Question: How would the story have gone if Moses had spoken to the Rock rather than hitting the Rock?
The fact is that he hit the rock, instead of speaking to it, (Numbers 20:8), and disobeyed Almighty God’s request. In so doing, and as a trusted servant (and friend), he frustrated what God wanted the people to see; which was faith in His Word!
See: Exodus 33:11!
However; in the Numbers 20 account, it is not the same incident and time, but is approx. 40 years later. By then, the rebel spies had died out, and the younger generation had taken over!
They had been wandering in the Sinai desert for so long that they frequently covered the same ground and thus so in this case, they camped again at Meribar! The Tribes were again complaining to Moses, to the extent that his anger made him inappropriate before Almighty God, and although God spoke, he still relied on his memory of the earlier occasion, and he “struck the Rock”, instead of speaking to it.
This brought on God’s sentence that he would not lead Israel into the “Promised Land”; but that honour would pass to Joshua (Jesus).
This is probably prophetic of the event in the yet future, when Jesus Establishes the “Promised Land” to Israel, (who has completed the transition from Jacob at "Peniel"; Gen. 32:22-30) after His Return; Zech. 12:10!
If you have questions or comments, please click here.
Subjectindex or
www.revelationsmessage.co.uk or