moses: anger and what it cost him - our daily bread...

CONTENTSIt’s Not That Simple . . . . 2The Power Of Anger . . . 5Moses’ MomentsOf Anger . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Over Injustice . . . . . . . . 8Over Pharaoh’s RebellionAgainst God . . . . . . . . . 11Over The Hebrews’Idolatry . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Over His Disappointment With God. . . . . . . . . . . 19Over The Hebrews’Complaining . . . . . . . . 20

Lessons Moses Needed To Learn . . . . . 22

Solitude With God . . . . 22Humility . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Dependence. . . . . . . . . 25Spiritual Confidence . . . 26Compassion . . . . . . . . . 29Accountability . . . . . . . . 30

Faith Is The Victory . . . . 32

MOSES: HisAnger AndWhat It Cost Him

TThe Moses of the TenCommandments is oftenthought of as a moral

legend, bigger than life. But theperson behind the story is a realman who according to the Biblewas far more like us than manyimagine.

In addition to his strugglewith self-doubt and reluctance,he had a problem with anger.And his outbursts had seriousconsequences.

Who among us does not needto see the difference betweenhealthy anger and the smolderingor explosive rage that can do realdamage? In the following pages,Bill Crowder, RBC Director ofChurch Ministries, helps us notonly to see the real Moses, butourselves as well.

Martin R. De Haan II

Managing Editor: David Sper Cover: Engraving by Gustave Doré (1832–1883)Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by ThomasNelson, Inc. Used by permission.All rights reserved.© 2002, 2004 RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, Michigan Printed in USA

© RBC Ministries. All rights reserved.

“IT’S NOT THATSIMPLE!”

WWill Rogers addressed

Congress during the early days of World War I. At the time, therewas great concern aboutGerman submarines andtheir stealth capabilities. As he spoke to the nation’sleaders, Rogers humoredthem with the declarationthat he had solved the U-boat problem. “All you have to do,” he informedthem, “is boil the oceans.When the water becomesunbearably hot, thesubmarines will come to the surface, and then you’ll have them!”

“And how are wesupposed to boil theocean?” asked acongressman. Withouthesitation Rogers quipped,“Listen, I’ve come up withthe solution. I’ll leave it to

you to work out the details.”Many Problems Are

Complex. Rogers’ humorreminds us that we can’tsolve the complexities of lifewith simplistic solutions.

Human beings are complex creatures, and our circumstances arecomplex. Our problemsneed to be understood incontext and in perspective:

• If all we knew of Noahwas his problem withalcohol in Genesis 9, we would assume he was a down-and-outloser. Yet, he wasdescribed by God as a“just man, perfect in hisgenerations” (Gen. 6:9).

• If all we knew of David 2

We can’t solve the complexities

of life with simplistic solutions.


was his adultery withBathsheba, we wouldnever assume that hewas, for the better part of his life, “a manafter [God’s] own heart”(1 Sam. 13:14).

• If all we knew about Saul of Tarsus was hiseffort to kill Christ’sfollowers, we wouldnever expect him tobecome the writer of halfof the New Testament.The same is true of

Moses. If all we knew about him was the angerthat occasionally consumedhim, we wouldn’t see whatan important example he is for all of us.

We All Struggle.You and I know our ownfaults more than anyoneelse. Outside the home wemay give the appearance of being in control. But our spouse, children, andclosest friends often seeanother side of us. Howhappy we can be that some

of our most embarrassingmoments are usually knownby only a few people!

Moses was not sofortunate. This highlyeducated and capable leader had some of his

lowest and most regrettablemoments recorded for alltime in the Bible for all theworld to see. As a result,those who take the time toread his story discover aman who lost his temper andbetter judgment at criticalmoments. He seems to havefought a battle with anger his entire life—a struggle he sometimes lost, and

3

Moses had some of his lowest andmost regrettable

moments recordedfor all time in theBible for all theworld to see.


sometimes won. Yet in spiteof his personal weaknesses,God used him to:

• Deliver his people fromthe bondage of slavery in Egypt.

• Lead the people of Israelto national identity.

• Establish the laws andstructures of a brand-new culture.

• Lead the Israelites tobecome a worshipingcommunity committed to a God long forgotten.

• Advise and counsel theentire nation.

• Lead purposefully andeffectively in the face ofgreat criticism from hisconstituency.By any standard of

evaluation, Moses had anamazing track record. Yet,along the way, he wasafflicted with an Achilles’heel of anger. It dogged his steps his entire life.

We All AreVulnerable. I believe theconcept of an Achilles’ heel

is precisely what the writerof the New Testament letterto the Hebrews was talkingabout when he said:

Let us lay aside everyweight, and the sin whichso easily ensnares us, andlet us run with endurancethe race that is set beforeus (12:1).

“The sin which so easily ensnares us” is theproblem. Peter struggled with impulsiveness, Solomon with a wanderingeye, and Abraham with amanipulative spirit. What isit for us? What is that easilyensnaring weakness thatthreatens to trip us up atcritical moments in our lives?

For Moses, it was clearly anger.

4

What weaknessthreatens to trip us up at critical

moments in our lives?


THE POWER OFANGER

TToday it seems we aremore exposed to angerand rage than ever

before. Domestic violence,spousal abuse, gang wars,road rage, and personalassault are growing todisturbing levels. Mediareports indicate that Americahas become a “society ofrage”—and the statisticsseem to back that up.

The same media that report the violence,however, also promote it.Talk shows try to force on-screen violent conflicts;movies and television shows glamorize angryconfrontations; andprofessional sports cannotseem to find a way to curbthe explosive on-fieldviolence that leaves someathletes crippled but thefans clamoring for more.

Another Time,Another Place. We are

not the first culture to feedon anger and violence.Ancient Egypt demonstratedsome of the same traits.Though considered to be the

most civilized and advancedsociety of its day, it was stilla culture that achieved itsadvancements by the violentexploitation of slave labor, asignificant portion of whichwere the children of Israel.How did this come about?

For years, the Hebrewpopulation flourished inEgypt under the influence ofJoseph, the eleventh son ofIsrael (Jacob). But Exodus1:8 states that “there arose anew king over Egypt, whodid not know Joseph”—andhe felt no obligation to carefor Joseph’s family. This

5

We are not the first culture to feed on anger

and violence.


pharaoh subjugated thepeople and enslaved them.

From the pages andmistakes of our own history,we know the tragic andabiding effects on a culturethat lives off the back ofslavery. The landmarktelevision mini-series Rootsshowed the demoralizing

and dehumanizing effects of slavery on the America of the early to mid-1800s.The evening news regularlyillustrates the lingeringconsequences of thattragedy as the United Statescontinues to struggle with

racial tension rooted in thepast abuses of slavery.

The same legacy was nodoubt present in Egypt inboth attitudes and actions:

• Attitudes of disdainamong the Egyptians forthe enslaved Hebrews,and of anger among theHebrews for theirtaskmasters.

• Actions of violence bythe Egyptians to maintaincontrol of this nation ofslaves, and of rebellionamong the slaves as theirlives became a wearytreadmill of hard laborand suffering.For 400 years the

Hebrews endured theseconditions of beingbrutalized and treated as subhuman. The angerand violence that resultfrom slavery is tragic, but inevitable.

When AngerSurfaces. It is interestingto note that the Hebrewword for “anger” comes

6

From the pages andmistakes of our ownhistory, we know thetragic and abidingeffects on a culture

that lives off theback of slavery.


from the words for “face”and “nostrils.” Anyone who has faced a truly angryperson understands why.When anger builds up, itdistorts our appearance, anoutward manifestation ofthe fiery volcano within.Anger unchecked can eataway at the heart and affectthe character of a personlike few other emotions.

Yet, anger is not all bad.In its healthy form, properlycontrolled and expressed, itcan motivate us to work forneeded change. ConsiderJesus’ anger at the hypocrisyof the religious leaders ofHis generation, and Paul’sanger at the legalism of theGalatians.

When anger is checked,it is like a refiner’s fire thattempers steel to make itstronger. When it isunchecked, it is asdestructive as the wildfiresthat seasonally flare up inthe hillside chaparral ofSouthern California. When

out of control, our anger can destroy us—and thosewe love.

That brings us back toMoses. What did he do withhis anger? Did it temper himor consume him? When didhis rage reflect his own fear,frustration, and impatience?When did it show passionfor the interests andconcerns of God?

To unravel some of the complexities of Moses’personality, we will take twoquick passes through hislife. First, we’ll consider hisapparent tendency towardanger. Then we’ll considerthe lessons he learned—thehard way.

7

When anger is checked, it is

like a refiner’s firethat tempers steelto make it stronger.


MOSES’MOMENTS OF ANGER

MMoses was a natural leadereven though he

didn’t always think so (Ex.3:11; 4:10). He was blessedwith numerous gifts:

• Good looks (Ex. 2:2; Acts 7:20)

• Intelligence (Acts 7:22)• Unparalleled opportunity

(Acts 7:22)• Eloquence (Acts 7:22)• Leadership ability

(Acts 7:22)That’s quite a résumé.

Yet, to whom much is given,much will be required. Evenin the best of circumstancesthis is true—and Moses was not in the best ofcircumstances. While trying to use his God-givencapacity for leadership, he was at the same timeseeking to control theseething fire of anger in hisbelly over the plight of his

people. While Moses wasfollowing the clear directionof God, his anger wouldoccasionally flare up andovertake the moment. Weneed to see these episodesof anger, and recognizethem for what they were.

Moses’ Anger OverInjustice (Ex. 2). At age40, Moses made a criticalchoice: He determined notto be identified with the lifeof privilege in which he hadbeen reared but with theenslaved Hebrews whoseblood and heritage heshared (Acts 7:21; Heb.

8

While Moses wasfollowing the cleardirection of God,his anger wouldoccasionally flareup and overtake

the moment.


11:24). This would be anamazing choice under anycondition, but it becomeseven more dramatic whenyou see what Moses leftbehind:

• Wealth. He grew upamid the grandeur andexcitement of Pharaoh’scourt and could havecontinued to live inmaterial comfort.

• Education. He hadbecome “learned in allthe wisdom of theEgyptians” and couldhave received all thebenefits of being anationally respectedorator (Acts 7:22).

• Fame. For 20 years he had been a highlysuccessful militaryleader. Josephus, theJewish historian, saysthat he was a skilledgeneral who broughtEgypt a stunning victory in a war against Ethiopia.

No wonder Acts 7:22 says

that he became “mighty in words and deeds.”Imagine the acclaim andhonor that came from these achievements. Yet,incredibly, Moses walkedaway from it all and becamea slave. Why? The writer ofHebrews said that he madetwo critical value judgments:

Choosing rather to sufferaffliction with the peopleof God than to enjoy thepassing pleasures of sin,esteeming the reproach ofChrist greater riches thanthe treasures in Egypt; forhe looked to the reward.By faith he forsook Egypt,not fearing the wrath ofthe king; for he endured as seeing Him who isinvisible (Heb. 11:25-27).Interestingly, this New

Testament perspectivedescribes Moses’ healthyresponse to someone else’sanger. This passage tells usthat Moses was not afraid to face the anger of the self-absorbed Pharaoh

9© RBC Ministries. All rights reserved.

who raised Moses in hisown house.

To remain in Pharaoh’scourt would have broughtMoses wealth and socialprivilege, but only for a short while. Given insight by God, Moses saw what was critical in decision-making—the need to lookbeyond the moment and seethe result of the decision.

While not coweringbefore the rage of Pharaoh,Moses saw beyond themoment. We can probablyassume that he must havefelt some healthy anger as he observed themistreatment of theenslaved people of Israel.

What we do know is that God gave Moses thewisdom to see that choosingthe immediate pleasures ofadoption as Pharaoh’sgrandson (material wealth,education, fame) did notdeserve to be comparedwith the lasting honor ofstanding up to the plight

of his own flesh and blood.Among those who

worship material success,such a choice would evokeridicule, mockery, and asanity check. Yet this wasMoses at his best. He madethe right choice. Eventhough he could not haveunderstood all that he waschoosing at the time, he leftthe posh environment of

imperial Egypt to suffer withthose who needed his help.

Ironically, however, thehealthy anger that Mosesmust have felt in behalf ofhis enslaved relatives endedup getting him in trouble. Alife-changing event occurred

10

The healthy angerthat Moses must

have felt in behalf ofhis enslaved relatives

ended up gettinghim in trouble.


when he tried, in his ownstrength, to go to the aid ofone of his Hebrew brotherswho was being beaten by anEgyptian taskmaster. Moses’emotions took over and hecommitted a crime ofpassion—murdering theEgyptian and hiding hisbody in the sand.

Unfortunately, Moses’motives were not totallypure. The “why” behind the “what” isn’t found inExodus. It’s discovered in a speech given by Stephenin Acts 7. Stephen’s analysisof Moses’ actions gives the additional insight thatMoses killed the taskmasterwhile trying to step forwardas the deliverer of the slavenation. Acts 7:25 says:

He supposed that hisbrethren would haveunderstood that Godwould deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand.Moses was undoubtedly

right about the mistreatment

of the slave. His response,however, revealed howunprepared he was for thetask ahead. As Merrill Ungerwrote, “He needed divinepreparation, as is shown byhis killing of an Egyptiantaskmaster in anger.” Hewould never be able toaccomplish this deliveranceby his own strength andcleverness, and it was vitalfor him to learn this lesson.

Stepping out on his ownwith a rash act of anger costhim dearly. He spent thenext 40 years of his life asan exile and fugitive in thewilderness of Midian—a farcry from the position ofpower and authority he hadonce held. Some say that“life begins at 40,” butMoses must have felt thathis life had just ended.

Moses’ Anger Over Pharaoh’sRebellion Against God (Ex. 11:8). Fortylong years had passed in the blowing desert sands.


Moses had been humbledon the backside of a barrenwilderness. Now he was about to face a newchallenge. God was about to lead him back intoPharaoh’s court.

The moment of truthoccurred in the wilderness.God surprised Moses byspeaking to him from amysterious burning bush(Ex. 3–4). From the bush,God told Moses that He wasgoing to use him to lead Hispeople out of Egypt.

It didn’t sound like agood idea to Moses. Heremembered his last effort to be a hero. Yet, because of the conversation at theburning bush, Mosesrealized that he had littlechoice but to return to theplace from which he hadfled.

Imagine the inner turmoil Moses must havefelt as he returned to theplace where he spent thefirst 40 years of his life.

Things were different thistime. No longer did Mosesstand in the finery of Egypt,being groomed for greatness.Now he stood in the simpleclothes of a nomadicshepherd to demand fromthe most powerful man onearth the release of Egypt’swork force.

This time Moses didn’tstep forward in his ownstrength. Instead, he knewthat if anything would beaccomplished, it would bethrough God’s power alone.

What was Moses’ part?His responsibility was totrust God enough to stand inthe Egyptian court and tellPharaoh what God told himto say. He did not have toaccomplish the deliverance,but he did have to believeGod and do his part.

God’s plan was to carryout a series of supernaturalinterventions—plagues thatwould attack the spiritualheart of Egypt. Eachmiracle-plague had a direct


correlation to the Egyptiannature-based religion. Theone-and-only God wouldprove His authority asCreator by making Hiscreation mock the idolatry of polytheistic Egypt.

By the time this displayof the supernatural wasover, there would be nodoubt in Moses’ mind thathe could trust God to meetthe demands of the tryingdays ahead. Havingwitnessed God’s power, theHebrews could have hopein a future they had neverbefore dared dream of.

Notice how the plagues

expressed God’s righteousanger toward the idols andfalse gods of Egypt:

1. The Nile turned toblood (Ex. 7:14-25).The Nile was the center of Egyptianreligion, and theagricultural lifeblood for the nation. The gods Hapi and Osirissupposedly protectedthe river.

2. Swarms of frogs(8:1-15). In Egypt,Heqt, the frog god, was a symbol of fertility andresurrection.

3. Dust became lice(8:16-19). The Hebrewword for lice, kinnim,refers to gnats.

4. Swarms (8:20-32). The exact nature of this swarm is not certain, but somecommentators believe it was the dog fly, abloodsucking insect that laid eggs on other

13

Moses did not have to accomplish

the deliverance,but he did have to believe God

and do his part.


creatures and “swarmed with avoracious appetite,attacking every man,inflicting painfulwounds.” Kheper,represented by thescarab beetle, was theinsect god shown to beimpotent by the thirdand fourth plagues.

5. Pestilence (9:1-7). Thiswas a fatal disease forcattle, which were alsoconsidered sacred andsupposedly protected bythe bull-god Apis andthe cow-goddess Hathor.

6. Boils (9:8-12). Thesepainful sores were seenas a failure of their personal god of healing, Thoth.

7. Storm and hail(9:13-35). This plaguedestroyed the crops andfood supply. Nut, the skygod, failed to stop thisweather-borne disaster.

8. Locusts (10:1-20). Alocust can eat its own

weight daily, and locust swarms of 400 square miles have been recorded (a singlesquare-mile swarmcould contain 100 to200 million locusts).Osiris, protector ofagriculture, was seen as the ineffective god in this plague.

9. Darkness (10:21-29).Ra, the sun god ofEgypt, was the godmocked by thisplague—a plague ofdarkness that was sothick it could be felt.

10. Death of the firstbornof man and animal(11:4-5; 12:29-30). This plague marked the failure of Pharaohhimself, who wasconsidered a god. Hewas powerless to stopit—even losing his own firstborn.

This was the final blow against the idolatry of Egypt. God executed His


own righteous anger onboth Pharaoh and Egypt’sgods. The God of theHebrews demonstrated that He was indeed the onetrue God with power andauthority over all creation,and that He would use anymeans necessary to securethe freedom of His people.

Yet, even with thesuffering generated by theseplagues, God displayed thedepth of His mercies. Hemade a way of escape forthe tenth and final plague.The warning was given thatthe firstborn would die, but God made a provision.The provision was that thefirstborn did not have to die,as long as a substitute diedin his place.

The firstborn would live if a flawless lamb wasslaughtered and its bloodplaced on the doorway ofthe house. For those homes,the death angel would “passover.” (The Jewish feast of Passover was begun to

remind Israel of this event.)No wonder the writer of Lamentations wrote, “[The Lord’s mercies] are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness”(3:23). Even in the midst

of divine judgment, God demonstrated thefaithfulness of His mercy.

The great sadness aboutthe judgments on Egypt,however, is that they neverneeded to happen. God is merciful and loving andprovided a way for Egypt to avoid judgment, butPharaoh hardened his heart against the warningsof Moses—and calamity fell.

15

Even in the midst of divinejudgment, Goddemonstrated the faithfulness of His mercy.


It was this rebellion thatbrought down the wrath ofGod and caused the angerof Moses, who answeredPharaoh’s hard heart withthis cryptic prophecy of theresults of the final plague:

All these your servantsshall come to me and bowdown to me, saying, ‘Getout, and all the peoplewho follow you!’ Afterthat I will go out. Then hewent out from Pharaoh ingreat anger (Ex. 11:8).This time, Moses’ anger

was healthy. His anger with Pharaoh mirroredGod’s disapproval, and theensuing tragedy devastatedan Egyptian generation.God showed His power overthe gods of Egypt. He useda series of plagues to breakPharaoh’s iron grip on thechildren of Israel. Finally, byGod’s power a slave nationescaped the boundaries andarmies of Egypt. But thechallenges facing Moseswere far from over!

Moses’ Anger OverThe Hebrews’ Idolatry(Ex. 32:19). A few weeksinto the wilderness, Godcalled Moses to the top of a rocky barren mountaincalled Sinai. As the peopleof Israel waited below, Godwrote on two stone tabletsHis laws for a new society.

Looking back, we can see some of what God wasdoing. For any nation tofunction in an orderly way,there must be a system oflaw. For Israel, however, the value of these laws wasdramatically increased bythe fact that they were notjust a nation of people—they were God’s people.God’s laws followed byGod’s people were meant to demonstrate God’sgoodness to the world.

The laws of the newsociety were summed up in10 rules that would indicatewhether or not they wereshowing love for God andfor one another.


An Immediate Violation (Ex. 32:1-14). As important as these lawswere, the people of Israelwere breaking them even as they were being given.The first four of the TenCommandments called forproper worship of God. Yet,as Moses lay on his faceworshiping the invisible Godfrom the top of Sinai, hisbrother Aaron was at its basefashioning a calf of gold forthe people’s hearts of stone.

It’s hard to believe howquickly the Israelites lostsight of reality. How couldthe invisible God whodemonstrated His power

over the visible, materialworld through the plagues,the opening of the Red Sea,and the daily provision offood and water be reducedto a humanly-crafted idol?Like the picture of paganismfound in Romans 1:18-23,they had turned to worshipthe creature instead of theCreator.

Their actions revealedhow little they had learned.Even as God was speakingto Moses on the mountain,the Hebrews werecorrupting themselves on the plain below—andnow it was time to pay theprice. Moses was furious.

A Return To Anger (Ex. 32:15-30). It isimportant that we seethrough Moses’ eyes theevents that followed. He had just spent 40 days in communion with God.Moses had seen nothing but what was pure and holy.But when he came downfrom the mountain, he

17

The children of Israel

had turned to worship

the creatureinstead of

the Creator.


experienced an unexpectedculture shock. The religiousadultery that Moses saw at the foot of the mountainprofaned the relationshipwith God that had beenenveloping him.

How did Moses respond?What Joshua the generalthought were the noises of war, Moses the prophetrecognized as the tumult ofsin. He probably felt a rangeof emotions that includedfear, frustration, and despair.His actions also indicatedthat he was overcome withanger. In an act of apparentfury, Moses broke thetablets on which God had engraved the laws Hispeople were now breaking.In what appears to havebeen an ongoing expressionof smoldering anger, hedestroyed the golden calfand made 3,000 worshipersdrink its crushed residue.

The first half of hisreaction is troubling. Therecan be no doubt that Israel’s

idolatry deserved a strongresponse. But to destroy thetablets of the law written bythe finger of God seems likethe expression of a losttemper. As understandable

as it is that he would beangry with his nation, itseems hard to justify hisaction in breaking the tabletsthat God had engraved withHis own hand.

What a visual displaythis was! Their false god (thegolden calf) was not able tosave itself from Moses, letalone save the people fromthe wrath of God because of their idolatry.

Could it also be that God 18

To destroy thetablets of the law

written by the fingerof God seems likethe expression of

a lost temper.


used Moses’ temper to tellus something about the lawHe was giving? As importantas the law is in showing uswhat a right relationshipwith God looks like, the law cannot save those whoviolate it. A broken law cancondemn, but the lawcannot save.

Moses’ Anger OverHis DisappointmentWith God (Num.11:10). The old saying isoften true, “Be careful whatyou ask for, because youmight get it!” After believinghe had been chosen to leadthe Israelites, after failing inhis own strength, and thenafter succeeding in God’sstrength, Moses was theleader. Yet, this “dreamcome true” became a burdenthat he not only didn’t want,but that for which he seemsto have become angry withGod! Notice the descriptionthat appears to revealMoses’ frustration and anger with God:

Then Moses heard the people weepingthroughout their families,everyone at the door of his tent; and the anger of the Lord was greatlyaroused; Moses also wasdispleased. So Moses saidto the Lord, “Why haveYou afflicted Your servant?And why have I not foundfavor in Your sight, thatYou have laid the burdenof all these people on me?Did I conceive all thesepeople? Did I beget them,that You should say tome, ‘Carry them in yourbosom, as a guardiancarries a nursing child,’ tothe land which You sworeto their fathers? Where amI to get meat to give to all these people? For theyweep all over me, saying,‘Give us meat, that wemay eat.’ I am not able to bear all these peoplealone, because the burdenis too heavy for me. If Youtreat me like this, please


kill me here and now—if Ihave found favor in Yoursight—and do not let mesee my wretchedness!” (Num. 11:10-15).The key word in this

text is found in verse 10,where Moses is described as “displeased.” The sameword is found in verse 1, butit is actually much stronger.In verse 1, God also was“displeased” (literally, “itwas evil in His ears”) andthe result was His intenseanger. In verse 10, the worddispleased is so similar(literally, “evil in the sightof”) that it would appearthat Moses was mirroringGod’s angry displeasure.

It is significant to notice,however, that God’s righteousanger was stirred against thefaithlessness of the Hebrews,but Moses’ anger wasdirected at God Himself. At the root of his anger was pure, unadulteratedfrustration. Why? Because,once again, Moses had

reverted to attempting to leadin his own strength, and thepressure was overwhelming.

Moses’ Anger Over The Hebrews’Complaining (Num. 20:8-11). After 38 years of leading astubborn people through thewilderness, Moses failedagain. It was Moses’ angerthat we see, and this time itwas not a reflection of God.It was human frustration. It’s like the woman whosebumper sticker said, “I onlyhave one nerve left, and youare starting to get on it.”Moses was fed up—and hedidn’t care who knew it.

In Numbers 20, thepeople again complained,and again it was about lackof water. Once in the past,God had instructed Mosesto strike a rock, and waterwould be provided (Ex.17:6). This time, however, he was only to speak to therock. But in anger Mosesdisobeyed. He displayed his


frustration with the people,calling them “rebels.” Alongwith Aaron, he claimedcredit for the miraculouswater when he said, “Mustwe bring water?” And thenMoses struck the rock asecond time (Num. 20:8-11).

The Expositor’s BibleCommentary puts it this way:

Then, at long last, Moses exploded! Was he disappointed that theLord had not burst outagainst His people, ashad happened time aftertime? Moses burst out atthem—and against therock—to his lastingregret. . . . In his rageMoses disobeyed theclear instructions of theLord to speak to the rock. In the account of this

event recorded in Psalm106:32-33, Moses’ angryheart was fully exposed. The New English Translationreads, “They made himangry by the waters ofMeribah, and Moses

suffered because of them, for they aroused his temper,and he spoke rashly.”

How tragic. It seems that Moses had returned towhere he began—presentinghimself as the answer to thepeople’s needs rather thanGod—just as he had donein the killing of the Egyptiantaskmaster. For Moses, thebattle with anger was not astruggle for a day, or a week,

or a year, but for a lifetime.And it cost him dearly. Hislife’s mission was terminatedjust short of its goal. Heforfeited the privilege ofleading the children of Israelinto the Promised Land.

21

Moses’ anger cost him dearly.His life’s missionwas terminated

just short of its goal.


LESSONS MOSES NEEDEDTO LEARN

IIn recent years, I havehad the privilege ofteaching pastors in the

former Soviet Union. Manyof those pastors had greatinsight and understanding,but the classes I taught werethe first formal training theyhad ever received.

It should be no surpriseto us that God is so creative.He’s not limited to our ideasof “higher education”:

• David was trained as ashepherd but appointedking over Israel.

• The disciples weretrained as fishermen but called to be apostlesand evangelists.

• Paul was trained as a Jewish rabbi but calledto evangelize Gentiles.For the significant

lessons God wanted toteach Moses, the grace andpatience of the Lord would

work over and over in hislife—molding him, shapinghim, teaching him. Whatwere those lessons? As we retrace the life of Moses, we will see the lessons God wanted him to learn—a path more honorable thanwhat Moses walked in hisoccasional outbursts ofanger.

LESSON 1:Solitude With God Not only were David, Paul,and the Twelve greatly usedof God, these individuals allhad one thing in common:They were trained forservice by spendingsignificant quantities of time alone with God.

There is much to belearned in the classroom ofthe desert and its experienceof solitude with God. It isthere that we begin to grasphow great God is and howdependent on Him we are.In the wilderness we beginto discover the alternative to


angry, self-protecting ways.For Moses, the desert

classroom was the land of Midian, a portion of theSinai peninsula. It was amountainous area withsome forage for the flocks of the nomads. Moses hadarrived there because of his flight from Egypt—the

consequence of murderingthe Egyptian taskmaster.Yet, how wonderful it is thatGod took this wildernessexperience and worked it for good in Moses’ life. Thetime of exile became a timeof preparation, training, and spiritual development.

It was in this land

with these people thatMoses found refuge andpeace. Like the Hebrews, the Midianites weredescendants of Abraham.They befriended this “manwithout a country” and gavehim a home, a family, and alife. Moses had traveled faraway from the things that he had grown to considerhis destiny. It was here, inthis simple life, that Mosesbegan to learn the lessonsGod desired to teach him.

Remember that Moseshad grown up in the schools of Egypt, whichwere rooted in polytheism.The Midianites, however,were monotheistic and stillcommitted to the God ofAbraham. Jethro, whobecame Moses’ father-in-law, was the priest ofMidian (Ex. 2:15-22; 3:1). It is likely at this point inhistory that Midian was theonly place where Mosescould have learned aboutthe true God—and that’s

23

There is much to be learned in the classroom of the desert and its

experience of solitude with God.


where God drove him! Inthe training ground of thedesert, Moses would meetGod.

Not only is God aware of what is needed for ourspiritual development, He is capable of providing it. Not only is He capable of

providing it, He is relentlessin bringing it about. Isuppose there were timeswhen Moses shook his headand wondered, “How did I ever get here?” I canimagine it because I havethought those same thingsmyself, many times, as Godhas continued to unfold His

plan for my own spiritualtraining.

LESSON 2: Humility In Acts 7:25, Stephen saidthat Moses knew he was tobe Israel’s deliverer. He hadkilled the Egyptian in hisattempt to deliver his peoplefrom Egypt in his ownstrength. He had sought tobe the deliverer without anythought of God. But wheredid he end up after hisfailed attempt at leadership?Look how far he had fallen:

• He was not in a palacebut a desert (humbling).

• He was not leading anation but tending sheep(very humbling).

• He was not in the serviceof the great Pharaoh butin the service of hisfather-in-law (radicallyhumbling!).This was not a short

“vacation Bible school.” Hespent 40 long years in thedesert learning to communewith God, escaping the false

24

Not only is Godaware of what is needed for our spiritual

development, He is capable of providing it.


values and dangerousreligious ideas of Egypt, and sifting out the truthsthat his parents and Jethrohad taught him.

When God called Mosesat the end of those years,what had he learned? Hehad learned to be contentwith a lowly shepherd’stask. He had learned hisown frailty. He had begun to learn meekness in the hard life of the wilderness(Num. 12:3).

LESSON 3:DependenceAfter long years ofpreparation, Moses wasready for the task. Thehumbling of the great manof Egypt was a vital part of Moses’ training forleadership, and God wasbehind it all, equipping His man for service.

Once the time fordeliverance had come, God prepared to respond to the cries of the people in

bondage (Ex. 2:23-25) andcalled 80-year-old Moses tothe work for which he hadbeen born. While tendingthe flocks, Moses saw abush that was burning—butnot being burned up (Ex.3:1-2). This was somethingastounding, and Moses feltcompelled to investigate.Now came Moses’ first test:Was he humble enough?

Unequivocally, theanswer was yes. On God’scommand, Moses humbledhimself and removed hisshoes. After all this time, his dream job was offered,but he repeatedly turned itdown. Why? Because henow felt incapable of it.Forty years of living withsheep had taught himlessons of humility that he had needed to learn, and he displayed it bygiving God a dismal reviewof his shortcomings, not a résumé of his gloriousachievements (Ex. 3–4).

Could this be the same 25


Moses who was “mighty inwords and deeds”? Moses was saying, “I am a nobody.I don’t have all the answers.I have no significance. Mygreatest abilities are of novalue.” That was definitelynot what Moses thought 40years earlier. The time oftraining had been wellspent. Instead of trusting his own strength andwisdom, Moses would nowlean on God—and it wouldmake all the difference!

The Lord had preparedMoses for 80 years, and Hewould use him to bring Hispeople out of slavery andinto the land of promise.Jehovah had patiently and

carefully invested inMoses—and Moses hadgrown in humility. Like apotter working the clay, Godhad worked on His man.Remember, “He who hasbegun a good work in youwill complete it until the dayof Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6).

LESSON 4:Spiritual Confidence Moses stood up to Pharaoh in God’s strengthand became His instrumentto deliver the children ofIsrael. I can only imaginethe joyous relief it was forthem to leave 400 years ofpain and slavery behind.

Unfortunately, the joywas short-lived. Shortly afterthey began their exodus, theHebrews began to showMoses what pressure reallylooked like. And to makematters worse, Pharaoh hadsecond thoughts aboutgiving up his labor force.

The situation came to aclimax on the shores of the

26

Jehovah had patiently and

carefully invested in Moses—and

Moses had grown in humility.


Red Sea as Moses becamethe human rope in a titanictug of war. How did he facethe pressure? By confidenttrust in the God who hadcalled him, equipped him,and granted him success in securing freedom for Hispeople. Moses’ trust wasbased in his . . .

Confidence that God had led them to this point. Terrifying as it was, God led them bygiving them a visible sign.Although He is the invisibleGod, He appeared to themin the form of a pillar ofcloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Ex. 13:21-22).Wherever the cloud or pillarmoved, the people moved.That included the shores ofthe Red Sea with the armiesof Pharaoh breathing downtheir necks.

Confidence that Godwas still superior to thecircumstances. Moses had learned well from theplagues. God had defeated

the false gods of Egypt, the forces of nature, and the stubbornness ofPharaoh to release Hispeople from bondage. Itwould be reasonable toassume that this challengewas not beyond His ability.

Confidence that Godstill intended to deliverthem. After all God haddone to bring them out of Egypt, the people stilldidn’t believe that He would protect them. Theyhad heard about a burningbush speaking its promise of freedom. But they heardthe story secondhand.Moses, however, had beenthe direct recipient of thepromise and had goodreason to believe that Godstill intended to keep it.

But the people didn’tcatch Moses’ faith—and the pressure increased. AsPharaoh’s armies bore downon them, they showed anabsolute absence of trust in God, in spite of the


powerful, supernaturalplagues He used to rescuethem. They asked if Moseshad brought them to thedesert to die (Ex. 14:11).They second-guessed theirlong-sought-after freedomand concluded that it wasn’tall they thought it would be.They believed they werebetter off as live slaves than as dead freedmen (Ex. 14:12).

What was their problem?They had lost perspective. It was a combination of fearof the unknown and a lackof future focus that was atthe heart of their complaint.They looked back to thefamiliar and assumed it had to be better than theunknown future.

Moses responded to thepressure by challenging thepeople to have confidencein God as he had learned to do. God, who wouldmake for them a path in the desert, made for them a highway through the Red

Sea while blocking theadvance of Pharaoh’sarmies. Before, they were pinched by twounconquerable problems.Now, there was only God’sprotective care. And not

only did God make a waythrough the Red Sea, Hecollapsed the water on theEgyptians, removing thethreat completely.

The lesson of spiritualconfidence learned at theburning bush and in thecourt of Pharaoh had takendeep root in Moses’ heart.And in a key moment ofcrisis, that confidence

28

The people looked back

to the familiar and assumed it had to be

better than theunknown future.


carried him through thedanger of the moment.

LESSON 5:CompassionMoses’ anger with the people worshiping the golden calf appears tohave been the same angerthat had driven him to killthe taskmaster so manyyears earlier. But, on further evaluation, we see an element to his angeron that occasion that is striking. His anger was laced up with compassion!How do we know? Noticewhat happened whenMoses left the people andreturned to the mountain tothe presence of Jehovah:

Now it came to pass onthe next day that Mosessaid to the people, “Youhave committed a greatsin. So now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I canmake atonement for yoursin.” Then Moses returnedto the Lord and said,

“Oh, these people havecommitted a great sin, and have made forthemselves a god of gold!Yet now, if You will forgivetheir sin—but if not, Ipray, blot me out of Yourbook which You havewritten” (Ex. 32:30-32).Moses’ anger in this

situation was very differentfrom that displayed yearsearlier in Egypt. Ephesians4:26 challenges us to “be angry, and do not sin.” There is a time foranger—when God is beingdishonored. That’s not theanger of personal agenda.It’s the anger that isconsumed with the honor of God. It’s the same kind of anger that caused Jesusto make a whip and clearout the dishonored templein Jerusalem (Jn. 2:13-17).

The purity of this anger is seen in what Moses didnext: He interceded for thesepeople, even to the point ofoffering himself to God as a


substitute for the sinningnation! This dramatic offerdisplayed just how differenthis anger was, and how farMoses had come. No longerthe arrogant man of Egypt or the broken man of thedesert, he was now a man of God. Now Moses was theman he needed to be—consumed with the goodnessof God and concerned forthe people of God.

It is a balance thatcomes into a life that haslearned to worship in thepresence of God by thestandard of His Word.Moses interceded for those who had sinned so dramatically. He had

learned what truecompassion was, and hehad placed that compassionon the altar of sacrifice forthe people—even thoughthey had sinned terriblyagainst the holiness of God.

LESSON 6:Accountability We saw in Numbers 20 thatMoses became angry withthe people because theycomplained about their lackof water. In anger, he struckthe rock when God hadclearly instructed him tospeak to the rock.

It seems like such a smallthing, doesn’t it? How muchdifference is there betweenspeaking and striking? It wasonly a rock. But in God’seyes, the difference wasenormous! It was a powerplay on Moses’ part, adeclaration that somehow itwas within his power to getwater for the people. Inanger, Moses attempted totake for himself the glory

30

Moses was the manhe needed to be—consumed with thegoodness of God

and concerned forthe people of God.


that should have gone toGod—the true provider forall the needs of His people.

And then came theconsequences—just as therehad been consequences inMoses’ life for killing thetaskmaster; just as therehad been consequences forPharaoh’s refusal to heedthe warnings of the plaguesdelivered by God upon hisnation; just as there hadbeen consequences for theidolatry at Sinai.

By failing to give Godglory, Moses undid years of service in an instant andwas forbidden by God toenter the land of promisethat was now in sight. Afterdecades of waiting to leadhis people into the PromisedLand, that privilege wouldpass from Moses to another.What a sad ending.

In the movie The Natural,Roy Hobbs is a young manwith limitless baseball abilityon his way to the majorleagues. Then, in an instant

of time, one foolish choicetook it all away. Years later,from a hospital bed, heexplains his wasted life to his childhood sweetheartwith these profound words:“Some mistakes you neverstop paying for.”

Such is the nature of thechoices we make—and theirconsequences. Our livesrise, fall, and turn on ourchoices, and often are neverthe same because of them.The choices may be well-planned or spontaneous,but the results always seemto last longer than thechoices themselves. Moses’choices, too often laced withanger, finally robbed him ofhis 80-year-old dream.

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Our lives rise, fall,and turn on our

choices, and oftenare never the samebecause of them.


FAITH IS THEVICTORY

TThe story is told of aschool principal whowas passed over for a

promotion. His argument?“I have 25 years ofexperience!” But thesuperintendent responded,“No, Joe. You have had 1year of experience 25 times.”For Moses, like Peter walkingon the Sea of Galilee, therewas great safety as long ashis eyes were focused on hisLord. The moment he wasdistracted by the problems or people around him, hewas in danger of relying onhimself—and falling into thevortex of frustrated anger.

First John 5:4-5 says,“Whatever is born of Godovercomes the world. Andthis is the victory that hasovercome the world—ourfaith.” We cannot do italone. We desperately need the Lord.

If you don’t know this

Lord, there’s only one placeto begin. The Bible tells usto recognize our failures,frailty, and sin, and to relyon Jesus Christ and Hissacrifice on the cross forforgiveness. The life of faithbegins with the faith thatbelieves God for salvation.Trust Him today.

If you’re a believer, don’t lose sight of yourdependence on God. Theonly answer for anger isseen in the example ofChrist, who humbledHimself in obedience to theFather’s plan and purpose(Phil. 2:8). We are to havethe mind of Christ (v.5) byacting in humility—not inself-assertion and anger.When Moses was humble,he was useful to God. When his anger took over,he dishonored Him.

May we learn fromMoses’ examples, both good and bad, to humbleourselves under the mightyhand of God (1 Pet. 5:5-6).


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