The Forest and the Trees

Hebrews 11:1 articulates the most concise yet comprehensive definition of faith in Scripture: “Now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen” (NASB). Over the years I have heard many other definitions. With rare exceptions, none of them contradicted the aforementioned verse, but rather supplemented or reframed it. I have found most of them reasonably helpful. One that has stuck with me for a long time is “seeing things as God sees them.” This is definitely applicable to the Old Testament men and women Paul lists later in the chapter.

There are numerous worthwhile components to this perspective, but the one we will focus on primarily is the Lord’s uncanny ability to maintain simultaneously a microscopic view of every little detail and a macroscopic view of the big picture. I do not mean to speak for anyone, but I suspect that all of us have had difficulty striking this balance. I know I have. This is one of the several aspects of faith—seeing things as God sees them—with which I still need a lot of divine assistance. We can receive this assistance through prayer, of course, as well as investigating such inspired case studies as that of Moses—a story we will unpack in this study.

This Hebrew hero is mentioned by name approximately 850 times in nearly 800 verses throughout the Bible. By no means will we examine all (or even most) of them, but we will build a representative list of the significant highlights of Moses’ life. Getting to know him a little better will give us a clearer picture of who God is, especially within the context of their relationship. Key episodes include:

• Standing up to Pharaoh multiple times to request that he release the Israelites (see Ex. 5:1).

• Pointing the Israelites’ attention to the mighty way in which God would save them (Ex. 14:13).

• Enduring a multitude of murmurings (see Ex. 15:24).

• Accepting his father-in-law’s advice to delegate the responsibilities of judging the people’s matters and instructing them in the ways of God (Ex. 18:13-26).

• Delivering the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17).

• Leading the establishment of the sanctuary and priesthood (Ex. 24-30 and 35-40).

• Interceding on the Israelites’ behalf when they committed idolatry (Ex. 32:11-14, 32).

• Rebuking them nonetheless (Ex. 32:20, 21).

• Communing with God as a friend (Ex. 33:11).

It’s clear that Paul had many valid reasons for including him in the “Hall of Faith” (see Heb. 11:24-27).

Moses Was Like You

I don’t believe there was anything inherently unique about Moses. God bestowed him with a particular set of talents, as He has with each of us. Moses was obviously the right choice to captain the Exodus, but that does not translate to him having a spiritual upper hand over the rest of us. His example is worth emulating, and we can do that, through the power of the Holy Spirit, by making the same kinds of decisions Moses made with the consistency he demonstrated. It was this heavenly perspective that enabled Moses to look past the temporary charms of the world to endure the otherwise overwhelming burdens of an entire nation of stubborn, uncooperative, shortsighted people.

Moses Had Shortcomings

Moses was faithful, not infallible. Though the following list will be shorter than the previous one, we need to pay as much attention to his shortcomings as we do his strengths:

• Killing an Egyptian (Ex. 2:12).

• Being initially reluctant to accept God’s commission, citing issues such as the Hebrews’ potential unwillingness to listen to him and his speech impediment (Ex. 4).

• Going along with his wife’s refusal to circumcise their sons, which was a breach of one of the Lord’s requirements (Ex. 4:24-26; cf. Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 255, 256).

• Striking the rock twice to draw water when God had told him only to speak to it (Num. 20:8-12; Deut. 32:51, 52; cf. Ex. 17:6: striking the rock was according to His will, but not in this case).

This final offense is arguably the most pivotal; it kept Moses from inheriting the Promised Land. He pleaded with the Lord to change His mind, which is understandable—we are likely prone to follow suit in equivalent circumstances—but God, in His wisdom, opted to decline his request (see Deut. 3:23-27).

Did God Overreact?

Both of these lists are representative, not exhaustive—but the proportion may be close to accurate, because there were so many more occasions recorded of Moses doing the right thing. While I do not regard the unsanctioned striking of the rock lightly, my initial instinct is to consider God’s response excessive. We can be grateful that He is merciful and compassionate with us as we wrestle with some of the ways in which He operates even when we find ourselves wrestling with doubt. Still, it is to our benefit not to wallow in doubts for very long—and one of the best ways to get past them is to step back from the tree and behold the forest.

Moses was obviously the right choice to captain the Exodus; that, however, does not translate to his having a spiritual upper hand over the rest of us.

Even though there is enough biblical evidence for us to better comprehend the full ramifications of Moses’ sin and why the Lord responded as He did, it is helpful to have Ellen White’s expanded, inspired insight: “The two brothers went on before the multitude, Moses with the rod of God in his hand. They were now aged men. Long had they borne with the rebellion and obstinacy of Israel; but now, at last, even the patience of Moses gave way. . . . Instead of speaking to the rock, as God had commanded him, he smote it twice with the rod. 

“The water gushed forth in abundance to satisfy the host. But a great wrong had been done. . . . When God had bidden Moses to charge upon Israel their rebellion, the words had been painful to him, and hard for them to bear, yet God had sustained him in delivering the message. But when he took it upon himself to accuse them, he grieved the Spirit of God and wrought only harm to the people. His lack of patience and self-control was evident. Thus the people were given occasion to question whether his past course had been under the direction of God, and to excuse their own sins. Moses, as well as they, had offended God. His course, they said, had from the first been open to criticism and censure. They had now found the pretext which they desired for rejecting all the reproofs that God had sent them through His servant.

“Moses manifested distrust of God. . . . The first generation had been condemned to perish in the wilderness because of their unbelief, yet the same spirit appeared in their children. Would these also fail of receiving the promise? Wearied and disheartened, Moses and Aaron had made no effort to stem the current of popular feeling. Had they themselves manifested unwavering faith in God, they might have set the matter before the people in such a light as would have enabled them to bear this test. By prompt, decisive exercise of the authority vested in them as magistrates, they might have quelled the murmuring. It was their duty to put forth every effort in their power to bring about a better state of things before asking God to do the work for them. Had the murmuring at Kadesh been promptly checked, what a train of evil might have been prevented!”[1]

Holding Leadership Accountable

I recommend reading the rest of the chapter, but for now let us momentarily observe this story from another angle. Not to dive too deeply into Jewish ritual, but a brief glance at Leviticus 4, the primary passage dealing with sin offerings, might be helpful. Different groups of people were directed by God to bring different animals, with bulls being the specific prescription for the priests. Bulls were more expensive than the creatures prescribed for everyone; there is general agreement that this indicated varying levels of accountability—the sins of leaders, spiritual or otherwise, are of a costlier nature than those of the laity.

Moses, in a number of ways, represented the Lord more profoundly than did the priests. He was held to a higher standard, and striking the rock left a detrimental impression on the nation. Yet it is important to remember that in keeping Moses out of the Promised Land, God did not suddenly ignore His overall track record of faithfulness; He did what was essential to minimize the negative ripple effects. God was not looking at the trees; He was looking at the forest.

In alluding, in 1 Corinthians 10, to some of the experiences of the Israelites’ progression to Canaan, Paul, without ambiguity, declared that the water-giving rock represented Jesus (see verse 4). God was instituting typology by prompting Moses to hit the rock the first time; it is only by the wounds of our stricken Redeemer and the refreshment of the Living Water that we can make it to the Promised Land. Yet Christ needed to be afflicted only once (see Heb. 7:27; 9:28; 10:10). Moses, in his reckless indignation, unwittingly undermined the lesson that Christ’s once-and-for-all sacrifice was sufficient to supply every spiritual need.

Punishment and Discipline

Though many people are hesitant to dive into semantics, in this case I am convinced that parsing the meanings of words gives us a better grasp of the concept. I suggest that we will be more at peace with the Lord’s evaluation of the transgression by studying the words “punishment” and “discipline.”

If you go by generic dictionary definitions, these two words overlap significantly. But from a spiritual perspective, it can be helpful to think of punishment as the final outcome of one’s existence and discipline as the thread of corrective direction that runs through it. Think back to your childhood: when our moms and dads dished out consequences for our bad behavior—as well as when God did so figuratively—we probably called it “punishment,” and that’s OK . . . but none of those consequences sealed our fates permanently. Our human parents and divine Father took the measures they deemed requisite to steer us toward better choices—and to a better ultimate outcome.

So did the Lord, when preventing Moses from crossing the Jordan River, discipline or punish him? Some folks may understandably lean toward the latter, because Moses did not go back to Egypt or Midian. He died—which is as final as it gets!

Yet though Moses’ earthly life ended at that point, his voyage with the Lord did not. Through a poor decision he disqualified himself from partaking of terrestrial milk and honey, but through forging a steady pattern of clinging to the King, he received an advance invitation to the celestial feast.

Why would the Lord classify Moses’ transgression as egregious enough to forbid his access to the literal land, but not enough to block his entrance through the pearly gates? Why would He withhold from him a great prize but still bequeath to him the greatest prize of all? You can find the answer to this by looking at Moses and past Moses at the same time. His offense bruised his bond with God, but it did not sever it. Staying connected with God, after all, renders us safe for eternity. His offense, however, spread past his personal relationship with God in that the whole nation witnessed it. Because of this, the Father not only needed to parent Moses; He needed to parent Israel as well.

The more we view the world, those around us, and ourselves through God’s eyes, the more sense we will make of God’s acts; we will identify the joy in the journey and certainly the destination. Having this vision means paying appropriate levels of attention to both the forest and each tree. We cannot afford to underestimate the gravity of our sins or attempt to sweep them under the rug, and at any fork in the road we must consider both our own long-term welfare and that of our loved ones.

We do not need to let any mistake drive us to despair; God is gracious and merciful. We are not defined by any one incident, good or bad, but by the tenor of our lives.[2] Moses struck the rock and paid a sizable price for it. But he was not a habitual rock striker. He was ultimately the Rock’s friend. Jesus did not ignore his flaws, but, with a big-picture outlook, He saw a man who was willing to be clothed in His lifegiving, transforming robe of righteousness— which is available to each of us.

[1] Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1890, 1908), pp. 417, 418.

[2] “One act does not determine the character, but it breaks down the barrier, and the next temptation is more readily entertained, until finally a habit of prevarication and dishonesty . . . is formed” (Ellen G. White, The Adventist Home [Nashville: Southern Pub. Assn., 1952], p. 392).