06/04/2013 - THE TERRIBLE PUNISHMENT THAT AWAITS THE REBELS

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Aaron shall be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you rebelled against My word at the water of Meribah.

Numbers 20.24

What value has a man who is extremely successful, becomes famous and even is considered the voice of God if he does not carry out the work of the Lord as commanded? What happened to Moses and Aaron will also happen to those who do as they please and fail to fulfill God’s call. Despite having worked 40 years for the Mighty One, they did not take heed to how to do the work of God and thus were prevented from entering the Promised Land. It is important that we take the things of God seriously!

Not a word of the Lord will fail (Joshua 21.45). His words have been given to men so that they fulfill the plan of God. That is why we must not act in accordance with our own desires, interests or feelings. We must be diligent in carrying out what the Scriptures say and strive to act exactly as the Lord has commanded. If we add or eliminate a single world, we will be punished.

It may seem like a small mistake or something that should have been overseen by the Lord, but when they despised the instruction of how to act to make water come out of the rock (Numbers 20.1-13), both Moses and Aaron lost their permission to enter Canaan. For 40 years they had been used by God to guide the people of Israel, but their lack of attention caused them to lose their right to enter the Promised Land.

The world has never had a legislator like Moses. The Scriptures say that the Lord spoke to Moses face to face (Exodus 33.11) and, in his ministry he acted in a righteous manner, but allowed himself to experience anger, which the Word calls rebellion. May that serve as a warning for all of us.

The Lord did not go back on his decision. Because Moses knew that the Lord acts in this manner, he simply accepted his fate, went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo and saw the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 34.1-3). The lesson we learn from this is that we must cling to what the Scriptures reveal to us and strive to fulfill the Holy Word, without adding anything to or removing anything from it. If Moses, the greatest legislator of history, did not enter the Promised Land for something that many consider a small mistake, imagine what would happen to us!

If you are in rebellion, change your attitude, because you will not get away with it. What happened to Moses and Aaron will also happen to anyone who despises God’s commandments. Do not be carried away by carnal desires, feelings of superiority or inferiority or by temptation of doing your own thing. Remember that when you have done all those things which you are commanded, you are an unprofitable servant, because you have done what was our duty to do (Luke 17.9,10). Still, that is better than being lazy and evil (Matthew 25.26-30).

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares