What About Them?

32 They angered [the Lord] at the waters of Meribah, and Moses suffered because of them; 33 for they embittered his spirit, and he spoke rashly with his lips. Psalms 106:32-33 (HCSB)

They angered the Lord and they embittered Moses’ spirit, but it was Moses who suffered. It was the children of Israel wanting water in the dessert. God gave a way and Moses was to call forth water from the rock, but instead he struck the rock. I always saw this as anger. Moses got in trouble because he got angry. But this verse seems to indicate otherwise. His anger was a symptom of something bigger. He was embittered by the people and it caused him to mistrust God.

Bitterness can cause great pain. We say… they hurt me… they embittered me toward them… they… and in the end we suffer.

The solution is clear… forgiveness.

Lord, how many times should I forgive? Seven times? Seven is a lot of times, Lord. They hurt me a lot.

²² “I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus said to him, “but 70 times seven.” Matt 18:22 (HCSB)

Lord, help us to forgive and not allow the sin of others to cause us to sin by becoming embittered. Amen.