What exactly did Moses and Aaron do wrong?

[MrsCJ]

I’m reading the Bible to my children, ages 9, 7, and 4. It’s also the first time I’m reading it myself. I have a HUGE question this morning:

What the heck did Moses and Aaron do wrong to be punished when getting the water from the rock at the end of Numbers 20?

My seven-year-old has become quite a fan of Aaron and he was quite angry with God when Aaron suddenly had to be stripped of his garments and die on top of the mountain. I explained to my child that if we think God was wrong, then we’re most definately wrong because God is always all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-loving. But I could not explain what Moses and Aaron DID!

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

…[T]he glory of the Lord appeared to them, and the Lord said to Moses, “Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water; so you shall bring water out of the rock for them; so you shall give drink to the congregation and their cattle.” … And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his rod twice; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their cattle (Num. 20:6-11, emphasis added).

As you can see from the emphasized passages, Moses and Aaron did not do as the Lord commanded them to do. The Lord asked them to speak to the rock and it would bring forth water. Instead, Moses and Aaron decided to strike the rock for water, which was something they had successfully done before (cf. Exod. 17:5-7). In other words, they decided to ignore the Lord’s request and go with what had worked before, which demonstrated a lack of faith
(Num. 20:12) and, arguably, superstition (cf. CCC 2111).

To explain this to your son, you might say to him:

Suppose you wanted a new bike and I asked you to wait patiently for Christmas. What do you think would happen if you ignored my request and instead begged a bike from Grandma, knowing that she couldn’t resist your pleas? You would have the bike but you would not have gained it in the way I asked of you. Do you think it would be reasonable for me to be upset with you for that?

Well, in a similar way, Moses and Aaron ignored God’s instructions for getting the water out of the rock. They chose to get the water their own way rather than God’s and God was justly upset with them for doing that.