Question:
Answer:
Because Moses disobeyed God before the people of Israel, God barred him from the Promised Land (Num. 20:6-13). In the Middle East, something existed that is not typically seen in the United States. There were large, porous rocks that were not solid, and so water could gather within them. Shepherd and nomads would relieve their thirst, and that of their flocks as well in the case of shepherds, by striking the rocks and having water flow from them. So what might seem like a miracle to modern ears was in fact a regular part of ancient life.
However, God asked Moses to trust in him, so that when he simply commanded a rock to bring forth water it would do so miraculously. But Moses—in the presence of the people of Israel—faltered in his trust of the Lord and struck the rock twice, as Scripture records:
And the glory of the Lord appeared to them,and the Lord said to Moses, “Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water; so you shall bring water out of the rock for them; so you shall give drink to the congregation and their cattle.” And Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as he commanded him.
And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his rod twice; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their cattle. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” These are the waters of Mer′ibah, where the people of Israel contended with the Lord, and he showed himself holy among them (Num. 20:6-13).