When God Says, ’No’ | Sunday, June 14, 2020 (Full Service)

Then I pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying: "O Lord God, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your mighty hand, for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do anything like Your works and Your mighty deeds? I pray, let me cross over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, those pleasant mountains, and Lebanon." But the Lord was angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me. So the Lord said to me: "Enough of that, speak no more to Me of this matter." (Deuteronomy 3:23–26)

What do we do when God, after we plead with Him in prayer, simply says "no"?

A Hard Leadership Passage

One of the things you do when you're a leader is look for good examples to emulate and lessons on leadership wherever you can find them. The Bible is filled with examples of good leaders—and a number of really bad ones to learn from as well. Occasionally you come across lessons you have a hard time with. The passage before us today, Deuteronomy 3, is one such passage. I've wrestled with it over the years, and I don't think I'm the only one.

To fully understand this somewhat odd story, you have to back up to understand the context. Moses was used by God to deliver Israel from their bondage in Egypt by the mighty power of God through a series of plagues. The people ventured toward Mount Sinai, and along the way they experienced a number of challenges and tests by which God revealed His power and glory.

Two Encounters at the Rock

Early in their journey the children of Israel were critically in need of water. We find the story in Exodus 17:1–6:

Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey... and they camped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink... So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, "What shall I do with this people?..." And the Lord said to Moses... "Take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go... you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink."

This was a strange story, but a definite revelation of God as the provider of Israel's need. Some time later, after Israel had begun to wander through the wilderness, having failed by their unbelief to enter the Promised Land, they thirsted again. The story is found in Numbers 20:1–12:

Now there was no water for the congregation... and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Take the rod... and speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water..." Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly... 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."

One Misstep

This is one of those head-scratchers in Scripture—a leadership passage that frustrates you as a leader. Moses is one of those people who seemingly does everything right. He was a reluctant leader at the start, but after his fitful start he became quite a leader. He delivered hundreds of thousands, potentially millions, of people from bondage. He brought Israel to Mount Sinai, brought them the law, helped establish them as a nation, and helped establish the tabernacle of God in their midst.

Moses was humble, wise, persistent, and consistent. He was a man of God and a friend of God, the great lawgiver of Israel. Among the Old Testament names you think of, Moses is probably in the top three. For 40 years he represented God before the people and the people before God. Then one time, on one day, in a moment of weakness, he made one small misstep. God said, "Speak to the rock." Frustrated with the people's constant murmuring, Moses spoke to them in anger and struck the rock twice.

"Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?" Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod. (Numbers 20:10–11)

Because of this seemingly small misstep, the Lord said he would not bring the assembly into the land. I don't know about you, but that has always kind of bothered me. And I think it bothered Moses, too.

A Model Prayer

Two years later, the children of Israel are preparing to finally enter the Promised Land, and Moses is sharing his final words just before he dies. He reminds them of these events in Deuteronomy 3:23–25:

Then I pleaded with the Lord at that time... "I pray, let me cross over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, those pleasant mountains, and Lebanon."

That seems like a simple, worthy request. This is the same Moses who once interceded for Israel when God determined to wipe them out, and the Lord heeded his prayer. Have you ever pleaded with the Lord in prayer? I certainly have. Moses's prayer is a good prototype for prayer—it's worshipful and reverent, it's grounded in good theology, and his request is clear. He doesn't ask to live in the land; he simply says, "Let me cross over and see the good land." I just want to see it with my own eyes, up close and personal, not at a distance.

This was the same Moses who once spoke with God face to face, as a friend speaks to a friend (Exodus 33:11), and who prayed, "Please, show me Your glory" (Exodus 33:18). The Hebrew word for "show me" is the same word Moses uses here: "God, show me the land with my own eyes." And nearly 40 years prior, when Moses asked to see God's glory, God in a sense accepted his request.

When God Says No

What did God do in response this time? Deuteronomy 3:26 gives us the answer:

But the Lord was angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me. So the Lord said to me: "Enough of that, speak no more to Me of this matter."

Sometimes God says no, even after we plead with Him. I don't like the word "no"—my kids wouldn't believe that, because they're convinced it's my favorite word. But I know one thing: they don't like it either. My kids seem to think "no" is flexible. They'll do almost anything to move my "no" to a "maybe," and hopefully to a "yes." I feel like I have to say "no" twenty times before they realize that no means no. Sometimes I have to speak the same words God speaks here: "Enough, speak no more to Me of this matter." You've never done that, have you?

Clearly this wasn't a one-time request. You get the sense that Moses talked to God about this quite a bit, which teaches us another important lesson: the best prayers are persistent prayers. Moses didn't give up until God gave a definitive answer, and neither should you. This is exactly what Jesus taught in Luke 11:5–10:

"...yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs. So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you..."

But sometimes, even when we have asked, sought, and knocked again and again, God says, "Enough. The answer is no." As much as we don't like that word, when God says no we would do well to accept His answer. One commentator wrote on this passage:

God remains the sovereign, and He retains the right to say yes or no to human supplicants' requests... rather than being a means by which we get God to do what we desire, sometimes prayer becomes the process whereby God brings our will into conformity with His own. Our faith may not necessarily be measured by the extent to which we can move God; strong faith also may demand that we accept God's "no" and get on with the tasks to which He has called.

When God Grants to Others

Sometimes His "no" is final. We read in Deuteronomy 3:26–27:

"Enough of that, speak no more to Me of this matter. Go up to the top of Pisgah, and lift your eyes toward the west, the north, the south, and the east; behold it with your eyes, for you shall not cross over this Jordan."

Great faith remains faithful even when God's ways are different than ours. But the story doesn't end there—we have one more bit of sand in the eye in this hard passage. In Deuteronomy 3:28 we read:

"But command Joshua, and encourage him and strengthen him; for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which you will see."

Great faith remains faithful even when God grants to others what we desire for ourselves. This is a difficult lesson. In the New Testament we are exhorted to weep with those who weep, but also to rejoice with those who rejoice (Romans 12:15). Sometimes we want to weep when others are rejoicing because we're jealous. It can be easier to weep with those who weep than to rejoice with those who rejoice—yet great faith rejoices anyway.

The Bigger Picture: Law and Jesus

Before we close, it's important to understand one final point. It's easy to get frustrated with God, and many of us have been and will be again. But sometimes God has in mind something we cannot grasp. As Isaiah observed, God's thoughts and ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8).

It might seem to us that striking the rock was a trivial thing, and that the crime doesn't seem worthy of the outcome of not entering the Promised Land. But there's something bigger here. Moses is the representative of the law—the great lawgiver of Israel—and he stands as a type and symbol of the law in the Bible. Joshua, on the other hand, is symbolically connected to Jesus; in fact, the name Jesus in Hebrew is essentially Joshua.

So here's the bigger issue: Moses—the law—cannot bring you all the way into the Promised Land. Only Joshua, only Jesus, can do that. In Romans 3:19–21 we read:

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law... Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law has been revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets.

Jesus is the only one who can ultimately bring us into the Promised Land, into salvation. The law can't do that.

The Rest of the Story

But just so you don't think Moses missed out, we get a little more of the story—you could say the rest of the story—in Matthew 17:1–5:

Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him... And suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!"

We may not realize it, but God is always doing something far bigger than we could think or imagine. In Moses not entering the Promised Land, God was teaching us a lesson: the law cannot get us into salvation. Only Joshua, only Jesus, could do that. Yet many years later, Moses was able to stand on a mountain in the Promised Land next to Jesus and see Him in His full glory. In one sense, that's the rest of the story.

Closing Prayer

Father, we thank You so much for Your word, and we thank You that it reveals to us that You hear and answer our prayers—but sometimes, Lord, You answer with the word "no," and we have such a hard time with that. I pray, God, that You would help us to learn through the example of Moses that we can be persistent and continue in prayer, but when Your "no" is final, give us the grace to receive it, to continue trusting in You, and to understand that You are doing something bigger than we can fully grasp, because Your thoughts and Your ways are higher than ours. Help us hold on to this lesson. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.