading your posts. My whole purpose in reading them was to get a deeper understanding of the Old Testament. (as I know we who have not been raised or taught in Jewish tradition aren’t getting a full understanding of the scriptures.)
Our Savior is unique from all other prophets; John the Baptist knew and declared that very thing. No created being has ever been sinless, we are born into the sin nature and reproduce after our own kind-Adam. Christ was, IS sinless, He too is “of His own kind” -God. (So to speak.) He is the living Word- He is Truth. He was “produced”after His own kind, Holy, without blemish, the unique, One and only Son of God. God SENT his own Son in the LIKENESS of sinful flesh … (Rom 8)
Our Savior received worship here on earth, as was due Him. Even as a baby in the womb His earthy mother worshipped Him. He is fully God and fully man, the one Who emptied Himself and left His rightful throne and came to earth to restore our relationship with God.
Messiah proclaimed Himself to be “I Am” 7 times in the book of John: I Am the bread of life, I Am the light of the world, I Am the door of the sheep, I Am the resurrection and the life, I Am the good Shepherd, I Am the way, the truth and the life, I Am the true vine.
The book of John declares Him to be far more than mortal man or good prophet: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… and The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:1-14.)
God corrects Peter, James and John (Mark 9:2-7) on the mount of transfiguration when they saw Moses and Elijah talking with Yeshua. They offered to build a tent for each of them- God let them know immediately that His Son would not share His glory with these men. God’s correction? “This is my beloved Son; LISTEN TO HIM.”
I see the presence of our Savior everywhere in the Old Testament, even in many of your teachings. He is a type of the life sustaining bread that came down from heaven to the Israelites, the living water that came out of the rock; I believe Him to be the Commander of the army of the Lord, who Joshua falls down and worships in Jos 5:13-15…
I could go on and on! We all must seek and pray for God to reveal Himself to us in truth and spirit. I shall keep seeking Him and I pray you will, too. A God that a human mind can fully understand is not God at all!
Peace to you, my friend. Soon we will all stand before the One who paid the price for our sin. Those who deny the Son, deny the Father.
I am really enjoying your blog, as I do not have a strong Tanach background, especially concerning understanding the Temple services and associated laws.
I also appreciate the previous comments, as they provide much food for thought.
There is one more scripture that I believe has been overlooked where we are told that Jesus was made perfect by the things that he suffered. (Hebrews 5:8-9) God is already perfect, so what could this mean, except that your point may be correct?
Also, John 1:1 is something to ponder, but even there it says, “The Word was God,” (past tense). Could that not be referring to the anointing you speak of, rather that the man? He
Jesus is also called the second Adam. So he would have been like Adam before the fall, since we know he never sinned. That means that he also had free will and could have chosen to sin. We know he was tempted as we are and I appreciate the scripture you shared where he makes it clear that only God is good. We also learn in the epistles that God cannot even be tempted.
There is certainly much to contemplate, but I am becoming convinced that you may indeed be correct.
God bless you!
You made some good points Bev that honestly do seem to support my premise. Thanks for reading and the warm words. Be blessed and SHALOM!
I like reading your blog. In this issue you stated I myself just put in a Bible study I am writing and will teach this very weekend. The idea that Moses and Aaron would say we after the rebellion of Korah is surprising. The children of Israel rebelled after the deaths of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, by the opening of the earth and swallowing them up, and the burning up of the Levites who offered incense. They accused Moses and Aaron of killing those people meaning they believed it was their magic not Yehovah. So how could they dare say we. In fact Moses said by this you shall know Hashem sent me to do all these works and then he makes the mistake of saying we, seems counter productive to me and evidently to Hashem as well. On the point of the trinity I agree it is a pagan concoction formulated at Nicea by the Catholics. However I do not believe in Arianism as you seem to be promoting the Roman Emperor who created the Catholic church banished Aries and two others who promoted it. I myself am of Jewish ancestry and I am an Apostolic Pentecostal minister of nearly fifty years experience. I am Apostolic because we believe and teach One God as Isaiah wrote and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Savior; there is none beside me. for I am God and there is none else. I even I am the Lord and beside me there is no savior. The very name Jehoshua: Jeshua: means Jehovah our Savior, this identifies who Jeshua Jesus in English is. For man to be created in God’s image he must be a three part entity spirit, mind, and body, forming one human creature. Jehovah or Father is infinite mind, Jeshua is the body, the Holy Ghost which Jeshua said would come in his name Jehoshua or Jeshua all compose one divine being. Jeshua Jesus is the bodily image of Hashem. John 14: 9 he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; Colossians 2: For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. For the HaMashiach to be our Messiah he must be divine. The one true God enrobed himself in flesh Gabriel told Mary that Holy thing that will be born of you shall be called the son of God called is an inference he really isn’t a son, except by divine conception of the fleshly shell made for sacrifice. Jesus is to use an Indian term is an Avatar of the one true God.
Thanks for your comment William…
I’m not sure I can fully accept the traditional trinity doctrine as taught in the institutional gentile church…
However, I’m perfectly happy and content to agree to disagree about certain issues…
One thing I think we do agree on though is that there is a clear line of demarcation between the Father and the son that should be respected.
Thanks again for your well thought out comment…
Be blessed and Shalom!
I don’t know everything, but I know that (besides Adam an Chava) you can’t make a human, without human sperm.
Over the years I’ve had many discussions with those who say YHWH the Son was just a human being. I cannot understand why these people who know that YHWH the Son had no earthly fathers seed, like every other human,(except Adam/Chava) yet remain adamant that YHWH the Son is only a human.
I’m personally fine with not knowing the answer to “Was Yeshua fully human or partially human or fully YHWH?”
Because, nothing is too hard for YHWH.