SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO PONDER:
Moshe was the most holy man on earth in his day, chosen by YHWH to liberate His people from Egypt, and lead them into the Promised Land, knowing that he himself would never see the land he had been looking forward to seeing, ever since he had led the Israelites out of Egypt.
Why didn't he get to the Promised Land? (1) Because he had broken the first set of tablets containing the Ten Commandments; and (2) because he had failed to "speak to the rock" as commanded by YHWH; and (3) pride and arrogance.
Let's take a look:
Numbers 20: 8 "Take the staff, assemble the community, you and Aharon your brother; and before their eyes, tell the rock to produce its water. You will bring them water out of the rock and thus enable the community and their livestock to drink." 9 Moshe took the staff from the presence of ADONAI, as he had ordered him. 10 But after Moshe and Aharon had assembled the community in front of the rock, he said to them, "Listen here, you rebels! Are we supposed to bring you water from this rock?" 11 Then Moshe raised his hand and hit the rock twice with his staff. Water flowed out in abundance, and the community and their livestock drank. (CJB)
Notice in verse 10 he said "WE"? What's this WE business? Now, based on what Moses has just done and said, who do the people believe brought the water from the rock, YHWH or Moses? How can they tell? Do they put their trust in YHWH or in man? Of course, there is no other choice but to make sure the people put their faith in YHWH. So in the next verse, He takes the matter into His hands:
Numbers 20: 12 But ADONAI said to Moshe and Aharon, "Because you did not trust in me, so as to cause me to be regarded as holy by the people of Isra'el, you will not bring this community into the land I have given them." (CJB)
This is a great lesson about the importance of always giving ELOHIM the credit that He is due … as well as being very careful to NOT ascribe to Him something He DIDN’T do … the kind of thing we can see people doing every once in a while.
For instance, not only do some create memes to send around on the Internet, promising God’s blessings to anyone who reads them; but some actually even dare to write messages “from God” (in the first person) telling us all that, “I, the Lord God, say to you … blah, blah, blah” – whatever they think God “told” them to share in the message. It doesn’t matter that the material MAY line up with Scripture to a certain degree; but the fact is, YOU, not YHWH, are the one writing down things that you imagine Him to have said – especially when those things are are “new” and never mentioned in Scripture. When it comes to God, there is nothing new under the sun!
Do you get the drift? “We” mere humans are NOT Yeshua or Moshe, receiving our messages straight from YHWH, “face-to-face”... which means we must be VERY careful about what we attempt to tell others concerning any “messages from God.”
Another example is people daring to “send you to Hell” because your theology doesn’t line up with theirs. Just recently, some Christian on a Facebook post told me I was going to Hell because I have “put myself back under the law” because “Torah-keeping is unbiblical.” My only response to that guy was, “Unless you’re God Almighty, you don’t get to decide where I will spend eternity!”
My final example of the dangers of ascribing to YHWH something He did not say or do, is about a former Facebook friend from years ago who was always teaching and preaching and genuinely appearing to be “walking the walk.”
Then one day, he suddenly shared that he was leaving his (second) wife and moving to somewhere in Africa because God had supposedly given him a “soulmate” on the other side of the world. (She was someone he had never met in person, but they often “talked on the phone” and he just KNEW “she was the one.”
Because he didn’t have a job or money, he promptly started asking his FB friends for donations – and he actually managed to get enough for a plane ticket and start divorce proceedings! (I know of no one else besides myself who tried to warn him that he was treading on the proverbial “thin ice” by believing this was a gift from YHWH; but he wouldn’t hear it.)
Anyway, I surely don’t have to explain what all was wrong with that whole, sordid situation but I’ll never forget how he was praising God all over the place, and many were agreeing and cheering him on. I was absolutely floored, and left wondering what Bible these people were all reading, because he was definitely guilty of taking some liberties with the Word!
It’s not a good thing to make a habit of twisting Scripture to suit your purposes. As we see in the Bible passages above, YHWH is NOT kidding around! Yes, by all means, fall on your face to thank Him daily for His grace and mercy and the bounty in your life, etc.; and don’t be afraid to give Him credit where credit is due when you’re positive that He has performed some great works in, or for you; but don’t ever be guilty of “making something up,” or using His Name in vain to bring glory unto yourself.
The following passages pertain to ALL of us:
Titus 1:7: 7 For an overseer, as someone entrusted with God’s affairs, must be blameless — he must not be self-willed or quick-tempered, he must not drink excessively, get into fights or be greedy for dishonest gain. 8 On the contrary, he must be hospitable, devoted to good, sober-mindedness, uprightness, holiness and self-control. 9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy Message that agrees with the doctrine; so that by his sound teaching he will be able to exhort and encourage, and also to refute those who speak against it. (CJB)
1 Peter 2: 9. But you are an elect race, officiating as priests of the Kingdom; a Set Apart people, a redeemed congregation; that you should proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness to his precious light: 10. who formerly were not counted as a people but now are the people of Elohim; and also, there were (once) no mercies on you but now mercies are poured out upon you. 11. My beloved, I entreat you as strangers and pilgrims, separate yourselves from all lusts of the body, for they war against the soul. 12. And let your behavior be honorable before all men; so that they who utter evil speeches against you, may see your good actions and may praise Elohim in the day of trial. (CJB)
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