ESOCS Devotional 20 August 2025 – Stop The Abuse
MEMORY VERSE: “And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice…” Numbers 20:11
TEXT: NUMBERS 20:1-13
Then the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh; and Miriam died there and was buried there.
2 Now there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses and Aaron. 3 And the people contended with Moses and spoke, saying: “If only we had died when our brethren died before the Lord! 4 Why have you brought up the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our animals should die here? 5 And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink.” 6 So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and they fell on their faces. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them.
7 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 8 “Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation 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.” 9 So Moses took the rod from before the Lord as He commanded him.
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, and the congregation and their animals drank.
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.
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In our quest to fulfil ministry and have a perfect walk with God, absolute care and caution must be applied to avoid the misuse of Gifts and Grace that we enjoy from Him per time. The tendency to abuse what is already in use is very high; hence, we must apply restrain in our daily life. This necessity is premised on the fact that what you abuse may eventually abase you in life.
The children of Israel had launched a complaint to Moses and Aaron of their thirst, as the desert was empty of water. Their complaint came with all manner of statements but Moses and Aaron left the people without saying a word and took the matter to God. It is good we note that it is not all the times that leadership responds to the worries of the followers. We should learn to take matters to God.
Again, on getting to the Tabernacle, they said no word but bowed in worship to God. Hear this, worries do not handle warfare but worship does. Learn to be a worshiper of God irrespective of the situation. Their worship provoked God’s presence where instructions were given alongside a rod: “… Take the rod…”; “And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him” (Num. 20:8-9).On leaving God’s presence, Moses gathered the people and completely did the contrary.
Here are the issues with Moses:
Abuse of Leadership Privilege: “…gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, hear now ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?” (Num. 20:10). He was never asked to speak to the people but he did. Hear this, if the Lord asks you to gather a congregation for Him, it does not mean you should say what He didn’t ask you to say to them. So, many of us today abuse the leadership privilege and grace because God positioned us to lead His flock. We say all manner of things to them without regards. Let us understand that leadership is a privilege and should never be abused for any reason.
Abuse of God’s Presence and Power: “And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice” (Num. 20:11). God gave Moses the rod as a symbol of power to amplify his voice while speaking to the rock. But he chose to do the opposite by hitting the rock with the rod twice. This is one of the greatest challenges of ministers. We often abuse prophetic grace, prayer power with all manner of prayers, not minding whether they are occult or not. Also, many people tend to abuse any part of the ministry they are called to function. This is not right, and is unacceptable to God.
CHALLENGES
- Repent from every attitude of abusing privileges; they are not your rights.
- Always learn to hear from God clearly for proper understanding.
PRAYERS
- Lord, forgive me of every misuse of privileges in the past, in Jesus name. Amen.
FURTHER READING: Zechariah 12:1-14; 13:1-End; Romans 11:21-36; 12:1-16
ESOCS Devotional 20 August 2025
