“Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to the rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”
– Numbers 20:8
Hi James and Ellen,
Have you ever gotten so enraged that you did something that you wished later that you had not done? How do you feel after you have become really infuriated? How do you feel when another kid – or a guy or gal, gets really irritated with you? Do you think that it ever helps to get really upset? The anger spirit makes guys, gals and kids do things that they normally do not do. The anger spirit causes guys, gals and kids to lose objectivity. The anger spirit thrives around the spirits of confusion, frustration and tension. The anger spirit’s goal is to drive wedges between relationships. The anger spirit’s objective is to compromise the integrity spirit of a guy, gal or kid. The anger spirit’s role is to serve evil. It is not a pretty sight to see a guy, gal or kid doing anger. The face of a guy, gal or kid doing anger will distort with emotion as it goes red, pulsing blood vessels will begin to work overtime, harsh, biting words will be spit out of a clenched mouth, narrowing eyes will dare any kind of response and rapidly moving hands will try to obey the mind that has been short circuited. Even though the anger spirit’s mandate is to be the companion of every guy, gal and kid who has lived, is living and will live on planet Earth, the heart of a guy, gal or kid that has been implanted with the name of Jesus as God – as God the Spirit, is leading it to and through the faith/grace door resulting in it being covered by the shadow of God, God – as God the Spirit, has the power to limit the anger spirit’s ravenous hunger to destroy the heart’s testimony, the heart’s body shell and the heart’s human support network.
Big Z’s angry outburst yesterday has everyone laughing at him today. Big Z is the Chicago Cubs best pitcher. Your grandpaa has been a diehard Chicago Cubs baseball fan from the time that he was a kid growing up on a farm in eastern South Dakota. Your grandpaa would listen to Cubs games on a Sioux Falls, South Dakota radio station. KSOO – the Sioux Falls radio station, would pick up the broadcast of the Cubs games out of Chicago to broadcast the Cubs games in the Sioux Falls area. One of the first Cubs players who your grandpaa remembers is Ernie Banks. Ernie Banks was the Cubs shortstop for years. Your grandpaa played shortstop when he played on softball teams. Your grandpaa always says that Ernie Banks is one of his heroes. After the home plate umpire called a guy safe after Big Z thought that he had tagged the guy out, Big Z began an angry tirade that resulted in the umpire ejecting Big Z from the baseball game – which then had Big Z acting like he was ejecting the home plate umpire from the baseball game. When Big Z got into the dugout, Big Z used a baseball bat to do a number on a soda dispenser. Because Big Z kind of bumped into the home plate umpire as he was ejecting Big Z from the baseball game, it is probably a safe bet that Big Z is going to be given a suspension for his hot-tempered actions.
Moses had God ‘eject’ him – after a negative disobedient reaction, from going into the land area that God was giving his specially chosen guys and gals – the Israelite people group guys and gals, to always have to live in as their very own land. Moses had been for about forty years in the unenviable position of having to continuously listen to a complaining, grumbling mob of at least a couple of million guys, gals and kids who had had enough of desert life. Because about forty years earlier of not having trusted in God to help them invade and purge the land area that He was giving them to always to have to live in as their very own land, God’s specially chosen guys and gals ended up being desert bound for the nearly forty years. Every guy and gal who was twenty years old and older at the time when God was snubbed by the Israelite people group guys and gals had to die before their kids – some of their kids going on being sixty years old, would finally be able to cross into the land area that God was giving them to always to have to live in as their very own land. Moses recounts in Numbers 20 the moment when he finally had had it after about forty years of accumulated frustration, exasperation and provocation. Moses’ compatriots – who were the Israelite people group guys and gals, were again ‘on his back’ about not having water to drink. Miriam – Moses’ sis, had just died. God’s specially chosen guys and gals – who were the Israelite people group guys and gals, wanted more to eat than the manna that God was giving them to eat; they wanted to be able to eat again grains, figs, grapes and pomegranates. When the glory of God met Moses and Aaron at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting – which was where the holy of holies was always kept, God told Moses in verse 8 to ‘“Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to the rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”’ After Moses took the staff from God’s presence, Moses went to the rock – which was in Meribah, and smacked the rock hard twice with the staff as he was calling his fellow Israelite people group guys and gals rebels. Because God had told Moses to speak to the Meribah rock instead of smacking the Meribah rock with the staff – which was to God Moses communicating a rebellious distain for His instructions, Moses and Aaron both were told by God the He was going to have them die before . . . your grandpaa knows that a hardwired anger emotion can be used as the driver for the pursuit of a needed societal correction but . . . your grandpaa also knows that an anger spirit’s goal is to cause degrading, hurtful results.
Numbers 20 (1000)