Numbers 20:1-2, 11 (NRSV)
Read Numbers 20:1-2, 11 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 20The Israelites, the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh. Miriam died there, and was buried there. Verse 2Now there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses and against Aaron. Verse 11Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff; water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their livestock drank.
Devotion
Most of us have never been literally lost in a desert, but each of us knows the experience of being lost, afraid and deserted. Wandering the desert is a powerful metaphor for realities we all face. Sometimes we meet the devil in the wilderness. Sometimes we meet God.
In Numbers, the people wander lost and afraid. When the prophet Miriam dies, it seems that the water supply dries up. The very name Miriam in Hebrew (miryam) sounds like the word for water (mayim>/i>). Moses and his brother, Aaron, get instructions from God. And the most astonishing act follows. Moses strikes the rock and water comes out abundantly.
We read this story with Paul's words resounding in our ears: "they drank from the spiritual rock, ... and the rock was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:4). How we gather around this rock makes a difference. We can gather around our fear, lamenting our circumstances and longing for the past. Or we can gather around the promise of water, even from a rock. And the rock is Christ.
Prayer
Be with us, Lord, when we are lost and afraid, wandering in the wilderness, feeling deserted. Meet our fears with the water of life. Amen.