The Sin of Unbelief's Echo: Numbers 20:1-8
Introduction: The Second Generation's Test
We come now to a pivotal and somber moment in the history of Israel's wandering. The book of Numbers, as we know, chronicles the forty-year period in the wilderness, a time of testing, judgment, and purification. An entire generation that came out of Egypt, a generation that saw the plagues, that walked through the Red Sea on dry ground, perished in the wilderness because of their unbelief. Their constant grumbling was not just a bad mood; it was a theological statement. It was the constant, dripping faucet of a faithless heart.
Now, forty years have passed. That entire generation of fighting men is dead. A new generation stands on the threshold of the promised land, back at Kadesh, the very place where their fathers had failed their great test of faith. And what do we find? We find that sin has a long echo. The children have learned the songs of their fathers, and they are not songs of praise. They are anthems of complaint. The circumstances are almost identical to what their parents faced at Rephidim, recorded in Exodus 17. There is no water. And immediately, the ugliness of unbelief erupts once more.
This passage is not just a historical account of a thirsty people. It is a profound lesson on the nature of sin, the burden of leadership, the patience of God, and the absolute necessity of precise obedience. It is also a deeply christological text. The Apostle Paul tells us that the rock that followed them in the wilderness was Christ (1 Cor. 10:4). So when the people grumble against the provision of God, they are grumbling against Christ. When they demand water, they are making demands of Christ. And when Moses, in his frustration, fails to represent God faithfully, he is misrepresenting Christ. This is a high-stakes moment, and the consequences will be severe, not just for the people, but for their great leader as well.
We must see ourselves in this story. We are all prone to the sin of Kadesh. We are quick to forget God's past deliverances the moment a present thirst arises. We are quick to turn on the leaders God has placed over us. And we are tempted to think that our frustrations somehow give us a pass on the demand for careful, faithful obedience. Let us therefore approach this text with humility, ready to see our own hearts reflected in the grumbling Israelites, and ready to learn from the failures of even a great man like Moses.
The Text
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.
Now there was no water for the congregation, and they assembled themselves against Moses and Aaron.
The people thus contended with Moses and spoke, saying, “If only we had breathed our last when our brothers breathed our last before Yahweh!
Why then have you brought the assembly of Yahweh into this wilderness, for us and our beasts to die here?
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.”
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;
and Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
“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.”
(Numbers 20:1-8 LSB)
Death, Thirst, and Rebellion (vv. 1-2)
We begin with the setting, which is marked by death and want.
"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. Now there was no water for the congregation, and they assembled themselves against Moses and Aaron." (Numbers 20:1-2)
The chapter opens with a stark notice of death. Miriam, the prophetess, the sister of Moses and Aaron, dies. This is the first of three key deaths in this section of Numbers. Aaron will die later in this chapter, and Moses will die just before Israel enters the land. The old guard is passing away. This death serves as a bookend, reminding us that the wages of sin is death, and that an entire generation has indeed passed away in this wilderness. It is a somber note, a reminder of the curse.
Immediately following this notice of death, we are told there was no water. Providence is testing the new generation. Will they respond with faith, remembering the God who provided water from a rock for their fathers? Will they approach their leaders with a humble request for prayer? No. The apple does not fall far from the tree. "They assembled themselves against Moses and Aaron." This is not a town hall meeting. This is the language of insurrection. It is a hostile gathering, a mob forming. Their thirst does not drive them to God in prayer; it drives them to rebellion against God's appointed authorities.
Let us be clear. The problem is not the thirst. The thirst is a real, physical need. God is not angry that they are thirsty. The problem is how they respond to their thirst. They interpret their lack not as a test of faith from a good God, but as an act of malevolence from incompetent leaders. This is the root of all complaining. Complaining is always a form of atheism. It is a declaration that either God is not in control, or that He is not good. It is an indictment filed against the Most High, with His servants as the co-defendants.
The Anatomy of a Complaint (vv. 3-5)
The charges are then laid out in verses 3 through 5, and we should dissect them carefully, for this is the language of faithlessness in every generation.
"The people thus contended with Moses and spoke, saying, 'If only we had breathed our last when our brothers breathed our last before Yahweh! Why then have you brought the assembly of Yahweh into this wilderness, for us and our beasts to die here? 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.'" (Numbers 20:3-5)
First, notice the twisted nostalgia. "If only we had breathed our last when our brothers breathed their last before Yahweh!" They are likely referring to the rebellion of Korah, where God judged the rebels directly. In their distorted view, a swift, fiery judgment from God would have been preferable to dying of thirst. This is high drama, of course, but it reveals a heart that sees God's judgment as better than His providence. They would rather be dead by God's hand than be led by God's chosen man.
Second, they accuse Moses and Aaron of malicious intent. "Why then have you brought the assembly of Yahweh into this wilderness, for us and our beasts to die here?" They attribute the worst possible motives to their leaders. They don't see Moses as a faithful, burdened shepherd, but as a malevolent tyrant leading them to their doom. This is a classic tactic of rebellion. You cannot rebel against a good and godly leader without first slandering him, without painting him as a villain. They conveniently forget that it was God who led them by a pillar of cloud and fire, not Moses' faulty map-reading skills.
Third, they despise their salvation. "And why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us into this evil place?" They rewrite their own history. Egypt, the house of bondage where their sons were murdered, is now remembered fondly. The wilderness, the place of God's presence and provision, is called an "evil place." They have completely inverted the truth. They then list the good things of the land they are promised but have not yet entered, "grain or figs or vines or pomegranates," and use their absence as a club to beat their leaders. They despise the journey of faith because it is not yet the destination. They want the fruit of the promised land without the fight of faith required to get there.
The Response of the Shepherds and the Glory of God (vv. 6-7)
How do Moses and Aaron respond to this mutiny? They do what godly leaders must always do when faced with rebellion they cannot quell.
"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; and Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying..." (Numbers 20:6-7)
They do not argue. They do not reason with the mob. They do not form a committee to address the people's grievances. They retreat from the face of man to fall on their faces before God. This is the posture of true leadership. Leadership is not ultimately about managing people's expectations; it is about prostrating yourself before the living God. They take the people's rebellion and lay it at the feet of the one who is truly being rebelled against. They get out of the way so that God can deal with His own people.
And God responds. "Then the glory of Yahweh appeared to them." The Shekinah glory, the visible manifestation of God's holy presence, appears. This is both a comfort and a terror. It is a comfort to Moses and Aaron, assuring them that God is with them and is taking charge of the situation. It is a terror to the congregation, for the last time the glory of God appeared in response to a rebellion, the earth opened up and swallowed men alive. When God shows up, the foolish arguments of men are silenced.
Grace in the Command (v. 8)
God's response is not immediate judgment, but a command of astonishing grace.
"'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.'" (Numbers 20:8)
God's answer to their faithless grumbling is His faithful provision. They deserve wrath, but He gives them water. This is the gospel in the wilderness. The command to Moses is very specific, and we must pay close attention, because the tragedy of the following verses hinges on this. He is to take "the rod." This is likely Aaron's rod that budded, the symbol of God-given authority, which was kept before the Testimony. Then, he is to assemble the people. And then, he is to "speak to the rock."
This is a significant change from the first water-from-the-rock incident in Exodus 17. There, Moses was commanded to strike the rock. Why the change? Because, as Paul tells us, that rock was a type of Christ. The first time, the rock had to be struck. Christ, our Rock, had to be struck once for our sins on the cross (Heb. 9:28). The judgment of God fell upon Him, and from His smitten side flowed the water of life. But now, the second time, the rock is not to be struck again. It is to be spoken to. Having been struck once, the provision of grace is now available to all who will simply ask for it in faith. To strike the rock again would be a theological blasphemy. It would be a denial of the all-sufficiency of Christ's one-time sacrifice. It would be to crucify Christ afresh.
God, in His grace, is setting up a beautiful picture of the gospel for this rebellious people. He is going to answer their sinful contention with a picture of His saving Son. They will be given water not because they deserve it, but because the Rock provides it. All Moses has to do is obey the simple, specific, and deeply meaningful command: speak. But as we shall see, the righteous anger of a man, even a great man like Moses, can get in the way of the work of God.
Conclusion: Our Thirst and the Rock
This passage forces us to confront the grumbling that so easily rises in our own hearts. When we face lack, when our circumstances are dry and barren, what is our first instinct? Is it to assemble against the authorities God has placed in our lives, our pastors, our husbands, our magistrates? Is it to file a lawsuit with God, accusing Him of mismanagement and malice? Or is it to fall on our faces, acknowledging our utter dependence on Him?
The Israelites' sin was that they remembered Egypt's leeks but forgot God's miracles. They let a present thirst erase a history of deliverance. We do the same thing. We forget the cross. We forget the empty tomb. We forget the countless times God has provided for us, protected us, and forgiven us. And so, when a new desert appears, we panic and complain as though we were spiritual orphans.
But the central lesson here is the gracious provision of God that comes from the Rock. Jesus stood up at the feast and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink" (John 7:37). He is the Rock, struck once for our rebellion. And now, all that is required is for us to come and speak to Him, to ask. He does not give us what our complaints deserve. He gives us what His grace provides. He gives us Himself, the living water. Let us therefore cease from our grumbling, which is a return to Egypt, and let us instead speak to the Rock, who is Christ, and drink freely from the salvation He has so graciously provided.