The Sin of Moses and Lessons we can Learn from It
The Old Testament reveals a lot to us about God and His dealings with humanity. We would be wise to study it and to learn from it.Â
I Corinthians 10: 11
Romans 15: 4
Moses is mentioned 79 times in the New Testament, and without exception, he is presented as an example of faithfulness and righteousness. He is called faithful twice in Hebrews and even listed among the men of whom the world was not worthy. Despite all of this, Moses did sin.Â
Numbers 20: 1 - 13
It is the lessons from Moses’ sin that we are going to take time to study today.Â
First let’s look at the aspects of Moses’ sin. It was brought about by anger. We can see in the passage from Numbers that Moses was angry with the people.Â
Psalm 106: 32 -33
We see that Moses’ sin grew out of his anger with the people. How often do we get angry? How often would simply asking in a nice way work for the best? If that rebellious generation had asked Moses in a nice way, it would have been better for him.Â
However, his anger didn’t excuse Moses for his sin. We are told that we must learn to be slow to anger.Â
James 1: 19 - 20
Even if we do get angry, we are not to allow that to cause us to sin.Â
Ephesians 4: 26 - 27
Moses’ sin wasn’t that he was angry. His sin was in acting out due to that anger. Most of the time, the fights we have with loved ones demonstrate the way we act when we are angry.Â
Another aspect of Moses' sin was his disobedience. God told Moses to speak to the rock. Now while Moses did speak many words, none of them were to the rock. He did not do what God had told him to do, and he reaped the consequences. This disobedience led to transgression. He crossed a line. He went too far. Moses sinned in the eyes of God by going too far.Â
He also dishonored God. He took the credit for bringing the water from the rock, instead of giving the credit to God. He didn’t give God His just due for providing water to the people.Â
This manifested Moses’ lack of faith. True faith in God is trusting and relying on Him for everything. Moses didn’t demonstrate his faith in God at this time. He became angry, while God requires us to control our anger.Â
He was disobedient. Faith is proved and perfected in our obedience. Godly people prove their faith by their obedience. He was guilty of transgression. What God had said was evidently not as good as what He had not said. Thus, he dishonored God. We need to learn to honor and praise God at all times for all things.Â
What are some lessons we can learn from the sin of Moses? First, we learn that we may sin in the least expected way. Moses was meek and humble. He wasn’t a harsh, ill-tempered man.Â
Exodus 3: 11
Numbers 12: 1 - 3
However, that meekness was not on display at Meribah. Like Moses, where we think we are the strongest, may be the place that Satan attacks us.Â
I Corinthians 10: 12
We also learn that not a single one of us is above sin. Moses was most definitely one of the great men of the Bible.Â
Deuteronomy 34: 10 - 12
However, Moses sinned. No one is immune from sin. No one goes without sinning. Not you, not me, not preachers, not elders. In fact, if anyone who claims to be has lied and made God a liar.Â
I John 1: 8 - 10
We also learn that God expects exact obedience. We must worship exactly the way we are shown in the New Testament.Â
John 4: 24
Doing it any other way will condemn us.Â
Proverbs 16: 25
Matthew 15: 9
We learn that the end does not justify the means. Israel was famished and weak. When Moses brought forth water, they were refreshed. No doubt that stubborn and rebellious generation would have said, “what difference does it make? Strike the rock or talk to it. The important thing is that we get the water.†Does that sound familiar?Â
Sponsoring church arrangements have done much good. Many people have been converted through them. Social programs bring a lot of people to services. Women preachers draw other women to the services. Pianos make our singing sound wonderful. Everything I’ve just mentioned goes against what is shown in the New Testament, so they are all wrong. It doesn’t matter how much “good†they appear to be doing.  These people have forgotten that the end doesn't justify the means. Moses accomplished good, but the way he went about it was wrong.Â
Romans 3: 8
God judges us by our actions. Moses was judged on the basis of what he did. Our standing before God is based on our actions. Today, people want to be judged by some kind of subjective faith or a mental knowledge of some kind of feeling. They don’t want to be told what they must do. Obedience is far from them. James shows that our faith is demonstrated by our obedience.Â
James 2: 18
God will judge us by what we do.Â
II Corinthians 5: 10
Unlike all of us, God does not show any partiality at all. Moses sinned and he was punished by not being allowed to enter into the Promised Land. He was forgiven of his sin, but had to suffer the consequences of God’s judgment. God is the ultimate impartial judge, and we are to revere Him with awesome fear and wonder.Â
I Peter 1: 17
Hebrews 12: 28 - 29
Even the most faithful Christians will barely be saved.Â
I Peter 4: 17 - 18
This means we must praise and revere Him. All glory belongs to Him. We must not slack from giving God his due.Â
Ephesians 3: 20 - 21
Finally, we learn that we can’t allow mistakes to defeat us. Moses made a grave error and sinned against God. However, he didn’t allow that to defeat him. He didn’t give up and turn from God because of his sin. Moses repented of his sin and continued to serve God.Â
Moses was a great man, but he sinned. All men sin.
Romans 3: 23
If the great man Moses was not excused from his sin, neither will we be. So we need to do our best and rely on God to help us. Don’t give up, don’t give in, don’t give out.Â
Philippians 4: 13