• Read Numbers 20

MORNING— When Anger Goes Untended

• Focal Passage: Numbers 20:10-11

“And he said to them, ‘Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?’  Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod…”

Moses does not lose his temper out of nowhere.

The moment at Meribah is the breaking point of a long, familiar struggle. Anger has surfaced in Moses’ life before—early in Egypt, later before Pharaoh, again at Sinai when he shattered the tablets of the covenant. Each time, it appeared justified. Each time, it went largely unaddressed.

Now the pressures converge.

Miriam has died.
The people are no longer murmuring; they are contending—openly confronting Moses and Aaron.
Decades of leadership strain press in all at once.

Moses begins well. He falls on his face before the Lord and receives clear instructions. But when he stands before the people, restraint gives way to rage. He lashes out with his words. Then he strikes the rock—twice.

What makes this moment so sobering is that it works.

Water flows. The people drink. From the outside, the crisis appears solved. But Scripture makes clear that effectiveness is not the same as faithfulness. God names the issue plainly: Moses did not believe Him or treat Him as holy.

James would later write, “The anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God” (James 1:20). Moses’ story proves that truth. Anger can produce results, but it erodes trust, credibility, and character.

A personality flaw left unchecked will not remain contained. Under pressure, it will surface—and the cost is often greater than we imagined.

• Reflection:  Is there a pattern in your life you’ve excused for years that pressure is now exposing?

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EVENING— Striking the Rock

• Focal Passage: Numbers 20:12

“But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel…’”

God identifies Moses’ failure with precision: “You did not believe Me.”

This was not merely about anger. It was about trust. God had asked Moses to act differently—to speak rather than strike—in order to reveal His holiness to a new generation. Moses reverted to what had worked before. Familiar methods replaced present obedience.

The apostle Paul later sheds light on this moment when he writes, “They drank from the spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4).

That connection sharpens the warning.

Paul reminds us that the rock in the wilderness pointed forward to Christ. Moses was not merely disobedient—he misrepresented what God was revealing. God intended the rock to give life by a word, not by a blow.

Water still flowed, but the Moses failed to treat the Lord as holy before the people. God was seen as harsh rather than holy. Leadership matters because it shapes theology for those who are watching.

Here is the sobering truth: God may still act graciously even when His servants act wrongly—but that does not mean He approves of the method. Grace flowing does not equal God’s endorsement.

• Reflection:  Where might God be calling you to trust Him afresh rather than repeat what once worked?
• Closing Prayer:  Father, search our hearts where anger hides beneath success.  Teach us to trust You in the moment, not the method, and to honor You rightly before those who are watching.
  Amen.