6Moses 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. 7The 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."They have their instructions. Not entirely clear exactly what they were supposed to say to the rock, but "Speak" sounds pretty clear. What did they do?Numbers 20:6-8
9So Moses took the staff from the Lord's presence, just as he commanded him. 10He 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?" 11Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.Given the instructions, why did Moses hit the rock instead? Hearing problem perhaps? Well, they had hit a rock before, back in Exodus 17, and it worked. H'm. God wasn't too happy with them, though, because they did what they thought would work; they didn't believe and obey what he said:Numbers 20:9-11
12But 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."Pretty harsh. This gives me the impression that God considers faith and obedience a lot more important than expedience.Numbers 20:12
12When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.The angel gives him some more info about what the son will be like, and during this time I guess Zechariah became less afraid and more incredulous, becauseLuke 1:12-13
18Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years."That didn't work so well for Zechariah, either. Why didn't he believe the angel?
19The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time."Luke 1:18-20
For we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved(from somewhere in the Bible)