Numbers 20:10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?
Numbers 20 is a veritable treasure trove of lessons on leadership. It tells us the story of when Israel was once again in a bad way without water. There was no water, and they gathered themselves together against Moses and Aaron.
One thing I have noted is oftentimes when Israel gathered against Moses, instead of speaking immediately to them, he fell on his face. The Bible says here as it does in other places, “They fell upon their faces: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto them.” Instead of responding to these rebels, Moses spoke to God. Instead of exerting his power, he showed his submission. That is where power comes from. Power comes from submission to God. That is exactly what Moses had done over and again, and that is what he began to do here. But here he faltered in his obedience.
God told Moses to take the rod, gather the people together, speak to the rock, and it would bring forth water. On a previous occasion God had said, “Strike the rock.” Here God said, “Speak to the rock.” So, verse 10 tells us, “And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?” Now those pronouns are really telling. Moses said, “You rebels…we will provide.”
First of all, who were the rebels? It is ironic that on the very moment of Moses’ rebellion that kept him from entering Canaan, striking the rock instead of speaking to the rock, Moses would call these people “rebels.” They were rebels, but who was the rebel at this moment? It was Moses. Moses was the rebel.
He said, “Must we fetch you water out of this rock?” And he rebelled against God at that very moment. I can certainly understand Moses’ frustration with the people, but he had the pronouns all mixed up. Moses didn’t provide that water; God did. Israel wasn’t the rebel at that moment; Moses was. Now, a rebel cannot lead rebels in the right direction, and at this moment Moses wasn’t doing what God told him to do even though he expected Israel to do what he told them to do.
It is ironic, as I’ve said, because in Numbers 12:3 the Bible tells us what a meek man Moses was, yet that characteristic of Moses was the very thing that failed him at the moment he needed it. You see, your own strength is not enough for you to do what you should do. Your strength is not enough for you to lead as you should lead. You need God. Your strengths are not enough. There was no one with more meekness than Moses, yet that meekness was not enough to lead these people when Moses was acting in rebellion instead of following in submission.
I don’t know what position of leadership God has given you. All of us are in some kind of chain of command. We all lead and we all follow. The moment you forget that you have people following you, you may veer off in the wrong direction and be a bad example. The moment you forget you have someone to follow, not just God but human authorities, you have taken yourself out of the chain of command. Leadership is a stewardship and never forever.
The Bible tells us in this same chapter that Aaron died. Someone took his garment, someone took his responsibilities, and someone took his spot. The same would happen with Moses later on. The problem with these people was not geographical; it was internal. There is no escape from this kind of slavery to one’s own passions but submission to God.
Israel needed to submit to the leadership God had given them through Moses. And Moses needed to submit to the leadership of God because at the end of the day whatever strength you have, your strength is never enough. You need the strength of the God Who is here to guide you.