Forty years have elapsed. All of the original Israelites who left Egypt are dead. Only their children survive – just as God said (as well as Moses and the two spies, Caleb and Joshua). Moses tells the second-generation Israelites to set up camp.
There was no water in sight, so the people began to complain – just like their deceased parents! Jehovah tells Moses to stand before a certain rock and tell it to bring forth water. Instead, Moses rebukes the Israelites:
“Hear now rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” Nm. 20:10 NKJV
Then Moses angrily struck the rock and water gushed forth. God immediately scrutinized Moses. Did he follow Jehovah’s instructions? Noooo. Instead of honoring God, Moses vents his anger and frustration at the people. And you can see that Moses takes partial credit for making the water come out of the rock
Moses was God’s first major prophet. Jehovah speaks directly to him, and he is supposed to be the primary example of godly obedience; but he blew it, briefly demeaning the glory of God, and He chastises him:
“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.” Nm. 20:12 NASB
“Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do so; you shall not add to nor take away from it.” Dt. 12:32 NASB
God demands justice; but He also abounds in Mercy. He told Moses that he could not go into the Promised Land. Seems harsh. However, Jehovah did not remove Moses from his leadership position – allowing him to remain His mouthpiece.
Moses called all of the children of the Israelites together, and appointed Joshua (the spy) as his successor. Then he began to teach:
“And now Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear [and worship] the LORD your God [with awe-filled reverence and profound respect], to walk [that is , to live each and every day] in all His ways and to love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart with all your soul [your choices, your thoughts, your whole being], and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statues which I am commanding you today for your good?” Dt. 10:12, 13. AMP
God rewards obedience:
“If you carefully obey my commands I am giving you today, to love the LORD your God and worship him with all your heart and all your soul, I will provide rain for your land in the proper time, the autumn and spring rains, and you will harvest your grain, new wine, and fresh oil. I will provide grass in your fields for your livestock. You will eat and be satisfied. Dt. 11:13 – 15. CSB
However, before you can enjoy all of what your Creator has prepared for you, you must become a child of God. Are you a child of God? The children of God are special; and yet, He loves all humankind equally:
For God shows no partiality [no arbitrary favoritism; with Him one person is not more important than another]. Rm. 2:11 AMP
Every person that has ever existed, and all that will exist, begin their lives as a child of God. It’s automatic because God loves you so much. Yet there will come a time, as you mature enough to process information, and someone has exposed you to the gospel, where you will have to decide to seek Jehovah continually, if you want to remain a child of God.
The choice to do so, or not, has eternal consequences; and it must be made while you still draw breath on this earth. Seeing as how you have no foreknowledge of when that last breath will occur, it is imperative that you make this choice to reinstate yourself as God’s child today. You may not have a ‘tomorrow,’ and the chance of remaining a child of God will be lost to you forever. That ‘forever’ is not a place where you want to spend eternity.
Everyone has the potential to continually tap into God’s infinite love. It is up to them to make the conscious and free-will decision to enter into a relationship with Him to receive it. You know the drill: confession + repentance + accepting the personage and sacrifice of Jesus Christ with faith + walking your best in His word. Then, and only then, will you be cleansed from your Adamic sin as well as those that you have perpetrated.
Once you become a child of God, does that make you better than one who does not choose to do so? Absolutely not. What choosing to be a child of God does, is that it allows Jesus to remove any barriers that block you from receiving Jehovah’s love.
Since you have facilitated the way for God to connect His love to you, you are very special in His eyes, because of the love reciprocity established in your new ‘holy’ relationship.
God chooses those who choose Him – not for their special qualities, but simply because they made that choice to love Him:
For you are a holy people, who belong to the LORD your God. Of all the people on earth, the LORD your God has chosen your to be his own special treasure. The LORD did not set his heart upon you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! Rather, it was simply because the LORD loves you… Dt. 7:6 – 8. NLT
God accepts us as His children, not because we are superior to anyone else, but because we make the ongoing choice to try our best to be holy.
Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments… Dt. 7:9 NKJV
Also, being a child of God has its advantages:
And because you listen to these rules and keep them and do them, the LORD your God will keep you with the covenant and the steadfast love that He swore to your fathers. He will love you, bless you, and multiply you…You shall be blessed above all peoples. Dt. 7:12 – 14. ESV
Jehovah covers every aspect of His children’s lives, and He brings them along a path (nudging them back on it if they stumble), that leads them to their greater good:
He led you through that great and terrible wilderness…that He might test you, to do good for you in the end. Dt. 8:15, 16. NASB
It’s always about the love with God. If you partner up with Him, He will let nothing stand in your way of receiving His love:
Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours…No man shall be able to stand against you. Dt. 11:24, 25. NKJV
Finally, and most importantly, your child-of-God relationship with Him guarantees an eternity of love at the end of time:
“Then the king will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:’ Mt. 25:34 NKJV
Goodnight and God bless.