As the
Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice do not harden your hearts as
you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, […]”.
The text
quotes Psalm 95, referring to an occasion described in the Book of Numbers when
the Israelites, in the desert and short of water, complain to Moses: “Why did
you bring us up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place?” Moses and Aaron
turn to God for an answer and God responds: “Take the rod; and you and your
brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before them,
and it will give its waters; thus you shall bring them water out of the rock,
and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.” But Moses, rather
than speaking to the rock, strikes it, saying: “Hear me, you disobedient
ones. Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” When Moses strikes the rock,
water comes out abundantly.
Whose
was the rebellion? The people’s? Moses‘? Was it the Israelites’ loss of faith
in God who had manifested himself in freeing them, and their wish to return to
slavery? Was it Moses’ exasperation and loss of faith, striking the rock in
anger rather than speaking to it as God had told him? I believe it to have been
both the Israelites' and Moses’ lack of trust in God in spite of his, by then,
well-proven ‘track record’ during their journey of liberation from Egypt.
How does
this passage speak to our time, how does it speak to me? It reminds me that
God’s been with me for some 55 years, so I have reason to trust and not
despair. In this politically, socially, ethically dark time, he’s telling me to
trust him and to continue the journey, to have the courage to play my part in
standing against the darkness. If I don’t, then I deny the God who loves me,
who journeys with us. Today if I hear his voice, let my heart and my will
respond.
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