The sacrificial system that God gave to Moses (and to the nation of Israel through him), was not for the purpose of “making atonement for sin” every time an individual sinned. There were acts of sin, especially one of direct disobedience, that required God’s DISCIPLINE upon the sinner. You may recall when God commanded King Saul to “Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed” (1 Samuel 15:18). Yet Saul failed to obey this command; he spared King Agag of the Amalekites and some of the sheep and oxen as well, supposing they could be used as sacrifices to God. The prophet Samuel then told Saul, “Has the LORD had great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in OBEYING THE VOICE OF THE LORD? Behold, TO OBEY IS BETTER THAN SACRIFICE, AND TO HEED THAN THE FAT OF RAMS. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king” (verses 22-23). We see here how serious a thing it is to have a direct command from God and then to DISOBEY that command! We also see that God desires OBEDIENCE to His word more than the offering of animal sacrifices. I’m not minimizing the importance of the sacrificial system, for it was intended to “make atonement (a covering) for sin” at times. And even more so, these sacrifices “foreshadowed the supreme sacrifice that Christ would make for sin on the cross” (see Hebrews 10:1-14). In Saul’s case, his disobedience resulted in him “being rejected from being king.” In Moses’s case, his disobedience resulted in him “being banned from entering the Promised Land.”

Now let’s turn to Scripture to see just how serious this act of disobedience was when Moses “struck the rock instead of speaking to it.” In Numbers 20:7-12 we read, “Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. SPEAK TO THE ROCK before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.’ So Moses took the rod from before the LORD as He commanded him. And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, ‘Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?’ Then Moses lifted his hand and STRUCK THE ROCK TWICE WITH HIS ROD; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank. Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because YOU DID NOT BELIEVE ME, TO HALLOW ME IN THE EYES OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” There are 3 sins that Moses was guilty of which caused him (and Aaron) to MISREPRESENT God.

1) Moses DISOBEYED a “clear and direct command” of God. In this act, he misrepresented God’s HOLINESS.

2) Moses went beyond God’s command and in ANGER called the assembly “rebels.” He surely misrepresented God’s GRACE with this act of ANGER.

3)  Moses, in “hitting the rock TWICE,” misrepresented the “type of Christ in His death on the cross.” Previously, in Exodus 17:6-7, Moses “struck the rock in Horeb” and water came out, which is a beautiful picture of Christ (the “spiritual ROCK”; see 1 Corinthians 10:4) being “smitten on the cross” by God for our sins (Isaiah 53:4-6, 10) so that we could have the “water of life” (John 4:10-14 and 7:37-39). Christ only needed to be “smitten” ONCE, so when Moses “struck the rock TWICE” he was guilty of ruining this beautiful picture/type.

In God’s discipline, He banned Moses and Aaron from the Promised Land for failing to represent Him and His holiness in these three ways. Yet it’s vital to see that God still loved Moses and by His grace He took Moses up to Mount Nebo to “see the Promised Land” and then later, after Moses died, God buried His honored servant in a special place unknown to everyone else (see Deuteronomy 34:1-8).  (DO)  (681.3)