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Latest Devotional
Rebels, All
Numbers 20:10-12
“Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. 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.”
Moses didn't write his response into the biblical text, but I imagine it went like this: “But LORD, this isn’t fair!” That’s my initial response at least. How do these complaining pilgrims walk away from this scene without any heavenly rebuke, while Moses and Aaron take the fall? Mark this scene down as one of the great head-scratchers of the Pentateuch. God didn’t cast off Moses for initially refusing to go to Egypt, nor for failing to circumcise his son, nor for shattering testimonial stones in the gorge, but now Moses strikes a rock rather than speaking to it calmly and that’s what forfeits his commission? The same is true of Aaron. Doesn’t Aaron’s idolatrous crafting of that golden calf seem a far more reprehensible desecration of God’s holiness before the people than quietly standing by as Moses beats a boulder?!
As I ponder this mystery, I’m struck by the word Moses uses against these people: rebels. This might be the key here. Although Moses is a faithful man, and although he’ll die in the arms of God just as he lived, he’s a rebel too. We all are! That’s the bad news of the gospel, right? That all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Adam ate forbidden fruit, Cain murdered his brother, Abraham adulterated with Hagar, Sarah laughed at the angels, Jacob stole Esau’s birthright, Judah sold Joseph into slavery, Aaron built a golden calf, and Moses, hero though he is, falls short of his divine commission as well. Which is why he, too, is incapable of delivering the people of God to the Promised Land. He needs someone to deliver him.
Oh how the gospel of our Lord gushes forth through these lines like living water from the Rock of Ages! And we’re drowning in that flood today.
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Latest Devotional
Rebels, All
Numbers 20:10-12
“Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. 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.”
Moses didn't write his response into the biblical text, but I imagine it went like this: “But LORD, this isn’t fair!” That’s my initial response at least. How do these complaining pilgrims walk away from this scene without any heavenly rebuke, while Moses and Aaron take the fall? Mark this scene down as one of the great head-scratchers of the Pentateuch. God didn’t cast off Moses for initially refusing to go to Egypt, nor for failing to circumcise his son, nor for shattering testimonial stones in the gorge, but now Moses strikes a rock rather than speaking to it calmly and that’s what forfeits his commission? The same is true of Aaron. Doesn’t Aaron’s idolatrous crafting of that golden calf seem a far more reprehensible desecration of God’s holiness before the people than quietly standing by as Moses beats a boulder?!
As I ponder this mystery, I’m struck by the word Moses uses against these people: rebels. This might be the key here. Although Moses is a faithful man, and although he’ll die in the arms of God just as he lived, he’s a rebel too. We all are! That’s the bad news of the gospel, right? That all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Adam ate forbidden fruit, Cain murdered his brother, Abraham adulterated with Hagar, Sarah laughed at the angels, Jacob stole Esau’s birthright, Judah sold Joseph into slavery, Aaron built a golden calf, and Moses, hero though he is, falls short of his divine commission as well. Which is why he, too, is incapable of delivering the people of God to the Promised Land. He needs someone to deliver him.
Oh how the gospel of our Lord gushes forth through these lines like living water from the Rock of Ages! And we’re drowning in that flood today.
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Come, to the Waters
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Story Shared
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Moses' Complaint 1
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High Notes, Low Notes
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Between Angels
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Waxing lyrical
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The Face of It
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Plot Twist
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Down with the Ship!
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Come, All Who Thirst!
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Reassuring Truth
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Book Signing
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Intervention
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Pitching- In
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Strong
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Treasures in Dust
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Genesis, First Hand
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Some Through the Fire
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Falling Up
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Reluctant Hero
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Anti Hero
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Open Wide the Floodgates
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Well Done, Thou Good and Faithful Servant
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Prologue or Epilogue?
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In the Arms of Love
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To Our Rescue
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Sabbath Psalm Altars (from my upcoming album, ‘Kingdom Rising’)
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How Lovely is Your Dwelling Place!
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The Bright Morning Star
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Bucking the Trend
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The Song of Moses, pt. 2
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The Song of Moses, pt. 1
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Sabbath Psalm The Seed (from my upcoming album, ‘Kingdom Rising’)
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How Great a Treasure
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Oh, Say, Can You See?
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Pro-Life Advocacy
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The Big ‘If’
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Prosperity/Gospel
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Sabbath Psalm The Sower (from my upcoming album ‘Kingdom Rising’)
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He Will Hold Me Fast
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The Deeper End
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Stinging, but Tender Mercies
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A World of Difference
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The Horror! The Horror!
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Sabbath Psalm To Be More Like You (from my upcoming album, ‘Kingdom Rising’)
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What Will You Do?
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A Treasury Trove
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Underlining Virtues
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Not So Fine Art
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Tactical Stewardship
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Sabbath Psalm (Revision of Barney E Warren’s hymn, ‘Beautiful’)
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Repeat After Me
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A Double Take
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No Poor Men Here
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That’s an Order
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The Golden Rule
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Sabbath Psalm (Revision of Charles Wesley’s hymn ‘And Can it Be’)
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The Blessing is Greater than the Curse
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Purity—the Purge
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Mercy Rule
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Hate Speech
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Your Neighbor
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Sabbath Psalm (Revision of Fanny Crosby’s hymn ‘Able to Deliver’)
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A Curious Curse
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Modern Protest—Missing Perspective
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Scorched Earth Policies
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In His Hands
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Red Letters
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Sabbath Psalm (Revision of Grace Weiser Davis’ hymn ‘A Better Day Coming’)
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Painted Red
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Rocks of Offense
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Alpha
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Broken Branches
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Sovereign Simplicity
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Sabbath Psalm (Revision of John Peterson’s hymn ‘When We All Get Home’)
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The Messiah Complex
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An Out-Pouring
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Start with a Song
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Redeeming the Grinch Heart
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A Mighty Mirror
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Sabbath Psalm (Adapted from Fredrick Blom’s hymn ‘He the Pearly Gates Will Open’)
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The Substance of Signs
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Righteousness in Ruins
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The Passion, The Privilege
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The Same Old Story
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The Higher Country
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Sabbath Psalm (Adapted from Samuel Stennett’s hymn, ‘On Jordan’s Stormy Banks’)
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The Law of Empathy
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Top of the List
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Uplifting Love
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Get a Grip
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A Call to Pray
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Sabbath Psalm (Revision of Franklin Mason North’s hymn, ‘Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life’)
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Two Sides of Stubbornness
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Dividing Lines
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A Sacred Affluence
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The Bountiful, The Beautiful
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Simple Math
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Sabbath Psalm (Revision of Frances R. Havergal’s hymn ‘Another Year is Dawning’)