Deuteronomy 3:26 –
“But the LORD was angry with me because of you, and he would not listen to me. ‘That’s enough!’ he declared. ‘Speak of it no more.”
This is passing the buck a bit. Was the Lord angry at Moses because of what the people did or what he did? Think about it, wouldn’t you be bitter if it was the people? You are finally at the Promised Land after 40 years of wandering the wilderness, faithfully following God’s prompts and doing something you did not want to do in the first place and then you cannot go into your final goal that was the promise from the start. Sure Moses is not happy, but he is honoring God.
What did Moses do that was so bad and why does he blame the people? It’s all from frustration. After 40 years most of the generation that had distrusted God was gone and still Moses had a group of complaining people. They we still not trusting of God and demanding water. Moses stuck the rock without God’s permission, God gave the water to the people but that one act of disobedience cost Moses. I often look at that and question why God did this to Moses also?
I mean we look at other sins and how much we disobey God every day. Here Moses is receiving harsh discipline for allow other to push him over the edge. I think back to first grade when the school was going to the Ford Theater in DC to watch a reenactment of Lincoln’s assassination. Recess was over and we were in the back corner of the playground in the woods. I don’t remember if we did not hear the call or just ignored it, either way the entire class went on this field trip without us. In a way the same thing happened to us as with Moses. We missed out on a very special experience all for what seemed like a very little thing. We learn through life that we should question authority, but we also learn questioning has consequences.