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In Numbers 20:8-13. God told Moses to speak to the rock for water to flow out. Moses hit the rock with his hand twice. The rock was a symbol of Christ. And Moses was acting as God before the people instead of a servant of God. So Moses got to see the promised land but was not allowed to enter it.
In Exodus 4:12, I believe God got angry with Moses because he was so stubborn and didn't believe that God was going to provide the means for him to free the Israelites. Moses didn't trust God; but he eventually ran out of excuses, had a change of heart, and finally trusted God. Even though God was angry, He didn't give up on him. I don't think Moses was punished for his temporary stubbornness and "thinking" that God couldn't or wouldn't provide everything he needed to free the Israelites. He finally obeyed God. As God does with us today, His patience and persistence can change our hearts and our minds.
I would say that God's reaction was based on Moses' repeated attempts to avoid God's call for him to back to Egypt to lead the Israelites out of their captivity there. Moses gave multiple reasons or excuses to God (from Exodus 3:11-4:13) as to why he should not be the one chosen for that mission, as well as directly asking God to choose someone else, until God finally became exasperated with him for doing so. (However, God did not give up until Moses finally accepted the call.)
Actually, God's anger is brought out in the next verse: “O Lord, please send someone else to do it” (Exo 4:13, NIV). Moses calls Him “Lord” and yet refuses to obey His orders (Luke 6:46). Most of us understand that attitude because we’ve made the same mistake. If God isn’t Lord of all, He isn’t Lord at all. WWW If God requests something of us, He’ll help us. Someone once said, “God’s will done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.” I believe it was Hudson Taylor, founder of China Inland Mission. Compare Jesus’ sending out of The Twelve: Mark 6:7-12: "Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits. 8 These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff-no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9 Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. 10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them." 12 They went out and preached that people should repent.
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