The Water of Meribah Num. 21
8 “Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink.”
9 So Moses took the rod from before the Lord, just as He had commanded him; 10 and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. And he said to them, “Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank. 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, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” 13 Those were the waters of [c]Meribah, [d]because the sons of Israel contended with the Lord, and He proved Himself holy among them.
The Exodus account of this event adds that God told Moses to take the rod and strike the rock. He didn’t say to strike the rock twice, just strike the rock. Between these two passages, Moses was told two to strike the rock and to speak to it. The rod represented extended faith toward God. Moses, instead, struck the rock twice and God severely rebuked him. As a matter of fact, God said Moses didn’t believe, and didn’t treat Him as holy. What is that all about? To be holy is to be unique, distinct, set apart from the common. The Lord told Moses to strike the rock once. God didn’t need Moses’s help, by him striking the rock twice. God is not like man. He is unique in power and ability, and doesn’t need our striving and push to make things happen. He simply wants our confidence in Him. We are called to rest in Him and His ability. In our weakness His strength is made perfect. The way to release His divine activity in your every situation, is to restfully stay weak before Him, anticipating His ability and faithfulness. God didn’t need Moses to strike the rock twice. Our begging, and striving; our manipulation makes God look weak in the eyes of others. It’s not our trying that releases God’s supernatural power, it’s our simple, peaceful trust. Stop pleading and start resting, for when you are weak, then you are strong.