Miriam passed away
Miriam, prophetess and sister of Moses, passed away. With her passing, the rock that supplied the Jews with water dried up. The Jews had this miraculous well in Miriam’s merit, so when she passed on, the well ran dry, and the Jews were left in the desert without water.
This was not the first time the Jews had no water. It is actually the third time the Bible records such a story.
* The first time was when the Jews were fresh out of Egypt. They arrived in a place called Marah, where all the water was bitter
* The second time4 was shortly after the first, when the Jews were in Refidim and also ran out of water.
* This third time happens 40 years later, on the eve of the Jews’ entry to the Promised Land
Numbers 20 The congregation had no water; so they assembled against Moses and Aaron. The people quarreled with Moses, and they said, "If only we had died with the death of our brothers before the Lord. Why have you brought the congregation of the Lord to this desert so that we and our livestock should die there? Why have you taken us out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place; it is not a place for seeds, or for fig trees, grapevines, or pomegranate trees, and there is no water to drink.”
Then it says that God said to Moses, SPEAK TO THE ROCK
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: "Take the staff and assemble the congregation, you and your brother Aaron, and speak to the rock in their presence so that it will give forth its water.
Moses did not follow the instructions
Moses took the staff from before the Lord as He had commanded him. Moses and Aaron assembled the congregation in front of the rock, and he said to them, "Now listen, you rebels, can we draw water for you from this rock?" Moses raised his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, when an abundance of water gushed forth, and the congregation and their livestock drank.
The Jews had watched him bring water from a rock for 40 years, and God had just commanded him to do precisely that. Why the hesitation? Additionally, why did Moses call the Jews “rebels,” and why did he hit the rock twice?
At this stage in the story, all seems pretty standard. No water, people complain, Moses prays, God performs a miracle. Seems like a regular day for the Jews in the desert. The next verse is where the story takes a turn:
The waters of Meribah (dispute)
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Since you did not have faith in Me to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly to the Land which I have given them. These are the waters of dispute [Mei Meribah] where the children of Israel contended with the Lord, and He was sanctified through them.
In an instant, Moses and Aaron’s dreams were crushed. Their life’s goal, to bring the Jews to the Promised Land, dissolved to dust.
The Lord still kept His promise in providing water but told Aaron and Moses that they would not enter the Promised Land because of their failure to obey Him.
Being a place of strife and testing, Meribah is worthy of remembrance.
Psalm 95:8 warns, “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness”
Aaron’s and Moses’ disobedience at Meribah Kadesh kept them from entering the Promised Land as well. Disobedience and unbelief have enduring consequences that can affect the rest of one’s life.
Moses was culpable of sin: He hit the rock when he should have spoken to it. According to some commentators he should have brought water from all the other rocks as well.
God still did the miracle and the people got the water they needed
