Recovery Insights from Bible Personalitiesናሙና

My Name Is Moses

As our time of sobriety grows longer, it can be hard to remember that we’re never beyond temptation. Numbers 20 records an instance of relapse by one of God’s greatest servants. Moses had an anger problem. He heard the complaints of the people about the lack of water (see Numbers 20:1-5) and appropriately asked God what he should do (see v. 6). The Lord instructed Moses to speak to a rock, promising that water would flow from it so the people could drink (see vv. 7-8).

Sadly, Moses failed to act according to the centuries-later recommendation of Pastor Rick Warren, who counsels each of us to carry out a regular HEART check, asking ourselves daily whether we’re hurting, exhausted, angry, resentful, and tense.

Had Moses done this, he might have avoided a relapse into anger that for him turned out to have life-changing consequences. This wasn’t a new experience for Moses. Exodus 2:11-12 records how his impulsive act of rage led to the murder of an Egyptian, which in turn resulted in 40 years of exile from Egypt (see Acts 7:29-30). How did Moses end up spending 40 years in the wilderness of Midian? He sinned and tried to keep his guilt and shame a secret (see Exodus 2:12). We are indeed as sick as our secrets.

After 40 years Moses was restored to God’s service. His patience with a nation of complainers was repeated proof of the reality of his recovery experience. But the danger of relapse isn’t erased even by decades of ministry. Moses, as we’ve seen, was directed to simply speak to the rock. Instead he tongue-lashed the stubborn Israelites and struck the rock in his fury (see Numbers 20:10-11).

The consequences were severe, primarily because Moses was a leader. God placed a limitation on his ministry to God’s people. After so many years of faithful service, he wouldn’t be the one to lead the people into the promised land (see v. 12). Relapse can be avoided if we consistently take a personal inventory and continuously maintain our conscious contact with God. We’ll never outgrow our need to evaluate our spiritual condition or to listen to God carefully every day.