In Numbers, chapter twenty, verse twelve, Moses was forbidden to lead God’s people into Canaan because he had not carefully followed the Lord’s command as instructed in verse eight, and the result from verse eleven. Moses was the spiritual leader of God’s people, the one through whom God gave the law. His responsibility to obey the word of the Lord was vital because of his position and influence.
Moses’ sin was twofold. First, he spoke rashly as if God’s glory and power resided in Himself and Aaron. Second, he acted brashly by smiting the rock twice in anger rather than talking to it as God had instructed. In speaking and acting rashly, Moses showed he did not believe in God and “rebelled” against the command. At that crucial time, Moses lacked faith and obedience, always the correct response to God’s revealed word.
In addition, Moses failed to treat God as the holy and worthy God, choosing not to fear Him and obey His command. Through the incident, God reminds all ministers that their responsibility to obey the Word of God is enormous because of their position and influence. Just as Moses disqualified himself from leading the people into Canaan, ministers today can permanently disqualify certain areas of leadership by their unfaithfulness to God’s commandments. How could a leader of that magnitude continue to lead others if they do not believe? Not possible.
A leader’s role in anything is significant because of the impact they could have on others. For instance, if a person has a firm in marriage counseling and happens to be the founder and CEO of that corporation, plus is happily married, realizes their position may affect other couples who enroll in their program. However, if that leader falters and the community and members of the firm discover this unfortunate problem, could that person continue in their position? Everything we do, which is dear to us daily, is something we believe.