But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron
This phrase introduces a direct communication from God, emphasizing the gravity and authority of the message. The Hebrew name for God here is "Yahweh," which signifies the covenantal relationship between God and Israel. This divine address underscores the seriousness of the situation, as it is not merely a human judgment but a divine decree. Historically, Moses and Aaron were the leaders chosen by God to guide the Israelites, and this direct communication highlights their accountability to God.

Because you did not trust in Me
The Hebrew root for "trust" is "aman," which conveys a sense of firmness, faithfulness, and reliability. This phrase indicates a failure in faith, a critical aspect of the relationship between God and His chosen leaders. Trust in God was foundational for the Israelites, especially in their journey through the wilderness. The lack of trust here is not just a personal failing but a public one, as it impacts the entire community's perception of God's power and faithfulness.

to show My holiness
The concept of "holiness" in Hebrew is "qadosh," meaning set apart or sacred. God's holiness is a central theme throughout the Bible, representing His purity, otherness, and moral perfection. By not demonstrating God's holiness, Moses and Aaron failed to uphold God's distinctiveness and supreme authority before the people. This failure to sanctify God in the eyes of the Israelites was a significant breach of their leadership responsibilities.

in the sight of the Israelites
This phrase highlights the public nature of Moses and Aaron's actions. The Israelites were witnesses to their leaders' behavior, and thus, the leaders' actions had communal implications. The visibility of their actions meant that their failure to trust and honor God was not a private matter but one that affected the entire community's understanding and reverence for God.

you will not bring this assembly into the land
The consequence of their actions is severe: Moses and Aaron are denied the privilege of leading the Israelites into the Promised Land. This punishment reflects the principle that leadership comes with great responsibility and accountability. The "assembly" refers to the congregation of Israel, God's chosen people, who were on a divinely ordained journey to the land promised to their ancestors.

I have given them
This phrase emphasizes God's sovereignty and the certainty of His promises. The land is described as a gift from God, highlighting His grace and faithfulness. Despite the leaders' failure, God's promise to the Israelites remains intact, underscoring His unwavering commitment to His covenant. This assurance of God's promise serves as a reminder of His ultimate authority and the fulfillment of His divine plan, regardless of human shortcomings.

(12) And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron.--We read in Psalm 106:33 that the Israelites "provoked (literally, made to rebel) his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips." Whatever was the nature of the sin thus committed, it is clear that Aaron was a participator in it with Moses. Some have thought that the sin of Moses consisted in addressing the people as rebels (or as rebellious ones); but this is the charge repeatedly brought against them in the book of Deuteronomy (see Numbers 1:26; Numbers 1:43; Numbers 9:23; Numbers 31:27), under circumstances in which it is impossible to suppose that Moses committed the same sin. It has also been thought that the sin of Moses and Aaron consisted in arrogating to themselves the honour which was due only to God. "Must we fetch you water?" but the personal pronoun does not occur in the Hebrew, as it might, and probably would, have occurred, if intended to be emphatic. The more probable explanation appears to be that, notwithstanding the miraculous supply of water which had begun at Rephidim, and which had been subsequently continued, Moses and Aaron distrusted the word and power (Numbers 20:12) of God, and that they yielded to the impulse of impatience and anger, as betrayed both by the language which they used and by the double smiting of the rock, to which Moses had been commanded only to speak. To what degree Aaron was concerned in these sins can be inferred only from the facts that he, as well as Moses, was charged with the sin of unbelief, and that the punishment of exclusion from the land of Canaan was inflicted upon both. . . . Verse 12. - Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel. It is very important, and at the same time very difficult, to understand what the precise sin of Moses and Aaron was upon this occasion. That it was very serious is manifest from the punishment which is entailed. Aaron, indeed, does not appear in the narrative, save in his usual subordinate position as associated with his brother by the Divine mandate. It has been said that he might have checked the unadvised words of Moses, but that is wholly beside the mark. Aaron had obviously no control whatever over his far more able and energetic brother, and therefore could have no responsibility in that respect. We can only suppose that he inwardly assented to the language and conduct with which he was outwardly associated, and therefore shared the guilt. A less degree of sin was (so to speak) necessary in his cause, because he had on former occasions so greatly dishonoured his office; and the anger of God against the sin of his ministers, although laid to sleep, is ever ready to awake upon the recurrence of a similar provocation. We may therefore dismiss him, and consider only the case of Moses. It is impossible to suppose that Moses actually doubted the power of God to supply the present need, for he held in his hand the very rod with which he had struck the rock in Rephidim, nor is there anything in his words or acts upon this occasion to imply any such disbelief. The language of Numbers 11:21, 22 may be cited on the other side, but that was spoken in passion, and spoken to God, and cannot be held as expressing an actual failure of faith. Nor do subsequent references point to unbelief as having been the sin of Moses (cf. Numbers 27:14; Deuteronomy 32:51; Psalm 106:33). Rather, they point to disobedience and indiscretion; to such disloyal conduct and language as produced a bad impression upon the people, and did not place the Divine character before them in its true light. We must understand, therefore, that the want of belief with which Moses stood charged was not a want of faith in the power of God, but a want of obedience to the will of God, bearing in mind that the two faults of disbelief and disobedience are but two sides of one inward fact, and are perpetually confounded in the language of Scripture (compare the use of ἀπειθεῖν in the New Testament). What then was the disobedience of Moses? Here, again, the more obvious answer is insufficient. It is true that Moses struck the rock twice instead of (or perhaps in addition to) speaking to it; but God had bid him take the rod, and he might naturally think he was meant to use it as before; moreover, the people could not have known anything of the exact terms of the command, and would have thought no more of his striking the rock at Kadesh than at Rephidim; but it was the fact of the bad impression made upon the people which was the ground of the Divine rebuke. We come back, therefore, to the simple conclusion expressed by the Psalmist (Psalm 106:32, 33), that Moses lost his temper, and in the irritation of the moment spoke and acted in such a way and in such a spirit as to dishonour his Master and to impair the good effect of the Divine beneficence. It is quite likely that the repeated striking of the rock was one sign of the anger to which Moses gave way, but we could hardly have attached any serious character to the act if it had stood alone. It is in the words of Moses, words in which he associated Aaron with himself, that we must find the explanation of the displeasure he incurred. That he called the people "rebels" was unseemly, not because it was untrue, or because it was an uncalled-for term of reproach, but because he himself was at that very moment a rebel, and disloyal in heart to his Master (cf. verse 24). That he should say, "Must we fetch you water out of this rock?" showed how completely he was carried away. It is true that God had said to him, "Thou shalt bring forth to them water," and, "Thou shalt give the congregation... drink" (compare this with Exodus 17:6), and it is probable that his own words were more or less consciously dictated by this remembrance; but he knew very well that the Divine mandate afforded him no real justification; that he and Aaron were the merest instruments in the hand of God; that it was peculiarly necessary to keep this fact before the minds of the people; nevertheless, his vexation and anger betrayed him into putting himself - a mere man, and a man too in a very bad temper - into the place of God before the eyes of the whole congregation. Moses had fallen at least once before (see on Numbers 11:11-15) into a similar error, one so natural to an angry mind; but this was the first time that he had made his error public, and thereby dishonoured the Master whom it was his special duty to uphold and glorify. This was the sin, and if the punishment seem disproportionate, it must be remembered that the heinousness of a sin depends quite as much on the position of the sinner as upon its intrinsic enormity. Ye shall not bring this congregation into the land. That they should die in the wilderness was implied in this sentence, but was not strictly a part of the sentence itself. Moses, indeed, although he did not enter the land of promise in its narrower sense, yet he died within the inheritance of Israel. Since they had behaved unworthily of their high office as leaders of the people, therefore that office should be taken from them before the glorious end.

Parallel Commentaries ...


But the LORD
יְהוָה֮ (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

said
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

Moses
מֹשֶׁ֣ה (mō·šeh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 4872: Moses -- a great Israelite leader, prophet and lawgiver

and Aaron,
אַהֲרֹן֒ (’a·hă·rōn)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 175: Aaron -- an elder brother of Moses

“Because
יַ֚עַן (ya·‘an)
Adverb
Strong's 3282: Heed, purpose, to indicate the reason, cause

you did not
לֹא־ (lō-)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

trust
הֶאֱמַנְתֶּ֣ם (he·’ĕ·man·tem)
Verb - Hifil - Perfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 539: To confirm, support

Me
בִּ֔י (bî)
Preposition | first person common singular
Strong's Hebrew

to show My holiness
לְהַ֨קְדִּישֵׁ֔נִי (lə·haq·dî·šê·nî)
Preposition-l | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct | first person common singular
Strong's 6942: To be set apart or consecrated

in the sight
לְעֵינֵ֖י (lə·‘ê·nê)
Preposition-l | Noun - cdc
Strong's 5869: An eye, a fountain

of the Israelites,
בְּנֵ֣י (bə·nê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1121: A son

you will not
לֹ֤א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

bring
תָבִ֙יאוּ֙ (ṯā·ḇî·’ū)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

this
הַזֶּ֔ה (haz·zeh)
Article | Pronoun - masculine singular
Strong's 2088: This, that

assembly
הַקָּהָ֣ל (haq·qā·hāl)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6951: Assembly, convocation, congregation

into
וְאֶֽל־ (wə·’el-)
Conjunctive waw | Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

the land
הָאָ֖רֶץ (hā·’ā·reṣ)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land

I have given them.”
נָתַ֥תִּי (nā·ṯat·tî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set


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OT Law: Numbers 20:12 Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron Because (Nu Num.)