He who has brought the Jews to the edge of the promised land must
not have the honour and glory of taking them into it. He must have
no honour and glory. That must be God's alone. Man must be
nothing, and God all in all. Moses must die in faith, not having
received the promises, as many another saint of God has died.
And why? To teach him and the Jews and us that man IS nothing, and
God is all in all.
Moses had given way to the very temptation which would beset such a
man. He had spoken unadvisedly with his lips, and said, 'Hear now,
ye rebels, or ye fools, must WE bring you water out of this rock?'
WE, and not God. He had claimed for himself the power and glory of
working miracles. The miracles, he thought for a moment, were his,
and not God's. And it may be that this was not the only time that
he had so sinned. He may naturally have thought that he had some
special power and influence with God. But be that as it may, the
Jews were trained to believe that the miracles were God's, God's
immediate work, and not performed by the wisdom or sanctity or
supernatural power of any saint or prophet whatsoever.
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