Are we allowing our emotions to affect the way we respond to God? Do we trust Him enough to do exactly what He says in the way that He says it? In our Scripture portion for this week, we read in Numbers 20:1-8a:

Then the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed at Kadesh. Now Miriam died there and was buried there. There was no water for the congregation, and the people gathered against Moses and Aaron. They complained bitterly and questioned why they had been brought into the wilderness.

Moses and Aaron went to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting and fell on their faces before the LORD. The glory of the LORD appeared to them, and God gave Moses a clear instruction: “Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water.

However, a few verses later we read:

Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly... But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.’
Numbers 20:11–12

There is no doubt that the end of this story is tragic. Because Moses and Aaron did not trust God and did not follow His instructions, they never entered the Land of Promise.

Moses' disbelief at that exact moment brought him to a place where he did not follow God's instructions and instead took matters into his own hands. While it may seem like a small detail, God did not see it that way. Moses was not confused about God's instructions. God had spoken clearly. However, Moses allowed the situation before him to affect the way he responded to God.

The issue was never the rock. The issue was whether Moses would trust God enough to do exactly what He had commanded. God told Moses to speak to the rock, but Moses struck it. In that moment, Moses represented God before the people in a way that God had not instructed.

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the One who was, who is, and who always will be, has not changed. As one reads His Word, it becomes obvious that the reality of the past remains connected to the reality of the present. While the players on the stage of history continually change, the one constant throughout all generations is the one and only living God.

As I read this passage, I cannot help but wonder whether many believers today face a similar danger. The issue is often not that God has failed to speak clearly. The issue is whether we are willing to accept what He has said. Too often people begin with their feelings, experiences, or the opinions of those around them and then look for a way to make Scripture fit those conclusions.

I sometimes wonder if some of the confusion we see today regarding Israel stems from this very issue. Rather than allowing God's Word to shape how they view current events and respond to them, many people approach Scripture through conclusions they have already reached. As a result, both biblical truth and historical truth are often ignored, reinterpreted, or rejected altogether.

In the Parasha we read of Israel's journey through the wilderness toward the Land of Promise. As they traveled, they encountered nations that opposed their passage and challenged God's purposes. Edom rejected Israel's peaceful request to pass through its territory and even threatened war. The king of Arad attacked Israel and was defeated. Israel again sought peaceful passage through the region of the Amorites, yet Sihon responded with violence and was defeated as well. Later, Og king of Bashan came against Israel, and once again God gave the victory to His people.

In the Haftarah, we encounter Jephthah the Gileadite. Rejected by his brothers and driven from his father's house, he eventually became the very person Israel needed in a time of crisis. What stands out to me is not only Jephthah's willingness to lead, but the way he responded to the accusations brought against Israel.

The king of Ammon claimed that Israel had taken land that did not belong to them. Jephthah's response was remarkable:

This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the sons of Ammon... And the LORD, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel and they defeated them; so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites.”
Judges 11:15, 21

Jephthah did not respond with emotions, assumptions, or opinions. Instead, he carefully recounted Israel's history. He reminded the king how Israel had come out of Egypt, how they had sought peaceful passage through neighboring lands, and how they had received the territory in question only after being attacked by the Amorites. Jephthah pointed to the historical facts and to God's actions in history. He responded with the truth.

The king of Ammon rejected those facts, but that did not change them. I believe this is one of the reasons God honored Jephthah. He stood upon the truth and was not willing to abandon it simply because others refused to accept it. The truth remained the truth regardless of whether it was accepted or rejected.

What strikes me is that neither Moses nor Jephthah was dealing primarily with a military problem. Both were dealing with a truth problem. Moses failed to respond according to what God had said. Jephthah refused to abandon what God had done. One allowed the circumstances to influence his response. The other allowed the truth to guide it.

The rest of the account demonstrates that God's plans and purposes are not dependent upon human approval. The Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and God gave Israel victory over the sons of Ammon.

God is more than able to fulfill His will and accomplish His purposes. Throughout Scripture, we see Him using people whom society rejected, overlooked, or dismissed. Jephthah was one such person. Yet God used him mightily because he was willing to stand where others would not.

Never underestimate the importance of knowing the truth and standing upon it. Jephthah knew the historical truth of what had happened and was not ashamed to stand upon it. When false accusations were brought against Israel, he responded with facts.

I sometimes wonder how often we do the same thing as Moses. We know what God has said, yet when circumstances become difficult, we begin responding according to what we see around us rather than according to His Word.

My dear brothers and sisters, we live in a day and age where people are often led by emotions, and when that happens truth can become secondary. A clear example is Israel and the Land. The historical fact is that God gave the Land to the people of Israel thousands of years ago. The Jewish people have maintained a presence in the Land throughout history. This is not a popular truth, but it is an important part of the historical record.

The king of Ammon rejected the facts, but that did not change the facts. God's promises remain God's promises whether people believe them or not. God's covenant remains God's covenant whether people accept it or not. God's Word remains God's Word whether it is popular or unpopular.

The question is not whether God has spoken. The question is whether we are willing to believe what He has said and stand upon it.

Make a choice and take a stand.

Shabbat Shalom,
Moran