In Exodus 32 Moses represented God rightly. The people's worshipping the golden calf offended God to the uttermost, and He said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation" (vv. 9-10). When Moses heard this, he prayed to God, saying, "Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people" (vv. 11-12). Seemingly Moses was rebelling against God's word; actually his prayer was pleasing to God's heart. Here he rightly represented God, but in Numbers 20 he forgot about sanctifying God and wrongly represented Him.

The experience of Moses in Numbers 20 is an important lesson for us in the church life today. We need to learn that, especially when we have been offended by the saints in the church, we should not go to God for the purpose of accusing His people. If in our prayers we accuse God's people, we will offend Him. As a mother is offended when her child is accused and criticized, so God is offended when we accuse and criticize His people. Be careful when you go to the Lord concerning His people. You may think that the saints are not very good and accuse them before God. This will surely offend Him.

A crucial matter revealed in Numbers 20 is that God's nature is holy. To be holy is to be different, to be separate. As the holy One, God is different from all the false gods. The false gods are easily angry with people, but not the true God. God does not have that kind of nature. In His nature He is full of mercy, grace, love, and sympathy. He is not offended with His people when the lack of water causes them to contend. Even if He must punish His people, He punishes them sparingly. For example, Korah was devoured, swallowed up, by the earth, but a descendant of Korah became a holy man and a psalmist. This indicates that God is sparing in His judgment.

We must not give people the wrong impression concerning the God whom we serve. In order to avoid giving such a wrong impression, we should be careful whenever we are offended by some of the saints in our locality. We should not be angry with them or go to God to plead against them. If we plead against the saints, God may feel that we are accusing them and that we are not sanctifying Him. We should not be hasty in speaking about those who offend us. Rather, in representing God, we need to learn always to regard His holy nature. This is to sanctify Him. All that we say and do concerning God's people must be absolutely according to His holy nature. Otherwise, in our words and deeds we will rebel against Him and offend Him.

Inwardly God has His nature, and outwardly He has His administration, His economy, His way of action. God's word to Moses about speaking to the rock that it may flow out water was a word according to God's administration and for His economy. Thus, when Moses, in anger, acted wrongly, he broke the principles of God's economy. This should be a warning to us not to hold on to our anger but to practice Paul's word in Ephesians 4:26: "Do not let the sun go down on your indignation."

Moses offended both God's holy nature and divine economy. He represented God wrongly, and he broke the principles of God's economy. Because of this, even though he was intimate with God and may be considered a friend of God, he lost the right to enter into the good land.