The High Cost of Leadership

Turn with me in your Bible to Numbers chapter 20. Amidst all the great things that Moses has done. Today, on this day, Numbers chapter 20, he makes a grave error. He transgresses the law of God, and it helps us understand the high cost of leadership. Sin is always a problem. But we're going to see what it was about this sin in the life of Moses that was so grave that would keep him from entering the promised land. What Moses does on this day. Overs the will of God and obscures the holiness of God.

As a leader, you cannot afford to do that. And when Moses does, it costs him dearly. Let's read the chapter, and then we'll look at it together.

Then the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed at Kadish.

Now Miriam died there, and was buried there. And there was no water for the congregation. And they assembled themselves against Moses and Aaron. The people thus contended with Moses and spoke, saying, If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord. Why then have you brought the Lord's assembly into this wilderness for us and our beasts to die here? And why have you made us come up from Egypt to bring us into this wretched place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink.

Then Moses and Aaron came in from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to them, and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Take the rod, and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes. That it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock, and let the congregation and their beasts drink. So Moses took the rod from before the Lord. just as he had commanded him.

And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock, and he said to them, Listen now, you rebels. Shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock? Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod, and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank. But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, Because you have not believed me to treat me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this assembly into the land Which I have given them.

Those were the waters of Merib, because the sons of Israel contended with the Lord, and he proved him holy among them. The high cost of leadership. Let's begin by looking at point number one, and that is the contention.

This is called the waters of Merib because the children of Israel contended with the Lord. So we begin with the contention, and three things I want you to see about this contention: number one, the seriousness of the situation.

Water, or the lack thereof, is a serious problem. Israel faced this problem throughout their wilderness wanderings. In chapter 21, they'll face the same problem again. But it's a constant reminder that you find yourself in a serious situation when you're without that. Which is of great necessity. And we know that Jesus Christ is the living water. And those who refuse to drink of that water find themselves in a very serious condition. Because without that water, there is no life. These people feared for their lives because there was no water to drink.

If you've been in the wilderness in Israel, if you've been down to the Sinai Peninsula, you know how dry it is, how parched you can become because of the dryness of the weather. And so the condition for them was very serious. And yet, on top of that, point number two, the snarling about their shortage.

That was serious when it comes to their contention. They begin to snarl at Moses and Aaron. They begin to complain. And I want you to notice something.

There's a verse in the book of Hosea that reads: like priests, like people. As the leaders go, so go the people. You will note that these individuals who last week were under the age of 20. Have wandered now for forty years. So the oldest would probably be around sixty years of age. They now do. Exactly what their parents did. Parents, take note of that, will you? Your children will follow in your footsteps. I've come to realize that leadership is so much example. Our children follow what we do more so than what we say.

And leadership's that way. And these people, these children, now grown, are following in the footsteps of their parents. And you can sense it in their animosity against Moses and Aaron. And for Moses, he's always handled it just right. In fact, he begins this way, this day, handling it right by going to the Lord. And yet, and yet, going to the Lord and listening to the Lord and receiving instruction from the Lord and then doing what God says.

Is of great necessity. You can go to the Lord, you can listen to him, and not do what he says. That's a problem. That's what Moses did. And so we see the animosity. And they begin to complain, simply saying, if only we have perished when our brothers perished before the Lord. What is that? What kind of statement is that? Remember, they were at Kad before. 40 years earlier. They knew what took place when their brothers perished. And they're saying, would it be that we'd have perished before? You know, that really goes against their commitment to their God.

They were unthankful. To their God. He was their provider. He was their protector. But they complained and criticized because God evidently had not taken care of them as they thought he should take care of them. This was a test for Israel. One in a long line of tests for Israel. See, they forgot that if they followed Moses 40 years earlier, they'd already be in the promised land. They forgot that. And so now they're going to blame Moses. For bringing them to this place. So we come to the third aspect of this contention: the supplication by God's servants.

Verse 6, Moses and Aaron, they came in from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. They came to God. What else are they going to do? They came to God and sought his counsel. What do we do now, God? And the glory of the Lord, it says, appeared to them, and the Lord spoke to Moses. Now let me help you understand something if you're a leader.

It's important for you to realize that when a problem arises, you can call your friend, you can call your pastor, you can call an elder, you can seek counsel from somebody else. But it's always good to real that there are times when we never tell anybody else about our problem except God him. Have you ever tried that? Why is it when a problem arises, we call mom or we call dad? What do we do now? We call a friend. When a problem arises, try this. Don't tell anybody. Call upon God and wait for God to speak to you through his word and then do what he says.

And you know what you're going to find out? You're going to realize that God has been waiting an awful long time for you to seek Him and Him only for the solutions to the problems you face day in and day out. And that's good advice for all of us. It doesn't mean you can't call a friend, you can't have someone pray for you. I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is that there are times where we need to sit back and say, you know what, God? This is you. This is me. I'm going to seek your face. I want you to speak to me.

I want you to tell me what it is you want me to do that I might follow you with my whole heart. And that leads us to number two, the solution.

You go from the contention to the solution because God always gives a solution. He is the origin of all solutions. You know that, don't you? When you have a problem, God always has the answer. Sometimes we forget that, don't we? We think, well, God, He doesn't understand this, He doesn't care about this, or He doesn't know what I'm going through, or He can't. He can't tell me what to do here. Yes, he can. He has his word. The Bible is the inspired word of God, 2 Timothy 3. And that inspired word of God equips the man of God for everything he needs to do.

To make him what he wants to be, or God wants him to be. God's word instructs us in the ways of God, and we, when we go to God, begin to understand the workings of God. Now, let me throw this out to you because this is a major problem.

In the church of Jesus Christ today, we have devalued the word of God in such a way that we have. We for the preaching of God's word. We give it a 10 or 15-minute excerpt every once in a while. But very few churches ever teach the Bible expositionally. Very few churches sit you down and take you verse by verse through the Bible and teach you what the Bible says.

That tell you that that church doesn't believe. That the origin to every solution is found in the Word of God. That God is behind the answer to every problem you face. And instead, a lot of those churches, what they do is they give you a sermonette for Christian, and then they have all these support groups. You ever notice that?

If you've got a problem, they've got a support group for that. As if talking about your problem is going to solve your problem. No, the only one who solves your problem is God Himself. And God needs to be put on display. And we've got to get a hold of that because you'll come to realize that when people sit under the teaching of God's Word over long periods of time, they realize that the solution to all their problems is found in Jesus Christ our Lord. And it's written someplace in the Word of God.

It's there. And then God gives the orders. See, the problem is not with God. The problem's with us. You see, God gives you the answer. Our problem is we don't like the answer God gives. God says to Moses, take the rod, gather the assembly, speak to the rock, and you got water.

Very simple. Very clear, very orderly. Folks, let me tell you something. That's the way God is. He's very clear, He's very simple. He's very orderly. You got a problem? He says, Come to me. We go to God and we think, you know, he hasn't told me anything. I read his word. I don't get anything. I'm at a place. I don't understand. Let me tell you something.

If you don't understand, that's the place you need to be. Because the Bible says, le not unto your own understanding.

In all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths. You see, if you're in a place of misunderstanding. A place where you don't understand exactly what's happening. You are in the best place you can be because God wants you to lean upon Him and He'll direct your path every single step of the way. And here was Moses. He goes to God. He pours his heart out to God. The glory of the Lord comes down. God speaks to Moses. Moses, very simple: take the rod, gather the people, speak to the rock, you got water.

Pretty simple, isn it? God gives the orders. If you learn anything from Numbers chapter 20, remember this: you can't do it your way. You've got to do it God's way. You just got to do it God's way. So we go from the solution to the transgression. And let me help you understand this transgression by looking at several different aspects of what took place in Moses' life.

It begins with his disbelief. His dis. In verse number 11, Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod. Folks, that is the sin of disbelief. God said, speak to the rock. Moses strikes the rock. Moses doesn't believe in what God has said. God says, You do this.

Moses says, I'm going do it this way. Remember the precedence, Exodus chapter 17, when God told Moses in Exodus 17 at Rephit to strike the rock with the rod. Moses struck the rock with the rod and out gushed the water. Remember that story, Exodus chapter 17? So he struck the rock, out came the water. This time God says, speak to the rock, and Moses chooses not to.

Because what would cause a man not to obey God? It's because he doesn't believe in what God says. That's why we disbelieve. That's why we don't obey. We disbelieve what God says.

And not only was his transgression in the realm of his disbelief, but it was also in the realm of his denunciation of the people of God. He gathers the people of God together. He takes the rod. The text says, as God commanded him, that's a good thing. God says, gather the people together.

So he gathers the people together. That's two for two, right? Okay? And the next thing is, he's supposed to speak to the rock, but he strikes the rock. Listen, two out of three is not very good in God's economy. You've got to be three for three. In God's economy. But Moses thought that two out of three was good enough. I'll take the rod, I'll gather the people. And then he says, This: He says, Listen now, you rebels. He gathers the people, and God never said, speak to the people. God said, speak to the rock.

What's Moses do? He speaks to the people and strikes the rock. Listen now, you rebels. Now, were they rebels? Yes. Were they disobedient? Yes. Yes. But the Bible says over in Psalm 106, verse number 33: Because they were rebellious against his spirit, that is, the spirit of Moses, he spoke rashly.

With his lips, unadvisedly, with his lips, he lashed out at the people of God. That was a problem, especially in the eyes and the mind of God. It's the manner in which he spoke. It's the motive by which he spoke. Remember, Moses was the meekest man on the face of the earth. Remember, we studied that earlier in the book of Numbers? And yet, this was out of character for Moses. What was wrong was that his spirit wasn't right. And then that leads us to number three.

This gives even worse. Not only do we see his disbelief and his denunciation, but we see his dishonor. Of God. He dishonored God. Listen to what he says. He says, Listen now, you rebels, shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock? Who's the we? That's Moses and Aaron. You see, he is dishonoring God by attributing to him the work of God. Folks, let me tell you something.

That's a big problem in leadership today. We want the honor. We want the glory. We want people to see us. And God says to Moses, You dishonored me.

And Moses took upon himself the glory of God. That's a high cost, high cost for those who le. Next, you need to understand it was plain disobedience. To God. Disobedience to God. He took his hand, he struck the rock. Numbers. Chapter 27, verse number 14, says that this was rebellion. So, because you as a leader rebelled against my command as to what you were to do. The price you will pay will be greater than the price they will pay. You see that? We need to understand that, folks. People want to be leaders today.

Let me tell you something. James says, Don't many of you seek to be teachers? James 3, verse number 1. Because with it comes a stricter condemnation. There's a greater responsibility for those. Who lead. And for those who are in leadership positions by virtue of the fact that they're parents or their husbands or fathers, the responsibility you have is great. Not to rebel against what God says, but to obey what God says.

So we see his disbelief, we see his disobedience, we see his denunciation, we see his dishonor, and we see his distemper. That is, he was out of control. He lost control. He wasn't the normal Moses, the meek man. He literally went out of control. Psalm 106, verse number 32 states it. They also provoked him to wrath at the waters of Merib, so that it went hard with Moses on their account, because they were rebellious against his spirit. He spoke rashly with his lips. They provoked him. He lost his temper.

He lost his cool, was out of control, and struck the rock twice. He wasn't supposed to do that. You see, folks, the problem with this is the public nature of a sin. It's one thing to sin in private, it's another thing to sin in public, isn't it? It's one thing if he does it in the tent of meeting with Aaron and Miriam or a couple other leaders. But no, he does it in front of everybody, in front of the whole congregation. He loses control. He goes bunkers. Calls them rebels, bangs on the rock. What happens?

Out comes the water. Out comes the water. His rebellion did not stop God's reward. Because God overrides our sin, doesn't he? And so the people still were able to be refreshed, but Moses. Because of his transgression, I want you to look with me at the summation. The man's sin cost him dearly, didn't it? The high cost of leadership. God says to both Moses and Aaron, you're not going to be able to go to the land of Canaan.

Now, when we read that, we need to be honest. We think it's a little hard, don't we? I mean, after all, these people have done nothing but belly ache and gripe and moan and groan and rebel against their God. For over 40 years. Can't God cut him a break? I've been there. I know Moses. I understand your frustration. I've wanted to wipe them out. I've wanted to disinherit them. I've wanted to get rid of them, and you have interceded on their behalf. No, he says, that's it, Moses. Once in, you're out.

What the problem with that is? Every judgment of God is pure, true, right, and holy. So God can't be wrong. God's holy, pure, just, and righteous. So, in summation, notice with me the priority of leadership and the penalty of leadership.

Think with me for a moment about all the privileges Moses had. He spoke with God face to face, didn't he? He knew God like no one else knew God. He was used of God in a mighty way. God came to him, called him out of the backside of a desert, made him the leader of the nation of Israel. He had great privileges. He would be able to do things no one else ever did or would ever dream of doing. Moses had all kinds of privileges, and with all those privileges. Comes a great responsibility, doesn't it? But I want you to know something else.

Moses, as a leader, had a responsibility to portray Christ to the people. So do we, right? And what Moses did on this day was to blur that perception of God. And this is enough to keep him out of the land of promise. Because you see, as a leader, we need to be able to lead people into a deeper knowledge of God. And when Moses struck the rock, He blurred the vision. Why? Well, let's see how well you remember Exodus chapter 17. God had tested them, they had no water. So God says, verse 5: Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel.

And in Numbers 20, he's supposed to gather all the people. And take in your hand your staff. Why? Because the staff is the rod of God. Remember that? Way, way back? It's the rod of God. Which you struck the Nile, and go, and behold, I will stand before you there on the rock. The Lord says, I'm going to stand on the rock at Horeb. And you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink. And we told you when we studied this the reason he was supposed to strike the rock because in the context of Exodus 16, our Lord came down to represent the incarnation through the manna.

Right? In Acts 16, and he gave them manna from heaven. Christ say the bread of life. To partake of the bread of life, there must be the incarnation of God. To partake of the water of life, there must be the crucifixion of God. That's Exodus chapter 17. When you read 1 Corinthians 10 and verse number 4, Christ says that I am the ro.

What rock is that? Deuteronomy 3, Moses said that this rock in Meribah is the rock of salvation. It brought life to the people of God. And Jesus Christ is that rock. And in Exodus chapter 17. What Moses did was take the rod of God, which was representative of the Father in heaven, and strike the rock where Christ says, I will be on the rock there at Horeb.

You strike the rock with the rod of God because the Bible says that the father would smite his son, would strike his son.

And out of that rock came gushing waters of life, which is representative of the Spirit of God. And that's why Moses could not strike the rock in Numbers chapter 20. Because the death of Christ was only on. And he marred the picture of eternal salvation to the people of Israel. Folks, you need to get that. It wasn't that Moses just got angry. Moses had been angry before. He was angry for the righteous things. In his anger and in his disobedience, he misrepresented God to the people. And as a leader, you cannot afford to misrepresent God to the people you lead.

As parents, Oh, I beg you, you cannot misrepresent God to your children. And so we understand the penalty of leadership, don't we? It's a great price to pay, there's a priority in leadership. And that is the fact that God has given you the gift, the ability, granted you the privilege to see Him, to understand Him, to know Him, and to represent Him. And when you don't, the price is great. And if God didn't put this in the text, Moses had to write it down, right? I'm sure as Moses would write all this down and then reiterate it in the book of Numbers again, all about his disobedience.

He was reminded of the high cost of leadership. But I want you to remember one thing: go all the way back to Exodus chapter 3 with me for a second.

In Exodus chapter 3, God appears to Moses. Remember that? Verse number 7. Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk. And honey. God says, I've heard their cry.

Now, look at verse number ten. Therefore come now, Moses, and I will send you to Pharaoh. So that you may bring my people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt, period. God never promised Moses he would bring them in, only that he would bring them out. See that? Because God knew. He knew what was going to happen. So he couldn't guarantee Moses the promise of bringing them in. God knows everything. God's in complete control of everything. Moses, he is representative of the character of the Messiah. Moses is a type of Christ in the Old Testament.

You see, in the Old Testament, there were those who were prophets and priests. There were those who were kings and prophets, but there was never a king who was a priest. So, how is a Messiah could be prophet, priest, and king? And yet, in the fulfillment of the coming of the Messiah, he was prophet. Priest and king. You can read about it in the book of Hebrews, the seventh chapter. Moses, Deuteronomy chapter 18, says this: This is how they knew about Messiah being a prophet. Verse number 15. The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me, Moses says.

From among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him. Verse 18: I will raise up a prophet. A prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. It shall come about that whoever will not listen to my words. Which he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. All the Jews knew and still believe today that the coming of Messiah will be a prophet. You see, by the time Peter preaches his sermon on the day of Pentecost and thereafter, he brings it all into proper perspective: that the prophet spoken of by Moses, the one that would come just like him, was the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Our Lord. So, why there's a great price to pay for those who do not represent God? Now you know why. Because Moses was in the place of God before the people. And he was a representative of God to the people. You too are representatives of God to others. And may God give you the grace to lead in a way that brings glory to his name. Let's pray.