The Longest Yard“Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank. Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.’” (Numbers 20:11-12) In the 1974 Burt Reynolds movie The Longest Yard, a sadistic warden asks a former professional quarterback in prison to assemble a team of inmates to take on the guards. In football, the hardest place to score a touchdown is from the goal line. We’re almost there, but there is something about crossing over that makes those last few yards the longest and the most difficult. Moses failed at the goal line, and it prevented him from finishing a glorious life for God where he could have danced in the endzone of the Promised Land. God had a perfect game plan for Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into the land of milk and honey. The children of Israel were complaining that they did not have water to drink. Moses inquired of God and God told him to “Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water.” (Numbers 20:8) Moses, in his frustration and anger with the people, made a big mistake when he took matters into his own hands. Instead of speaking to the rock like God said, he struck the rock not once, but twice, with his rod. In spite of his disobedience to the command of God, the rock poured out water abundantly as God is a God who provides. God was calling Moses to a higher spiritual dimension as He wanted Moses to use his words and spare the rod to speak the miracle. However, Moses not only lost his temper and could use some Anger Management like Adam Sandler, but he also took credit for the miracle and this greatly dishonored God. Moses used his hot rod, the symbol of his profession as a shepherd in the Midian desert, to force water from the rock as if he did it himself. When we become angry and impatient, we can use our talents and abilities to force what we believe should happen in our own time. We try to take control like Moses did and when we do this, we risk being banished from the Promised Land of blessing by God. Living the higher life, living in the spiritual realm requires patience and obedience to the Word of God, especially when we’re almost there, when the longest yard is what separates us from the goal line and The Whole Nine Yards. We must avoid solving problems our way but instead seek God’s strength and wisdom to deliver us. God wants to bring us into the Promised Land of milk and honey, of blessing and abundance, but He can't do it if we don’t spend time in His Word so we can obey Him.Copyright © 2003 Eddy Ministries. All rights reserved. Subscribe/Unsubscribe: eddyn@earthlink.net
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