07/07/2025
You can’t live off other people’s faith.
This week’s Parashat skips from year 2 in the Wilderness to year 40. Miriam dies and Immediately there is a water issue. There has not been an issue with water since the 1st couple of weeks in the Wilderness. If we look at Miriam’s story she is associated with water. She watched over Moses in the Ark as he floated down the Nile. She sings a special song after the Red Sea. When Moses hits the rock the 1st time that rock was called Miriam’s Well. Now Miriam is no more, so her well is no longer producing.
Miriam’s faith carried the people until the 40th year. The people were sustained by the powerful faith of Miriam. When Miriam was no more the people could no longer live off of her faith. It was time for them to live off of their own faith. This week a mighty man of God was taken home. Jimmy Swaggart passed away. He fell at one point, but he got back up, and finished his race. Remember Miriam messed up and ended up with a skin disease yet God restored her after a week. We can no longer live on the faith of others. We have to learn to survive on our faith. People fall. If your faith is based on other people’s faith, you are setting yourself up for failure. Learn to live on your own faith.
Moses losses his sister and never has the chance to mourn. The people complain immediately about the lack of water. God tells Moses to get Aaron and his staff and go to the ROCK and speak to the ROCK. Moses in his frustration called the people to the ROCK. He raised his hands up and said must we bring water from this ROCK and he struck the ROCK 2 times. Moses disobeyed and it cost him the promise. The final lesson he was suppose to teach the Israelites was never taught. Because of this they never got all the Promised Land they were promised.
We can see in the New Testament the lesson Moses was suppose to teach. When Jesus goes over the law He doubles down. For example lust. Jesus said if you think about s*x with another woman it is the same as you do it.
Now if we look for a story that deals with a rock, water, and speaking we will find Mark 11:22-25.
“Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.””
This is after Jesus curses the Fig Tree. The Disciples walk by the Fig Tree Jesus cursed and it is now shriveled. Jesus says that if we forgive others and not allow them to frustrate us and have power over us we then can operate in FAITH in a powerful way. Instead of asking a rock to give water you can now tell a mountain to be cast into the sea. This is literally and figuratively. Whatever Mountain you come up against your FAITH is greater than the MOUNTAIN. Jesus took things next level. Where would the world be today if Moses was able to teach the final lesson? Jesus taught us the final lesson. What are you going to do with what you have learned?
