Pop Quiz Hot Shot!

Do you remember back in school when we'd walk into class, sit down in our chairs, and then hear the teacher say those horrifying words?: "Pop quiz!"

Didn't you hate those? I was never prepared for those things. One thing they 

did though - those pop quizzes told the teacher exactly how much you knew, right then and there.

Well God gave Moses a pop quiz of his own in the Old Testament. And Moses failed it.

This test came in two parts. The first (the setup) takes place shortly after the Israelites had left Egypt. They were thirsty and were whining and complaining to Moses about it. Here's what God told Moses to do:

"The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” - Exodus 17:5-6

Note the key words in bold.

The second part (the actual test) occured years later as the Israelites were about to enter the promised land. Everyone was thirsty and complaining once again.

"The Lord said to Moses, “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water."

What's different between Part 1 and Part 2? The staff was there. The water and the rock were present. But where was God? God had stood in front of Moses the first time, but not the second. Hmm.

And here's the pop quiz. Although God told Moses to "take the staff," God never told him to use it. God said, "speak to that rock."

Moses disobeyed God. In fact he was SO upset with the Israelites, and his sister Miriam had just died, he forgot to give glory to God for the water.

"He (Moses)and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” - Numbers 20:10

I'm sure Moses wasn't himself that day but he implied that it was himself and Aaron who brought them the water and not God. When the pop quiz came, Moses failed it and he paid for it.

“Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” - Numbers 20:12

After leading them for 40 years.

Everyday we can be tested by God in some way. Do we follow His commands? Or do we do things our own way, assuming or hoping that God would approve?

"No one is good but God alone." - Mark 10:18