TOM · The Owner's Manual · Old Testament

Numbers 20

Chapter 20 in 30 seconds

Miriam dies at Kadesh. The people have no water and blame Moses again. God tells him to speak to the rock, but Moses strikes it twice. Water comes out, but God tells Moses and Aaron they will not lead Israel into the land. Edom will not let them pass, and Aaron dies on Mount Hor.

Tap a color to hide it

In this chapterThe Big Question · Christians disagreeWhy Was Moses Banned? · after verse 13

Water from the Rock// Exodus 17:1–7

¹In the first month, the whole congregation of Israel entered the Wilderness of Zin and stayed in Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.

²Now there was no water for the congregation, so they gathered against Moses and Aaron. ³The people quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had perished with our brothers before Yahweh! ⁴Why have you brought Yahweh’s assembly into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here? ⁵Why have you led us up out of Egypt to bring us to this wretched place? It is not a place of grain, figs, vines, or pomegranates—and there is no water to drink!”

⁶Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. They fell facedown, and the glory of Yahweh appeared to them. ⁷And Yahweh said to Moses, ⁸“Take the staff and assemble the congregation. You and your brother Aaron are to speak to the rock while they watch, and it will pour out its water. You will bring out water from the rock and provide drink for the congregation and their livestock.”

NUM 20:8[FORESHADOW]Water would flow from the rock for the people → 1CO 10:4MEDIUM
NUM 20:8[MIRACLE]Moses strikes the rock and water gushes out

⁹So Moses took the staff from Yahweh’s presence, just as he had been commanded. ¹⁰Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly in front of the rock, and Moses said to them, “Listen now, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” ¹¹Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, so that a great amount of water gushed out, and the congregation and their livestock were able to drink.

NUM 20:11[NOTE]WHY WAS MOSES BANNED? See the Big Question pages after 20:13.

¹²But Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust Me to show My holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”

NUM 20:12[PROPHECY]Moses and Aaron would not enter the Promised Land because of their unbelief at the rock → NUM 20:24-29 (Aaron); DT 34 (Moses)

¹³These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with Yahweh, and He showed His holiness among them.

The Big Question · Christians disagree

Why Was Moses Banned?

The Rock at Meribah

Numbers 20:2 to 13 · 20:24 · 27:14 · Psalm 106:32 to 33

WHAT HAPPENED: The people had no water and blamed Moses again. God told him to take the staff and speak to the rock in front of everyone. Moses said, Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock? Then he struck the rock twice. Water poured out, but God said, Because you did not trust Me to show My holiness, you will not bring this assembly into the land, 20:12.
THE FIRST TIME: This was not the first rock. Almost forty years earlier, in Exodus 17:6, God told Moses to strike a rock at Horeb, and water came out. This time God told him to take the staff but speak to the rock. That difference is where most of the explanations start.
HE STRUCK INSTEAD OF SPEAKING: The great Jewish teacher Rashi, about AD 1100, said the sin was hitting the rock when God said to speak to it. Speaking would have shown God's power even more. Others, like Nachmanides, answered that God told Moses to take the staff, so some striking was expected.
HE LOST HIS TEMPER: Maimonides, about AD 1170, said the sin was anger. Moses called the people rebels when God was not angry with them, and the people thought God was. Psalm 106:32 to 33 says they made his spirit bitter and he spoke rashly with his lips.
HE TOOK THE CREDIT: Some Jewish teachers point to one word: must we bring you water? It sounded like Moses and Aaron were doing the miracle, not God. Numbers 27:14 says they failed to treat God as holy in front of the people.

Every View · The Rock Was Christ

Deuteronomy 1:37 · 3:26 · 1 Corinthians 10:4 · Matthew 17:3

HE DID NOT BELIEVE: God names the problem in 20:12: you did not trust Me. John Calvin said unbelief was the root of it. The Bible teacher Matthew Poole said striking twice looked like Moses doubted one strike would do it.
BECAUSE OF YOU: In Deuteronomy 1:37 and 3:26 Moses tells Israel that God was angry with him because of you. Many read this as the people pushing Moses into his sin. Some scholars think Deuteronomy gives a different reason that goes back to the spies.
THE ROCK WAS CHRIST: Paul says Israel drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ, 1 Corinthians 10:4. Old Jewish stories also told of a rock or well that rolled along with Israel. Many Christian teachers, especially from the 1800s on, say God struck the rock once in Exodus 17, a picture of Christ dying once. They say striking it again spoiled that picture, since Hebrews 10:10 says Christ was offered once for all.
A HAPPY ENDING: Moses never entered the land in his lifetime. But many preachers point out that centuries later he stood on a mountain in the Promised Land, talking with Jesus at the Transfiguration, Matthew 17:3.
WHAT ALL SIDES AGREE ON: God said speak, and Moses struck. He spoke harshly to the people. God said he did not trust Him or honor Him as holy in front of everyone. Even so, God still gave the water. Leaders are held to a higher standard, Numbers 20:12 and James 3:1.

Edom Refuses Passage

¹⁴From Kadesh, Moses sent messengers to tell the king of Edom, “This is what your brother Israel says: You know all the hardship that has befallen us, ¹⁵how our fathers went down to Egypt, where we lived many years. The Egyptians mistreated us and our fathers, ¹⁶and when we cried out to Yahweh, He heard our voice, sent an angel, and brought us out of Egypt.

Now look, we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. ¹⁷Please let us pass through your land. We will not go through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will stay on the King’s Highway; we will not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory.”

¹⁸But Edom answered, “You may not travel through our land, or we will come out and confront you with the sword.”

¹⁹“We will stay on the main road,” the Israelites replied, “and if we or our herds drink your water, we will pay for it. There will be no problem; only let us pass through on foot.”

²⁰But Edom insisted, “You may not pass through.” And they came out to confront the Israelites with a large army and a strong hand. ²¹So Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through their territory, and Israel turned away from them.

The Death of Aaron

²²After they had set out from Kadesh, the whole congregation of Israel came to Mount Hor. ²³And at Mount Hor, near the border of the land of Edom, Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, ²⁴“Aaron will be gathered to his people; he will not enter the land that I have given the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against My command at the waters of Meribah. ²⁵Take Aaron and his son Eleazar and bring them up Mount Hor. ²⁶Remove Aaron’s priestly garments and put them on his son Eleazar. Aaron will be gathered to his people and will die there.”

NUM 20:24[FULFILLS]Moses and Aaron would not enter the Promised Land because of their unbelief at the rock ← NUM 20:12

²⁷So Moses did as Yahweh had commanded, and they climbed Mount Hor in the sight of the whole congregation. ²⁸After Moses had removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar, Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. ²⁹When the whole congregation saw that Aaron had died, the entire house of Israel mourned for him thirty days.

Numbers 20

Water from the Rock// Exodus 17:1–7

Edom Refuses Passage

The Death of Aaron

See the whole Bible light up in color.

Frequently asked questions