Moses was a faithful follower of God, but he made one mistake that cost him his entry into the Promised Land: he tried to take God's glory. The situation was routine – the Israelites were griping about whatever the latest irritant was, which happened to be a lack of water this time. Moses, fed up by all that had ensued over the prior 40 years, was instructed by God to tell a rock to bring out water. In his anger and frustration, Moses told the people that he and Aaron would be bringing water from the rock, and he struck the rock with his staff. In his grace, God enabled the water to come forth, but this was not without a consequence. But why was the punishment so severe after Moses had been so faithful?
The problem was that God was fighting to be Lord of the Israelites time and time again, and on this occasion, Moses misled the people into believing that he was the one bringing the water out from the rock and not God. Moses' sin was not simply disobeying God's instructions for how the water would come, but he attempted to steal God's glory, and in doing so, he nearly led God's people astray.
Have you ever attempted to steal God's glory? Have you failed to give Him the glory when it was due to Him? God does not share His glory with any man. Be careful, and make sure to attribute to Him what is His.
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