When God Says, ’No’ | Sunday, June 14, 2020

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... 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. Go up to the top of Pisgah... behold it with your eyes, for you shall not cross over this Jordan." (Deuteronomy 3:23–27)

What do you do when, even after pleading in prayer, God's answer is a final "no"?

A Hard Lesson in Leadership

One of the things you do as 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, a number of really bad ones, and many lessons on leadership. Occasionally you come across a lesson you have a hard time with. The passage before us in 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 and understand the context. Moses was used by God to deliver Israel from bondage in Egypt by the mighty power of God. Through a series of plagues, the people were brought out and ventured toward Mount Sinai, experiencing tests by which God revealed His power and glory.

Two Times at the Rock

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

Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out... and there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people contended with Moses... So Moses cried out to the LORD... And the LORD said to Moses... "Take in your hand the rod which you struck the river with... and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it." (Exodus 17:1–6)

It's a strange story, but a definite revelation of God as the provider of Israel's need. Sometime later, after Israel failed by unbelief to enter the Promised Land and began to wander, they thirsted again. This time the story is found in Numbers 20:

Then the children of Israel... came into the Wilderness of Zin... and there was no water for the congregation... And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Take the rod... Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water." ... And he said to them, "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... 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 to them." (Numbers 20:1–12)

One Small Misstep

This is one of those head-scratchers in Scripture—one of those leadership passages that frustrates you as a leader. Moses seemingly does everything right. He was a reluctant leader at the start, as many leaders are, but after his iffy start he was marvelously used by God to deliver hundreds of thousands, potentially millions, from bondage. He brought Israel to Sinai, brought them the law, helped establish them as a nation, and helped establish the tabernacle in their midst.

Moses was humble, wise, persistent, and consistent. He was a man of God, a friend of God, the great lawgiver of Israel. Among the great Old Testament characters, Moses is probably in the top three. He was a leader and effectively a priest, representing God before the people and the people before God for forty years.

Then one time, on one day, in a moment of weakness, he made one small misstep. God said, "Speak to the rock." But Moses, frustrated with the people after their constant murmuring and complaining, didn't speak to the rock—he spoke to the people, maybe in anger, and he struck the rock twice. Because of this seemingly small misstep, the Lord told him he would not bring the assembly into the land. I don't know about you, but that's always bothered me—and I think it bothered Moses too.

Moses Pleads with God

Years later, as Israel prepares to finally enter the Promised Land, Moses shares his final words just before he will die. He reminds them of these events:

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... I pray, let me cross over and see the good land beyond the Jordan." (Deuteronomy 3:23–25)

That seems like a simple, worthy request. This is the same Moses who once prayed on behalf of Israel when God determined to wipe them out, and the Lord heeded his prayer. Now he pleads again. Have you ever pleaded with the Lord in prayer? I certainly have.

Moses' prayer is a good prototype for prayer. It is worshipful and reverent. It is grounded in good theology. And his request is clear. He doesn't say, "Let me live in the land"; he simply says, "Let me cross over and see the good land." This is the same Moses who once spoke with God face to face as 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. Nearly forty years prior, God accepted that request.

When God Says No

And how did God respond this time?

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 3:26)

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

Persistent Prayer—and a Final Answer

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:

Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, "Friend, lend me three loaves"... I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, 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. (Luke 11:5–10)

But sometimes, even when we have asked and 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 us."

Sometimes His no is final:

"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." (Deuteronomy 3:26–27)

Great faith remains faithful even when God's ways are different than ours.

When God Gives to Another What You Desired

The story doesn't end there. We have one more bit of sand in the eye in this hard passage:

"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." (Deuteronomy 3:28)

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's often easier to weep with those who weep than to rejoice with those who rejoice. But great faith remains faithful even when God grants to others what we desired for ourselves.

Something Bigger Than We Can Grasp

Before we close, one final point. It's easy to get frustrated with God. Many of us have been, and perhaps will be again. But sometimes God has in mind something we cannot grasp, because, as Isaiah observed, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways" (Isaiah 55:8).

It might seem that Moses striking the rock when God said to speak to it was a trivial thing—that the crime doesn't seem worthy of the outcome of not entering the land. But there's something bigger here of real importance. Moses is the representative of the law—the great lawgiver—and he stands as a type and symbol of the law. 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.

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law... that all the world may become guilty before God. 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. (Romans 3:19–21)

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

The Rest of the Story

But just so you don't think Moses missed out, we get the rest of the story in Matthew 17, at the Mount of Transfiguration:

Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John... and 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!" (Matthew 17:1–5)

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 using a teaching lesson for us: the law cannot get us into salvation; only Joshua, only Jesus, could do that. Yet many years later, Moses stood on a mountain in the Promised Land next to Jesus and saw 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 that You hear and answer our prayers. But sometimes, Lord, You answer our prayers 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, we can continue in prayer—but when Your "no" is no, and it is final, I pray that You would give us the grace to receive it, to continue to trust in You, and to understand that You are doing something bigger than we can fully grasp in that moment, because Your thoughts and Your ways are higher than ours. God, help us to hold on to this lesson, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.