MOSES AND THE NEW GENERATION

After wandering aimlessly for 38 years in the desert the people of Israel came back to
Kadesh, on the frontier of the promised land, where they had mutinied against Moses
and had refused to enter the land. But this was not the same people who came there
before. It was a new generation. The old one had died, as the Lord had said, in the
desert because of their disobedience. Each generation has an opportunity to know the
Lord and serve. We are not penalized for the failure of past generations.

Most of this new generation had been born in the desert. They had not known the
suffering of Egypt nor seen the miraculous signs the Lord did there. But they had
known the Lord´s presence among them in the tabernacle and his daily provision for
their lives. They rejoiced in being the Lord´s people, in his promises and looked
forward to entering the promised land. We too have been greatly blessed by the Lord
and look forward to the Lord´s coming.

The only record we have of them during these 38 years is a list of the places they
visited. Num. 33 Undoubtedly they had been a great encouragement to Moses. He had
set his hopes on them. But when the test came they failed. When they came to Kadesh
there was no water and they showed that they were no better than the old generation.
They had the same tendencies. They collectively rebelled against Moses and the Spirit
of God (Psal. 106: 33) using the same old arguments. Num. 20: 2-5

The Lord told Moses to take his staff and Aaron and gather the people together. Then
he was to speak to a great rock which was before them and it would pour out its
water. This was to be a greater miracle than when Moses struck the rock soon after
leaving Egypt. So they gathered the people together. But Moses saw history repeating
itself with the people being rebellious to the Lord and he lost control of himself. He
angrily said to them, “Listen you rebels, must we bring water out of this rock?” Then
he raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff.

In doing so Moses dishonoured the Lord before the people. He disobeyed the Lord by
striking the rock twice instead of only speaking to it and broke a type of Christ as the
Rock who was struck but once for us. He had not trusted the Lord before the people to
give water by him merely speaking to the rock. He had dishonoured the Lord in saying,
“Must we bring you water out of this rock” as if it was he and Aaron who would
provide water from the rock, and not the Lord.

But see how gracious is the Lord. He did not humiliate Moses before the people. He
honoured him before the people and gave them water in abundance from the rock.
However this one act of Moses excluded him from entering the promised land. Luke
12: 48 Later he asked the Lord about this but the Lord would not budge on this the
matter. He did however let him see the land from afar. Deut. 3: 23-28

Moses was the most humble man on earth (Num. 12: 3) but he was not perfect. Only
Jesus is perfect. 1 Cor. 10: 12 Moses had been such a faithful servant of the Lord but he
failed. It all became just too much for him. He felt that he could take no more. When
things seem to build up against us let us remember that the Lord will not allow us to be
tested beyond what we can handle. With each test he prepares a solution. 1 Cor. 10:
13