Lessons from Merivah

 6 Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the LORD appeared to them. 7 The LORD said to Moses, 8 “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”
 9 So Moses took the staff from the LORD’s presence, just as he commanded him. 10 He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
12 But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”
Numbers 20:6-12

Moses had a personal face to face relationship with the Creator of the Universe, and because he was familiar with God on that level, perhaps he became desensitized, overexposed (if that would even be possible!)to that awesome, personal, and direct exchange. When the throngs of Israeli sojourners complained about no water, quarreling (Merivah is the Hebrew word for quarreling) with their God-given leaders, Moses and Aaron met with the Lord and they were told exactly what to do, and how to do it.
Moses called the people "rebels" , but he in fact had rebelled and was disobedient to the Lord's instruction, his impatience brought on perhaps by the outcries and complaints from the people, and perhaps for a moment pride and arrogance confused him causing him to forget that God is not a genie in a bottle, or one who just fills our wishes! He disobeyed God in the sight of all Israel, and when leaders, whether they are men of God or worldly leaders, act without integrity, their bad choices may cause others to follow their bad examples, resulting in the fall of many.
I believe that it was for this reason that Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land, God instead choosing the faithful and obedient Joshua to bring His Chosen people home. The downfall created the potential for the loss of many souls whose faith and obedience were compromised, and God cares greatly for his children (even the complainers) and doesn't want any to perish! The lesson is that we all have others in our spheres of influence, our worlds, who watch us, look up to us, whether we realize it or not. Let each of us consider this responsibility soberly.
Today Lord, we ask for patience, and the ability to obey your direction as given us by the Word, and by the Holy Spirit. Help us to lead others by our walk as we sojourn towards the Promised Land with you.