Commentary - Numbers 20:1-8

Bird's-eye view

We come now to a pivotal and tragic moment in the history of Israel's journey to the Promised Land. After nearly forty years of wandering, a new generation stands at Kadesh, the very place where their fathers had rebelled. The chapter opens with a death, that of Miriam, signaling the passing of the old guard. This is immediately followed by a familiar crisis, a lack of water, which provokes a familiar and sinful response from the people: grumbling, rebellion, and a blasphemous nostalgia for Egypt. The people assemble themselves against Moses and Aaron, accusing them of malice and incompetence. In their distress, the leaders do the only right thing, which is to fall on their faces before God. The Lord responds not with the judgment the people deserve, but with a command of grace. He instructs Moses to take his rod, gather the people, and simply speak to a rock, promising that it will gush forth water. This passage sets the stage for Moses' own tragic failure, but in these opening verses, we see the stark contrast between man's petulant unbelief and God's glorious, patient, and powerful grace.

Outline

Commentary on the Text

v. 1 Then the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to the wilderness of Zin in the first month; and the people stayed at Kadesh. And Miriam died there and was buried there.

The narrative resumes after a long silence, spanning most of the forty years of judgment. A new generation has grown up in the wilderness, and they arrive at Kadesh, a name that should ring with infamy. This is the place from which the spies were sent, the site of their fathers' great rebellion (Numbers 13-14). To come here again is a test. Will this new generation trust God where the last one failed? The phrase "the whole congregation" emphasizes their corporate identity. Before the action even begins, we are met with a somber note: Miriam died. The prophetess, the sister of Moses and Aaron, the one who led the women in song after the Red Sea crossing, is now gone. Her death is a stark, unceremonious reminder that the entire generation that came out of Egypt, with a few notable exceptions, was under a death sentence. The old era is passing away.

v. 2 Now there was no water for the congregation, and they assembled themselves against Moses and Aaron.

Here is the test. "There was no water." God frequently leads His people into situations of apparent lack in order to teach them dependence. This is not an oversight on God's part; it is a divinely orchestrated trial. And how does this new generation respond? Exactly like the old one. They "assembled themselves against" their leaders. This is the language of insurrection. Instead of gathering for prayer to petition the Lord, they gather for a mutiny to accuse His servants. The natural man, when faced with hardship, does not look up in faith but looks around for someone to blame. Their thirst was a physical problem, but their immediate response revealed a deep spiritual disease.

v. 3 The people thus contended with Moses and spoke, saying, “If only we had breathed our last when our brothers breathed their last before Yahweh!

The word "contended" means to strive or bring a formal grievance. This is not just complaining; it is a hostile confrontation. And their words are dripping with wicked unbelief. They refer to the judgment that fell on Korah and his rebellious company (Numbers 16), where the earth swallowed men whole and fire consumed them. Their statement is this: we would rather have been judged and executed directly by God for high rebellion than to be led by you to die of thirst. This is a staggering insult. It is a suicidal death wish born from a heart that cannot conceive of God's goodness in the midst of trial. They prefer a swift death under judgment to a slow walk of faith.

v. 4 Why then have you brought the assembly of Yahweh into this wilderness, for us and our beasts to die here?

Notice the gall of using religious language to bolster their rebellion. They call themselves "the assembly of Yahweh" in the very act of defying Yahweh's appointed leadership. This is a classic tactic of the sinner, to cloak his mutiny in the garb of piety. They accuse Moses of bringing them into the wilderness to kill them. This is a direct assault on the character of God, for it was God, not Moses, who was leading them. They conveniently forget the pillar of cloud and fire. Their unbelief has made them paranoid, and they attribute the foulest of motives to the man who has done nothing but intercede for them for forty years.

v. 5 And why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us into this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink.

The lie gets bigger. Now they are rewriting redemptive history. Egypt, the land of slavery and death, is implicitly remembered as a better place. The path of deliverance, ordained by God, is labeled an "evil place." Why? Because it doesn't meet their worldly criteria for comfort. They wanted the fruit of the Promised Land without the faith required in the wilderness. They judge God's provision based on what they can see, and what they see is a lack of grain, figs, and pomegranates. They have a consumer mindset toward God. If He doesn't deliver the goods they want, on their timetable, then His plan is evil and His leaders are malicious.

v. 6 Then Moses and Aaron came in from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. Then the glory of Yahweh appeared to them;

Here we see the mark of true leadership. Moses and Aaron do not engage in a shouting match with the mob. They do not try to reason with the unreasonable. They retreat from the hostility of men to seek the presence of God. They take the people's sin and lay it at the Lord's feet. Their posture, falling on their faces, is one of complete helplessness, humility, and desperate intercession. They know they have no solution. And in response to this humble desperation, God shows up. "The glory of Yahweh appeared to them." God honors leaders who, when pressed, run to Him and not to their own devices. The visible, brilliant presence of God fills the doorway, a stunning rebuke to the faithless congregation outside and a profound comfort to His beleaguered servants within.

v. 7 and Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

Out of that glorious presence comes a voice. God speaks. He does not first lash out at the rebels. He first gives a word of instruction and grace to His servant. The solution to the people's rebellion and thirst will not come from human ingenuity but from divine revelation.

v. 8 “Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink.”

The command is filled with grace. The people deserve serpents, but God promises water. The instruction is precise. First, "take the rod," the symbol of God's authority vested in Moses. Second, "assemble the congregation," so that everyone can witness the miracle and know who is providing for them. Third, and this is the crucial part, "speak to the rock." This is different from the first water-from-the-rock incident in Exodus 17, where Moses was commanded to strike it. Here, the power of God is to be unleashed through His spoken word through His prophet. The rock is a type of Christ (1 Cor. 10:4). Christ was struck once on the cross for our sins. Now, all who are thirsty may come and simply ask, simply speak to Him, and He will give the water of life freely. God is setting up a profound gospel tableau. The provision is to be lavish, not just for the people but for their beasts as well. This is a picture of God's overflowing grace in the face of man's pathetic and sinful unbelief.

Application

This passage is a mirror for the church in every age. We are all prone to the sin of Kadesh. When we find ourselves in a spiritual wilderness, when resources seem dry and the way forward is hard, our first temptation is to grumble. We look at our circumstances, we look at our leaders, and we start to contend with them, accusing them of leading us into an "evil place." We romanticize our old life of slavery to sin and slander the path of sanctification because it is difficult.

The response of godly leadership is to refuse to get drawn into the mud-wrestling match of the congregation's complaints and instead to get on their faces before God. The answer to the church's problems is always found at the doorway of the tent of meeting, in the presence of the glory of God.

And the answer God gives is always one of grace, centered on the Rock, who is Christ. Christ has already been struck for our sins. The work is finished. Our task now, in our moments of need, is not to demand that God prove Himself again, but to simply "speak to the rock." We are to come to Him with believing prayer, trusting His promise, and He will open the floodgates and give us the living water we and our households so desperately need. Let us therefore cease our grumbling and learn to speak to the Rock.