When Speaking Should Have Been Enough
One of the most sobering moments in the entire Old Testament occurs at a place called Meribah, near Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin. The people are thirsty again, quarreling with Moses again, and—humanly speaking—Moses is at the end of his patience. What happens next reveals a crucial distinction between the broad, enduring reality of faith and the moment-by-moment requirement of trust.
The biblical account is found in Numbers 20:1–13 (NKJV):
Then the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh…
2 Now there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses and Aaron.
…
7 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
8 “Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.”
…
10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?”
11 Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly…
12 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”
13 This was the water of Meribah, because the children of Israel contended with the LORD, and He was hallowed among them.
The Same Hebrew Root: Faith and Trust Are Closely Related
The key phrase in verse 12 is “you did not believe Me” (Hebrew: לֹא־הֶאֱמַנְתֶּם בִּי, lo-he’emantem bi).
This verb comes from the root אָמַן (’aman), the very same root that underlies:
- The great Old Testament confessions of faith (“Amen!”),
- The noun translated “faith” or “faithfulness” (emunah),
- And dozens of places where God’s people are called to “believe” or “trust” in Him.
In biblical language, faith and trust are not two completely separate categories. They are two aspects of the same root reality:
- Faith is the settled, enduring conviction that God is who He says He is and will do what He has promised.
- Trust (or belief-in-action) is the present-tense reliance on God’s word in a specific situation.
Moses: A Giant of Faith
Scripture never wavers in presenting Moses as one of the greatest men of faith who ever lived.
Hebrews 11:23–29 (NKJV) lists him prominently in the “Hall of Faith”:
24 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,
25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,
26 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.
27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.
Decades of obedience—confronting Pharaoh, leading Israel through the Red Sea, interceding when God threatened to destroy the nation—all demonstrate a life rooted in genuine faith.
Meribah: A Momentary Failure of Trust
Yet at Meribah, in one critical moment, Moses’ active trust faltered.
God’s command was precise and new: “Speak to the rock.”
Forty years earlier at Rephidim (Exodus 17:5–6) God had told him to strike the rock (a beautiful picture of Christ being struck once for our sins). Now, in a new covenant-like foreshadowing, the rock needed only to be spoken to (Christ, having been struck once, now responds to the word of faith—see also 1 Corinthians 10:4 and Psalm 107:20).
Moses, however, in anger and perhaps in habit, struck the rock twice. Water still came—God is merciful—but the Lord’s holiness was not clearly displayed before Israel. The miracle could now be attributed partly to Moses’ action rather than wholly to God’s word.
Therefore God said, “Because you did not believe Me [i.e., you did not trust My word to be sufficient] to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel…”
Lessons for Us
- Saving faith and situational trust are related but not identical.
A believer can have genuine, saving faith (as Moses undeniably did) and still fail to trust God in a particular trial. - Leaders are judged by a higher standard.
James 3:1 reminds us, “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.” Moses represented God before a watching nation. - God’s glory is the ultimate issue.
The sin was not primarily that Moses was angry or that water came the “wrong” way. The sin was that God was not sanctified—set apart as holy—before the people. - Grace still shines.
Even after this failure, Moses remained God’s friend (Exodus 33:11), appeared with Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:3), and is honored throughout Scripture.
Conclusion
Moses teaches us that faith is the lifelong posture of a heart anchored in God, while trust is the moment-by-moment decision to rely on His word exactly as He gives it. One lapse of trust does not destroy a lifetime of faith, but it can have profound consequences—especially when we stand in a position of spiritual leadership.
May we, like Moses in so many other moments, learn to “speak to the Rock” in simple, obedient trust, knowing that Christ Jesus has already been struck once for us, and now His life-giving water flows at the word of faith alone.