Reverence & Reliance (Numbers 20:12)
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 in Numbers 20 shows Moses and Aaron growing impatient with God’s people. By all human accounts, in the flesh, they had reason to be impatient. Moses had many reasons over the years to feel this way. But he reached a point where he became harsh with God’s people and failed to 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 fail to 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 shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”
Numbers 20:12 teaches us the seriousness of even one sin.
There is so much here to pray in light of—to recognize the seriousness of one sin, to hate all sin today, and to turn from all sin today. The consequences of one sin are seen not only in Numbers 20 but also in Genesis 3; indeed, we see this truth throughout Scripture.
Doesn’t this make you want to pray: God, please keep me from any sin today? And specifically, help me to trust in you. “Because you did not believe in me,” God says. So we ask to trust in God at every moment today—to trust in his Word, his promises, and his ways, knowing that his ways are good and best for us—and to uphold him as holy in the eyes of the people around us. We desire to live today as Jesus taught us to pray:
Father, hallowed be your name; cause your name to be made known as holy through our lives.
O God, we pray all of this over each of our lives today. Keep us from stumbling, we pray. Please keep each of us from sinning today. Help us to walk in your Word and in your ways. Make us sensitive to your Spirit, and lead us to live for the hallowing of your name.
Numbers 20:12 points us to Jesus as our perfect and sinless leader.
O God, our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name—yes, in all the earth and in all the details of our lives today. Help us to be holy as you are holy, to walk with you in holiness: holy thoughts, holy desires, holy words, and holy actions. Lord, from the overflow of faith in you, produce holiness, compassion, and love for others—including patience with others. 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 possible only through you. You are the only perfect leader, the only sinless one. We praise you for your sinlessness, for your perfection as our leader, our Lord, our Savior, our King, our God. We pray that you would help us to live out of the overflow of your life, as we spread the holiness, goodness, greatness, love, and grace found in your name among those around us. And, God, we pray this for all the peoples of the world.
Prayer for the Xiaoliangshan Nosu People
O God, we pray for the Xiaoliangshan Nosu people of China—over half a million among them who do not know the good news of your love. Please, O 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 to uphold you as holy today, all day long.
In Jesus’s name we pray. Amen.
