Moses did not enter the Promised Land because the Lord he was mad at moses for not obeying his instruction. God commanded Moses to give water to the people by speaking to a rock, however, Moses did not speak to the rock but struck it twice.
One of the questions that the Christian asks himself when he knows the history of the people of Israel is, Why did Moses not enter the promised land? Because there are not many passages in the Bible that show the reason why he could not get in.
Moses is one of the great prophets of God, who became the meekest man in the whole world, however, to reach that level he had to go through great tests and disciplines from God, which transformed him into a brand new man. One of those disciplines was not being able to enter the promised land.
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Context of God’s discipline on Moses not to enter the promised land
In the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, there is the reason why Moses did not enter the Promised Land. The Word of God narrates in the book of Numbers that during the 40 years in the desert there was a shortage of drinking water, and the Israelites became very angry.
Because of this shortage, they began to murmur and oppose Moses and Aaron. Ungrateful for the deliverance God had given them in leading them out of Egypt, and unbelieving even after so many demonstrations of God’s power, the Israelites began to say that Moses and Aaron should not have led them into the desert.
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According to their thought, it was better for them to have stayed in Egypt, instead of dying in the desert of hunger and thirst (Numbers 20:2-5). What is found throughout the Scripture is that the people of Israel when they found themselves in any difficulty, complained to Moses and Aaronquestioning his leadership and regretting not staying in Egypt.
The sin of Moses and the discipline of the Lord
Faced with the complaint of the people, Moses and Aaron prostrated themselves at the door of the Tabernacle and the glory of the Lord was manifested to them. Then God commanded Moses to take the rod and, together with Aaron, assemble the people. Before the people, they had to speak to a rock, because water would flow from it to quench all the people and their flocks (Numbers 20:8).
The problem was caused by gathering the people according to the Lord’s command, but Moses and Aaron did not act according to God’s command. The biblical text narrates Moses’ statement to the people in which he shows an angry countenance: “Listen, you rebels! Do we have to get water for them from this rock?” (Numbers 20:10).
Later it is observed in the biblical passage that Moses raised his arm and struck the rock violently twice with the rod, and “and water gushed forth abundantly, of which the assembly and their cattle drank!” (Numbers 20:11).
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Some time after Moses’ reckless reckless action, God’s answer came. The Bible says that the Lord addressed Moses and Aaron: “Because you did not trust me, nor did you recognize my holiness in the presence of the Israelites, you will not be the ones to lead this community to the land that I have given you” ( Numbers 20:12).
Note: One of the things that is important to clarify is that God is Holy and just, and that although sometimes we do not understand God’s designs, we must be clear that God is good, holy and just. See here the attributes of God
Moses did not enter the Promised Land
The Lord’s statement helps us understand why Moses did not enter the Promised Land. First, Moses let anger control his life. When this happens, man sins before the Lord (Ephesians 4:26). The Bible says that Moses was the meekest man on earth; however, at that moment it was precisely the meekness that he lost by letting himself be carried away by anger and anger by a complaining people (Numbers 12: 3).
Second, Moses did not obey the Lord’s command. God told him to speak to the rock, but he did something else. Moses acted violently and struck the rock twice.
Thirdly, Moses gave a very serious statement by including himself within the trinity of God by saying: “do we have to give them water from this rock?” instead of saying God will give you water. And fourthly, Moses with his attitude not only demonstrated disobedience and impatient, but also dishonored the holiness of God before the Israelites.
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Not only is this outburst of anger found in the story of Moses, but it was quite common in his life. When Moses was a prince in Egypt he killed an Egyptian in a fit of anger (Exodus 2:114-15), Moses’ second fit of anger is when he came down from being with God for 40 days with the 10 Commandments and when he saw the people in idolatry, he broke the tablets that “God wrote with his finger.”
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Consequently, Moses had fits of rage that made him in this case usurp the place of God by doing according to his own will. And the worst of all this is that he did it in front of the entire congregation of Israel. Moses spoke as if he and Aaron were the ones truly responsible for quenching the people’s thirst by drawing water from that rock. This means that he inevitably glorified himself instead of the Lord.
In this way, and according to the considerations made, we can understand why Moses did not enter the Promised Land.. Even the fact that God rebuked Aaron on the same occasion indicates that he was also involved in his brother’s act.