Meribah is mentioned several times in the Old Testament and its stories contain crucial truths for Christians to internalize. There can be some confusion about Meribah because there are two locations that share that name, but Moses and the Israelites were integral to both places.
Where Is Meribah Mentioned in the Bible?
Two geographic locations in the Bible are known by the name Meribah. One is located in Kadesh Barnea (the holy place of the desert wandering) and is mentioned in Numbers 27, Deuteronomy 37, and Ezekiel 47 and 48. This Meribah-Kadesh is found in the Wilderness of Zin and is where the spies who were sent into the Promised Land returned to the Israelites camped there (Numbers 13:26). This Meribah-kadesh is where Miriam is buried (Numbers 20:1), and it is where Moses learned he would not be allowed to enter the Promised Land (Numbers 27:12-14).
Meribah-kadesh is mentioned in Deuteronomy 32:51, “because you broke faith with me in the midst of the people of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, and because you did not treat me as holy in the midst of the people of Israel” (ESV). In Ezekiel it is referenced twice as a boundary. This location was pivotal for the Israelites late in their wilderness wanderings.
The other Meribah is located in The Desert of Sin near Rephidim and was significant during the start of the Israelite wilderness wanderings after their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. This Meribah is mentioned in Exodus, Deuteronomy, and Psalms. The first occurrence of Meribah is in Exodus 17 so we’ll begin our exploration of these two pivotal locations there.
What Happened at Meribah? The Story of Moses and the Rock
Not long after God delivered the Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea, the people walked into the Desert of Sin and soon complained that they had insufficient food. They wondered aloud if perhaps they’d have been better off dying in Egypt than dying of starvation in the wilderness. God then provided “bread from heaven” in the form of manna (Exodus 16).
In Exodus 17, the entire camp was on the move but there were so many people, they moved in stages. When they set up camp in Rephidim, they discovered there was no water to drink. A serious situation in the desert but the Israelites had seen great evidence that God could and fully intended to provide.
The Israelites then quarreled with Moses about the lack of water and again, they grumbled against him. Moses asked why they quarreled with him and why they tested the Lord but they persisted. The pressure on Moses was so intense that “Moses cried to the Lord, ‘What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.’” (Exodus 17:4 ESV).
God instructed Moses to take some elders and the staff with which he’d struck the Nile and stand at the rock of Horeb. There, Moses was to strike the rock and water for drinking would come out. Moses obeyed and the people had water. So, Moses called the name of that place Massah (testing) and Meribah (quarreling) “because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Exodus 17:7 ESV)
Why Was Meribah a Place of Strife and Testing?
The people were the problem at the first Meribah but at the second Meribah, Meribah-kadesh, the problem is first the people, then Moses. In Numbers 20, the Israelites had been wandering for forty years and in the first verse we learn that Miriam dies and is buried in Meribah-kadesh.
We also learn that, once again, the Israelites are camping in place where there is no water. (Numbers 20:2). They are on the border of the Promised Land but have not yet crossed over. The people gathered together against Moses and Aaron and quarreled with them again. They wondered aloud if Moses had only led them out into the desert to die.
Moses and Aaron responded by going to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and falling on their faces before God. When the glory of the Lord appeared to them, God spoke. “Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.” (Numbers 20:8 ESV)
Moses and Aaron gather the people before the rock and Moses, clearly angry, said, “Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” (Numbers 20:10 ESV) Unfortunately, however, rather than simply speaking to the rock as God instructed, Moses struck the rock twice with his staff. God supplied the water but Moses paid a steep price for his disobedience which God attributes to unbelief:
“And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.’ These are the waters of Meribah, where the people of Israel quarreled with the Lord, and through them he showed himself holy.” (Numbers 20:12-13 ESV)
God’s holiness cannot tolerate sin and unbelief, even when it is committed by one to whom He is so close as He was with Moses.
Sadly, Moses lost his sister at the opening of Numbers 20 and his brother Aaron at the end. The Lord said to Moses, “Let Aaron be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land that I have given to the people of Israel, because you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah. Take Aaron and Eleazar his son and bring them up to Mount Hor. And strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son. And Aaron shall be gathered to his people and shall die there.” (Numbers 20:24-26 ESV)
Moses, Aaron, and Eleazar obeyed God’s commands and Aaron died on the top of Mount Hor. All of Israel wept for him for thirty days.
Eventually, Moses’ death is recorded in Deuteronomy 34:1-12. Moses followed God’s instructions and went from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah opposite Jericho. God allowed Moses to view all of the Promised Land and then he died. God buried him in an unknown location. “Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated. And the people of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.” (Deuteronomy 34:7-8 ESV)
Leadership of the people transferred to Joshua and the first five books of the Bible close with these words: “And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.” (Deuteronomy 34:10-12 ESV)
What Spiritual Lessons Can Christians Learn from Meribah?
- Our quarreling and complaining to God are not only an offense to him (Philippians 2:14-16), but it also drains the energy of those God has chosen to lead us. Paul urged the Thessalonians “We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves” (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 ESV). Also, Hebrews 13:17 ESV encourages us to, “Obey your leaders and submit to them—for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account—so that they may do this with joy, not groaning; for this would be unhelpful for you.”
- God is holy and doesn’t have special categories of favorite people who can “get away” with sinning. We all need and look to Christ for salvation. Those who came before Him looked ahead to the salvation God would provided and we know look back at the cross and resurrection.
- Moses had a pattern of anger—albeit, that anger was sometimes fueled by love and righteousness. When we (or those around us) recognize a pattern of sin or area of weakness in our lives, we’re wise to address it with the Lord. We can make ourselves accountable to others for challenging us on it— in humility and in recognition of the seriousness of sin. We often think punishments for sin are harsh but that’s largely because we don’t fully appreciate the insidiousness, contagiousness, and offense of sin. We must believe what God says about the danger of sin and receive His remedy for it—Jesus Christ.
- Moses was getting older, perhaps he was tired from 40 years of leading people who often rebelled, quarreled, and complained. Perhaps he was mourning the loss of his sister. Those factors may have contributed to his choice to sin, but they don’t excuse his sin. Christians should pay attention to how often biblical leaders fell prey to sin when they were tired, worn down, or sad. It’s good to be on guard during these times lest we sin. It’s wise to have others who support, surround, and care for us during these times. And it’s always wise to avail ourselves of the rest God encourages us to take regularly. God forgives sin but in its aftermath, we and others often live with serious consequences.
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