STRIKING THE ROCK! (self-seeking complaint)

SELF-SEEKING COMPLAINT :

Treading on Yahusha’s Set-Apart Esteem by Drawing Attention to Yourself!

The wilderness of Zin was not merely a geographical location; it was a spiritual furnace designed to consume the 'fleshly self' (basar). In Numbers 20, we witness a tragedy that echoes into our New Covenant Reality: the moment a seasoned leader allowed a 'tantrum' to eclipse the set-apartness of the Almighty. Moses, the humblest man on earth, struck the rock in a fit of self-seeking indignation, and in doing so, he forfeited his entrance into the Promised Land.

ANATOMY OF A TANTRUM: From Spirit to Flesh!

After forty years of faithful service, the pressure of a complaining nation finally breached the walls of Moses' endurance. When the people gathered against him because of the lack of water, they weren't just thirsty; they were engaging in Meribah - contention and quarrelling. In the Hebrew mindset, to complain is often linked to 'lodging' or 'staying' in a state of OBSTINATE, BULL-HEADED, HARD-HEARTED REBELLION AND PROVOKE AGAINST ALAHIM! It is a refusal to trust the heart of the Creator. However, the greater failure lay in the response of the leadership!

THE 'SORCERER'S' SIN

Yahuah commanded Moses to speak to the rock. Instead, Moses struck it ... twice!

By shouting, "Must WE fetch you water?" Moses shifted the focus from the Creator's provision to his own power and frustration.

• The Egyptian Influence: To a people still steeped in Egyptian magic, Moses appeared as a sorcerer manipulating a deity to get results.

• Stealing Esteem: He 'muddled' and 'confused' the distinction between the Servant and the Master. He failed to set Yahuah Alahim apart and esteem Him before the eyes of the people!

NEW COVENANT REALITY: The Abomination of Self

In our walk with Yahusha, the 'Abomination of Desolation' is not a future prophetic event; it is an INTERNAL FLESHLY IDOL!! It is the idolatry of self - enthroned in the heart and fueled by demonic whispers that tell us our feelings, our reputations, and our 'rights' are paramount!

HEBREW UNDERSTANDING of ATTENTION-SEEKING :

The 'fleshly self' (basar) seeks to be seen. When we complain, we are essentially drawing a spotlight to our own discomfort, demanding that the universe, the people in it (and Yahusha) acknowledge our 'suffering'. This is the opposite of impaling our flesh on the Torture Stake! "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his torture stake, and follow Me." - Matt 16:24 ...

To "impale the flesh" is to execute the ego. Every self-seeking complaint is an attempt to climb down from that stake and demand a reward or recognition. IT IS A REFUSAL TO DIE!!

THE DANGER OF MISREPRESENTATION!

Our lives are the only 'tabernacle' most people will ever see. When we react with temper, bitterness, or 'woe-is-me' complaining, we are telling the world: "This is how Yahusha is." 

FLESHLY REACTION

(The 'Moses' Strike)

• "Must I do everything?" (Self-pity)

• Venting anger to feel 'heard.'

• Seeking credit for works, service or ministry.

• Demanding rights and 'fairness.'

SPIRIT-LED RESPONSE

(Yahusha's Way)

• "I do nothing of myself." (Humility)

• Absorbing insults to reflect His peace.

• Doing all things 'unto Him' in secret.

• Yielding to Yahusha's timing.

If you lose your temper at your spouse or children, you are essentially 'striking the rock, showing them a distorted image of a harsh, frustrated Master rather than the Set-Apart One who is slow to anger and rich in loving-favour. But this doesn't mean we shouldn't speak out the truth, provoke to righteousness, and rebuke behaviour that is not Yahusha's Word in our homes!

PATH OF HIDDEN SERVICE: Peace and Loving-Favour

The remedy for the 'Self-Seeking Complaint' is a total surrender to whole-hearted service. When we do everything 'as unto Yahusha', the need for human attention vanishes.

1. Impale the Ego

Recognise that your 'tantrums' - whether quiet murmuring or loud outbursts - are fueled by a desire to PROTECT THE IDOL OF YOURSELF. Take that ego to the execution stake daily!

2. Seek the Secret Place

There is a profound peace (Shalom) found in serving where no one sees. When you provide 'water' to others without saying, 'Look at what I did', you allow Yahusha to receive 100% of the esteem.

3. Embrace the 'Death of Self'

Moses lost the physical Promised Land because he centred the moment on himself. We risk losing our spiritual inheritance - the rewards of the Kingdom and the intimacy of His Presence - when we refuse to let the 'fleshly self' die.

BE SET-APART AS I AM SET-APART!

Moses’s failure was a lack of trust in the Set-Apartness of Yahuah. He allowed his personal exhaustion to override his duty to represent Alahim accurately.

We must ask ourselves:

Is my behaviour 'flirting with idolatry' by making me the centre of the story? 

SHOULD THERE EVEN BE ANOTHER STORY ABOUT ME?

Let's stop striking the rock in anger. Instead, let's pick up our Torture Stake, silence the voice of complaint, and follow Yahusha to the total death of the ego. Only then can we enter the true Promised Land of His rest, where His loving-favour flows unhindered because 'the fleshly self' is no longer in the way!