Day: February 14, 2026

Day 45 – A Year in the Bible – Numbers 19-21

______

NUMBERS 19 – PURIFICATION

A Spotless Red Heifer
This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke: and ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her forth without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face: and Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times: and one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn: and the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer. Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the even. And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the even. And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it is a purification for sin. And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever. – Numbers‬ ‭19‬:‭2‬-‭10‬ ‭

Water of Separation
He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days. He shall purify himself with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he purify not himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean. Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him. – Numbers‬ ‭19‬:‭11‬-‭13‬ ‭

______

NUMBERS 20 – UNBELIEF

There Was No Water for the Congregation
And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the LORD! And why have ye brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there? And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink. – Numbers 20:2-5

Moses and Aaron Fell Upon Their Faces and the Glory of the LORD Appeared Unto Them
And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto them. – Numbers 20:6

The Lord Said – Take the Rod, Gather the Assembly, Speak Ye Unto the Rock Before Their Eyes
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink. – Numbers 20:7-8

Moses and Aaron – Took the Rod, Gathered the Assembly, Spoke to the Assembly, Smote the Rock Twice
And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him.And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. – Numbers 20:9-11

Because Ye Believed Me Not…
And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them. This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them. – Numbers 20:12-13

Unbelief Has Consequences
The Children of Israel had begun to complain once again about the lack of water. God told Moses to take them to a particular rock and speak to the rock to bring forth water. Instead, Moses had the people gather, and he shouted at them in anger: Must we bring you water from this rock? He then struck the rock twice with his rod instead of speaking to the rock as God had told him to do. God provided water, but Moses lost the privilege of leading the people into the Promised Land because of his disobedience.

The punishment was hard, and I am sure it devastated Moses and Aaron.  It was, however, the punishment of leaders who disobeyed the Almighty God. How many people lost the blessing of giving God the glory that day because of their actions?

It was also an important lesson for the Israelites – and us. We should always do what God says to do His way. God had a good reason for Moses to speak to the rock. He wanted to display His power to His people at a time when their faith was waning. By Moses yelling at the people and then striking the rock, Moses showed his anger and insinuated that he and Aaron were bringing forth the water for them, not wholly God. God was compassionate toward the people and still gave them water, but Moses had to face the consequences of his anger and disobedience.  He was not allowed to enter the Promised Land.

We have all been in Moses’ place. At some point, we’ve all had to face the consequences of our own emotions that led to disobedience! We have had to face how we hindered someone else’s ability to glorify the Lord because we overreacted or under-reacted to direct instruction from the Lord. We may have looked at our actions and thought – it was no big deal, but all disobedience to the Lord’s plan is a great big deal.

Disobedience is unbelief.

______

NUMBERS 21 – GOD’S PROVISION

A Serpent of Brass
And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. – Numbers‬ ‭21‬:‭4‬-‭9‬ ‭

After complaining once again against God and Moses, the people were bitten by poisonous “fiery serpents.” God told Moses to make a serpent of brass and put it on a pole and when they were bitten if they would look upon the serpent on a pole, they would live. The brazen serpent represents God’s provision, healing, and the necessity of faith to be saved from the consequences of sin.