Exodus 33:11 Numbers 20:7-13
“And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.’” Numbers 20:12 (ESV)
It is a sobering thought indeed to realize that a man with whom God was accustomed to speaking “as a man speaks to his friend, would one day speak to him hard words of rejection: “Because you did not believe me…you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”
We are reading here of a spiritual giant—a man of obedience, courage, faithfulness, and perseverance. But we are also reading of a man who, in an understandable moment of frustration (“Hear now, you rebels!”) confused his associates, troubled his own spirit and displeased his God.
That says something important to those who customarily treat lightly manifestations which we label as evidences of our “human nature”. We need, I think, to be troubled about a testimony which says, in effect, “I am saved and sanctified and any troubling behavior you may see in my life is simply my human nature coming through.”
Let us be candid: Any conduct which baffles those who are watching our lives, brings a spirit of heaviness to our soul, and casts upon us the sense of God’s disapproval is more than human nature—it is carnality and should be dealt with accordingly.
Further candor will also compel us to recognize that we have this treasure in a very earthen vessel which means there will be inadvertent failures – these are not to be dumped into a convenient catch-all which we call our human nature but will be confronted responsibly through the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit who not only cleanses but also teaches and refines.
So, for whatever reason, we need no longer spend our energy kicking rocks. The abiding presence of the Holy Spirit is a better response to the rocks which confront us.
Dr. Merne A. Harris
Pure in Heart Ministries 