To God Alone Be Glory :: Numbers 20:1-13

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[Introduction]

Forty years is a long time. It’s literally two-thirds of my life, and nearly half of many of your lives. It was THE entire life of this collection of Israelites.

We are nearing the end of the wilderness wanderings. Our text begins ... The sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to the Desert of Zin in the first month (v 1). That is, they entered a new year, and this group of grumblers are not those of the past, the group we had been hearing about this Lenten season of wandering. They are the second generation. Their fathers had suffered the punishment and the discipline of God for not trusting his Word. 

But this group continues the journey. The pillar of cloud by day and fire by night continues to lead them, guide them, stay with them. Moses and Aaron ... the men God called to speak for him ... continue to lift their hands in blessing. They continue to teach the sons of Israel what it means to be different from the world.

This generation had never known slavery in Egypt or the tyrannical hand of Pharaoh. Every meal they received was from the hand of God ... heavenly bread in the morning ... meat in the evening. The fullness of their lives emanated from the Tabernacle of God’s presence and daily Divine Service. Full of hope and trust in God’s promises ... living off his divine care for their entire lives ... these people are eager to receive the milk and honey of the Promised Land, unlike the first generation which longed for a return to slavery. They knew what the Word of God said to their fathers in Chapter 14:[31]: Your little ones ... I will bring in, and they will know the land. 

4.

But here they are ... still in the desert ... still in this place of death.

And our reading continues: There was no water for the congregation to drink, so they gathered against Moses and Aaron, and they contended with Moses, saying, ‘Oh, if we had only perished in the perishing of our brothers before YHWH! For what reason did you cause the congregation of YHWH to be brought up into this wilderness for us to die here, both we and our cattle? For what reason did you cause us to come up from Egypt to bring us to this evil place? (vv 2-5a)

These are honest questions. These people know the reason God has been carrying them this whole time. They own their identity as the Congregation of YHWH. They own their identity as the People of God who receive every blessing and life from him. They are not the ones to die but to live! 

Their quarreling ... this time ... is with Moses! They are saying ... What are we waiting for ... Let’s go! This is no place for grain, figs, vines, or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink! (v 5b). This is the place of death. Yet God promised life! 

Their grumbling ... for once ... was not of sin but of hope.

How do I know this to be true? Because this is the first incidence of their grumbling that doesn’t result in a rebuke from God ... or intercession by Moses. Instead, YHWH gave his word to Moses, saying, ‘Take the staff and gather the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and give the word to the rock before their eyes, and it will give its water. So you will bring for them water from the rock and water the congregation and their cattle (vv 7-8). 

There’s no desire here to consume them in wrath. There’s no punishment that awaits them. There’s no anger. There’s only steadfast love, mercy, and provision ... all the Promises of God the Father, who cares for body and soul. The second generation is not like the first who grumbled against YHWH. 

3.

But Moses ... he is of the first generation. 

Among men, Moses indeed was one who knew God as a friend. As we heard a couple weeks ago, he spoke with God face to face and mouth to mouth (Nm 12:8). His life as shepherd of God’s tender youth was of one bearing the burden of the people’s sin, interceding as a good and faithful servant in God’s house ... his face shone with the glory of God before the people. 

Yet it is not by works of righteousness that secure salvation. It is only by God’s mercy. 

Moses cannot ... and will not ... carry the people into the land of promise. He was God’s instrument of discipline. He was the giver of the Law. And we are not saved by the works of the Law. We are saved by grace through faith. 

While we should all aspire to be as faithful as Moses for as long as Moses was faithful, our faithfulness is by no means our ticket to salvation. Like Moses, we are still born in sin ... still born under the Law. We cannot attain the promises of God through the Law. And Moses’ rebellion and sin is a clear example that no one is righteous. All have turned aside. All have become corrupt. None does good; no, not one (Ps 14:3). 

And Moses is no exception. Moses took the staff from before YHWH, just as he was commanded. And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation before the face of the rock, and he said to them, ‘Hear, now, O Rebels: Must we bring water from this rock for you?’ And Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their livestock drank.

But YHWH said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not believe in me to sanctify me as holy before the eyes of the sons of Israel, therefore you will not bring this congregation into the land that I give to them’ (vv 9-12).

2.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as Luther teaches us through the Lord’s Prayer, God’s name is kept holy ... (sanctified) ... when the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity, and we, as the children of God, lead holy lives according to it. 

Moses did not hallow God’s Name ... but ... as our Psalm verse said ... Moses spoke rashly with his lips. He did not lift his hand in blessing. He lifted it in curse. YHWH didn’t tell Moses to speak to the people. But that’s what Moses did, calling them rebels ... complaining that he had to serve them. Instead of blessing the people, as directed, Moses condemned them. Instead of giving the word to the rock and therefore the blessings to the people (v 8), Moses struck the rock and withheld the blessing (v 10). 

Moses was not obedient. He was rebellious ... just like Nadab and Abihu ... just like Miriam and Aaron ... just like the first generation. Consequently, Moses was given to suffer the consequence of his sin and join his sister who died just before this event (v 1) and his brother who died just after it (Nm 20:29).

Yet through it all, God still provided the necessary refreshment to those who sought his glory. Water flowed abundantly, even at the rashness of Moses, proclaiming all glory belongs to God. These are the waters of Meribah ... which means “the waters of rebellion” ... where the sons of Israel defended ... (contended or pleaded the case of) ... YHWH, and He was sanctified ... set apart ... held as holy ... with them (v 13). 

1.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, remind God of his promises. He is trustworthy. All of his promises find their yes in Christ. He hears the complaints of the people who long for the fulfillment of his promises. 

And we still see the evidence of that today. Our Lord’s heart is pure. And out of his mouth comes glory alone to God. Christ ... who is the Word ... who is our rock ... speaks forgiveness to those who strike him. Christ speaks promise to the criminal near him. Christ announces that everything is finished. Christ completes the course of death as one who thirsts in the desert. When he is struck, out flows water, granting life to all looking up at his glory. 

Behold, the old has passed and the new has come. 

Behold, he is risen, and new life under God’s uplifted hands of blessing has come.

[Conclusion]

In faith, we know that this wilderness of serpents, scorpions, and lack of refreshment are not the place we are supposed to be. We are the new generation who are being carried by God through the Waters of Baptism. God continues to feed us, clothe us, water us. He keeps our eyes focused on the place of eternal joy and paradise that our Christ secured for us. 

As our journey of Wandering in the Wilderness with the Blessing of God continues, hold fast to his promises from generation to generation. Be secure in his promise given in Holy Baptism that ... Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age (Mt 28:20). 

With the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved (Rm 10:10). So let us speak holy things of our God, trusting that by his mercy he will continue to refresh us through the Rock of Christ ... who was struck before our eyes on the cross ... who gave abundant water from His side, mingled with the blood of redemption that fills our cup, and who was raised from the dead with hands lifted up for blessing, mercy, and peace. 

The Lord is with you. 

TO CHRIST, OUR ROCK OF SALVATION, WHO WAS STRUCK AND LIVES TO FORGIVE YOUR SINS AND CHANGE YOUR HEARTS AND LIPS TO GIVE ALL GLORY TO GOD

In Jesus’ name. Amen.



** Exegetical note: The translation of Numbers 20:13 in this sermon is very different than virtually all other English translations. Context demands this translation of the Hebrew. Second, the word "with" is not in either the Hebrew (THOT or BHS) or Greek (LXX) manuscripts of Numbers 20:13. The Septuagint reads "ἐλοιδορήθησαν οἱ υἱοὶ Ισραηλ ἔναντι κυρίου." The verb here is an aorist passive. Therefore, that translation could be rendered as "The Sons of Israel were reviled before the Lord." The key Hebrew phrase is אֲשֶׁר־רָבוּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת־יְהוָה. The name of God, Yahweh, is clearly marked in the Hebrew as the direct object of the verb רִיב, a verb that means contend, defend, assert, strive. It is a Qal perfect 3rd person plural. Therefore, "The Sons of Israel contended (defended, asserted) Yahweh." There are multiple Hebrew words for the word "where," none of which appear in this text.


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