ALMOST IS NOT ENOUGH

"The Lord spoke to Moses, 'Take the staff and assemble the community. You and your brother Aaron are to speak to the rock while they watch, and it will yield its water. You will bring out water for them from the rock and provide drink for the community and their livestock.'...Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, so that a great amount of water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 'Because you did not trust Me to show My holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land I have given them.' " (Numbers 20:7, 8, 11, 12 HCSB)

We've heard it said, "Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades."

Just a few days ago, I was getting ready to celebrate a victory of my Tar Heels over the despised Blue Devils. For me, it is a reason to rejoice when either Carolina wins and Duke loses--so for UNC to beat Duke is ecstasy. But, my ecstasy was to turn to agony. The Heels had outplayed the Devils all game long. They had a comfortable lead going into the final minutes. It would take Carolina doing everything wrong and Duke doing everything right for the outcome to change. I watched with horror as that happened and as the buzzer went off, one of those Devils by the name of Austin Rivers made the game-winner. I had so much adrenalin flowing that it was around 1:30 AM before I finally went to sleep. Then, it was the first conscious thought I had when the alarm clock went off only a few hours later. My team almost had it won! But, almost is not enough. They weren't playing horseshoes--it was basketball. They weren't tossing hand-grenades, but shooting hoops.

Still, that was only a game. It seemed a big deal at the time, but in the cosmic scheme of things won't even be a footnote. Yes, Carolina lost a heart-breaker, but they have another chance this weekend. They get to invade Durham and hopefully send the Duke team out of the gym as distraught as they were days before.

Almost in other settings can have much more serious consequences. Almost in other scenarios may never present another opportunity. So, it is in one of the most tragic chapters in the Bible, the twentieth chapter of Numbers.

Moses almost got it right.

The Israelis lapsed into their frequent pattern of complaining. Those complaints always found their way to Moses' desk. Before Truman, he had a sign on his desk that read, "The Buck Stops Here." The people were whining, "We are thirsty!" They were always griping about something. So, Moses feels compelled to act. He does the right thing! He talks to God about it. So far, so good.

The Lord tells his man, "Gather the people, speak to the rock and I will bring water from it." So, that is what Moses does--almost. The more he thinks about the persistent grumbling of the people, the more angry Moses becomes. He looks into the faces of the same old people, who said the same old thing. They always were mad at him. He was fed up! Impulsively, he raises his staff as he did once before and strikes the rock. Out flows water, just as before (Exodus 17:1-7).

God was not pleased with almost. Partial obedience is disobedience. Moses had defied God's clear command--and in front of the congregation. Almost doing the right thing will mean Moses will almost get into the Promised Land. Almost is not enough.

After all this man had done, despite all he had sacrificed and all he had endured--Moses, this great champion of faith--will see the Devil sink a buzzer beater over him and he will crumple in defeat. But, it wasn't just a game, and he won't get a rematch. It cost his teammate, Aaron too, who shared in the loss. Almost is not enough.

Doesn't it seem a bit harsh?

Don't miss the gravity of his impetuous act.

The chief end of man, and indeed the final objective of all things, is the glory of God. Therefore, anything which would diminish that glory is a grave sin. That is what Moses did.

By speaking of diminishing God's glory, I am using a relative term. You may as well think to reach into the sky, pull down the sun and blow it out--that would be more likely than for you to truly diminish His glory. But, what I can do is pull the shade down on my window, so that the light is diminished for me and my family. The sun outside shines as brightly as ever, but I have obscured it. That is what Moses did. In front of God's holy people he shouts, "Listen, you rebels! Must we bring water out of this rock for you?" (Numbers 20:10b HCSB). We? Moses and Aaron will bring water out of the rock? Not quite. It would be an act of God. He and He alone deserved the glory, but the holy name of God would not be the focus--it would turn to the human names of Moses and Aaron. God will not allow a rival to His glory.

Why did God change things? If Moses was commanded to strike the rock before, why should he have to speak to it this time?

The symbolism of the rock would be marred. The rock was a type of the Rock of Ages--Jesus Christ. Paul says this, "Now I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. But God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the wilderness. Now these things became examples for us, so that we will not desire evil things as they did." (1 Corinthians 10:1-6 HCSB)

Christ is our Rock. From His wounded side flows streams of grace--the water of life! But, He was struck once and for all on Calvary. He suffered once for sins, never to suffer again. "For the Messiah did not enter a sanctuary made with hands (only a model of the true one) but into heaven itself, so that He might now appear in the presence of God for us. He did not do this to offer Himself many times, as the high priest enters the sanctuary yearly with the blood of another. Otherwise, He would have had to suffer many times since the foundation of the world. But now He has appeared one time, at the end of the ages, for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of Himself." (Hebrews 9:24-26 HCSB) All we need to do now is speak to the Rock, "For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:13 HCSB) We speak and God sends the water washing over us, cleansing our sin. Thirsty souls can drink from a fountain that never runs dry. Just open your mouth.

Moses almost did the right thing. He almost got into the Promised Land. Almost wasn't enough. He would die on the outside looking in--seeing what might have been, but would not be.

Don't miss the meaning. Moses wasn't shut out of heaven! He didn't lose his salvation. His faith was genuine and is extolled throughout Scripture. But, he did lose something precious--opportunity and reward. He missed an opportunity to honor God and he lost the reward of entering fullness of blessing. He also lost his brother--and attends the funeral of Aaron at the end of these fateful events. Surely, the deepest grief was the role he had in his elder brother's death on the wilderness side of the Jordan.

Don't miss the lesson. Remember why the Apostle Paul tells us these events are recorded? "But God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the wilderness. Now these things became examples for us, so that we will not desire evil things as they did."

Here's the warning written in bold print: "Almost is not enough!"