And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”
– Numbers 20:12
Oh, this is such a sobering verse. The story here in Numbers 20 is Moses and Aaron growing impatient with God’s people, which by all human accounts in the flesh, they had a reason to be impatient. I mean, Moses had so many reasons over the years to be impatient, but he got to the point where he became harsh with God’s people and he didn’t trust in God. Listen to this verse, Numbers 20:12, “You did not believe in me” in a way that led him to go outside of God’s will and to not uphold God as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel.
As a result of one sin in Numbers 20, in his leadership, God said, “You’re not taking my people into the promised land.”
Numbers 20:12 teaches us the seriousness of even one sin.
And there is so much here to pray in light of, to realize the seriousness of one sin, for us to hate all sin today and to turn from all sin today knowing that the consequences of one sin, and not just Numbers 20, but Genesis 3, we see all over Scripture the effect of one sin.
Doesn’t this make you just want to pray? God, please keep me from any sin today, and then specifically to trust in God, “Because you do not believe in me,” God says, for us to trust in God at every moment today, to trust in his Word, trust in his promises, to trust in his ways, that his ways are good and best for us, and to uphold him as holy in the eyes of the people around us to live today, just as we prayed before and Jesus taught us to pray.
Father, hallowed be your name, cause your name to be made known as holy through our lives. Oh, God, we pray all of this over each of our lives today. God, keep us from stumbling, we pray. Please keep each of us from stumbling. Please keep each of us from sinning today. God, help us to walk in your Word, in your ways. Help us to be sensitive to your Spirit and to live for the hallowing of your name.
Numbers 20:12 points to Jesus as our perfect and sinless leader.
Oh, God, our Father in Heaven. Hallowed be your name. Yes, in all the earth and in all the details of our lives today. God, help us to be holy as you are holy, to walk, holy with you, holy thoughts, holy desires, holy words, holy actions. Lord, out of the overflow of faith in you, holiness with you, compassion, and love for others, including patience with others. God, make us like Jesus. None of us can uphold you as holy in everything we do.
We need you, Jesus, to cover our sins and to fill us with the power to live this way. This is only possible through you, Jesus. You’re the only perfect leader, you’re the only sinless one. We praise you for your sinlessness, for your perfection as our leader, our Lord, our Savior, our King, our God. And we pray you help us to live out of the overflow of your life. As we then spread the holiness, goodness, greatness, love, and grace that’s found in your name among people around us. And, God, we pray this for the peoples of the world, all of them.
Prayer for the Xiaoliangshan Nosu People
Oh, God, we pray for the Xiaoliangshan Nosu people of China. Over half a million of them among the Xiaoliangshan Nosu, who don’t know the good news of your love for them. Please, oh God, cause the name of Jesus to be hallowed among the Xiaoliangshan Nosu people of China. May it be so, we pray all this according to your Word in Numbers 20:12. Help us to believe in you and uphold you as holy today, all day long. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
