God Said No The First Time

“But the LORD was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me: and the LORD said unto me, Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter.” (De 3:26 AV)

 

Getting a ‘no’ to a prayer request is not exactly a fun thing.  But this is exactly what happened to Moses.  Moses messed up.  The LORD told him to speak to a rock to bring forth water.  Instead, out of frustration with his people, Moses struck the rock.  Because he took credit for past miracles and because he did not speak to the rock, God forbade Moses from entering Canaan.  Once they arrived at the point in time when this would happen, Moses asked one more time if he might go to the shores of Jordan and cross over with his people.  We read the LORD’s response above.  Not only was the answer a ‘no’, but the LORD also told him not to ask again.  The patience of God in this matter had worn out.  Moses messed up.  God considered showing mercy but told him ‘no’.  He did so several times.  I don’t blame Moses.  I would have, too.  To come all that way and go through all he did and not be able to experience crossing the finish line had to hurt.  It had to smart.  It had to sting.  But that is what the LORD decreed. 

Not to accuse Moses of immaturity, but our children do this often.  Once we pronounce judgment, they beg and beg to get the sentence changed or canceled.  They believe they can wear us down.  Having a time out or taking the television away is popular.  When we got too big for spankings, my mother forced us to sit in a corner with our heads pointed into the corner.  It was usually such a tight fit we couldn’t turn our heads to see anything anyway.  I remember those times.  They were worse than spankings.  At least the spanking was over in a matter of minutes.  This corner sitting usually was anywhere from thirty to sixty minutes.  For a twelve-year-old to sit in a corner for an hour was torture.  There were far more important things to do than to sit and do nothing.  She would set an egg timer or kitchen timer for the length of our sentence.  We did everything to encourage her to reduce the sentence.  Nothing helped.  We even tried to ask how much time was left so that she would get so annoyed she would tell us to get lost.  However, all she did was tell us every time we asked how much time was left, she would add another minute.  The more we tried to eliminate the sentence, the worse it got.  At some point, we had to accept the consequences of our actions as unchanging, and to petition a change only tries the patience of our Mom even more.

The same is true with God.  We can petition for mercy and grace.  Often, He grants it.  More so than He should.  This is the great thing about God.  He loves us more than we could ever comprehend.  However, to seek relief when the LORD had repeatedly said no pushes Him.  In Moses’ case, the LORD flat out told him that He didn’t want to hear any more of this matter.  What is done is done and Moses has to learn to live with it.  We see that he did.  It appears as though the book of Deuteronomy was written in the last month or so of Moses’ life.  If he would not have accepted God’s answer and kept pursuing a  change to God’s mind, this book would never have been written.  He would have been consumed with something he could not have and would have reacted in a temper-tantrum.  But the fact he pens this last book of his career shows Moses came to terms with his error and God’s judgment on the matter.  One has to wonder how much energy and opportunity is wasted trying to change circumstances of our own making rather than to accept them as they are and God’s hand in the matter.  One wonders how much time and emotional energy is being wasted in trying to convince the LORD to change something which He refuses to do rather than to accept it and go on.  Maybe it is time we accept what we have done and God’s judgment in the matter, go on and serve the LORD in the opportunities that remain.