Numbers 20:11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.

Psalm 95:8 Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:

Without some study and perhaps even some sound teaching, it is difficult to see these two verses are speaking to the same thing. I call this devotional testing because a temptation is a testing. It reveals your innermost self.

Moses was provoked by Israel’s attitude. Moses was asked by God to speak to the rock and draw water forth for the people and the animals. Rather than obey God, Moses struck the rock as he had done previously, struck it twice in fact.

In all that Moses did since his burning bush experience, Moses never failed God, obeyed Him in all things, until this moment. For this one and only moment of disobedience Moses and Aaron were not allowed to lead Israel into the promise. Why was that?

John 5:45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.

Israel trusted in Moses even though he was not perfect. Trust needed to be transferred from Moses to Jesus. Only Jesus was perfect in performance, in obedience, in mercy, in grace, and in love. Both were tested, only Jesus was without spot.

Some will come to you and point at this one failing of Moses as justification for perfect obedience. If they do, it is not because they demand obedience to God, they want you to obey them. Do not be fooled by the testing of Moses and the results. We all fail and our failings have nothing to do with God’s grace and mercy. And how do I know this?

The water came from the rock even after Moses disobeyed.

Exodus 3:3b I will now turn aside, and see this great sight,

This is Moses’ burning bush moment. It is nothing except God’s way in Moses’ life to draw his attention away from whatever he was doing. It wasn’t a salvation moment, it God waving at Moses and saying “Hello there!”

Have you had your burning bush moment? I don’t mean that God is going to present to you a burning bush, but rather is just trying to get your attention. I’ve got mine. It happened when I was a teen. Others took it to mean I was saved. I don’t. There was no repentance in the moment. I will admit that God did a miracle in the moment, but the hello moment didn’t save me.

A burning bush moment is when God lets you know, by whatever means it takes, that He is God. It might not sound like a big deal, but how can you get to know and love a story, a belief system, or family heritage? God has to become real to you in order to have a relationship. Good or bad, if He isn’t real to you, then you do not have a relationship.

I hear so many time, “I’ve always believed in God.” I’ve never asked them if God ever said “Hello there.” I don’t because if you say you believe, then it is not for me to deny your word. Only you know why you believe. For me it began with God getting my attention and drawing me away from where I was headed. My salvation came many years later when I repented. That was my long overdue answer to His hello.

God revealing Himself in some way is only the first step. Are you going to be like Moses and say, “I have to check this out!” Or are you going to be like me as a teen and say, “That was weird.”