Numbers 20

Remember those "true or false" questions on exams and how the teacher told you to write out the complete words "True" or "False"? The reason, as any self-respecting student will tell you, is because it's all too easy to write "Ts" and "Fs" that look like each other. Shrewder teachers use Scantron bubble forms--no room for ambiguity or arguments about misread handwriting there. Scantrons certainly would have kept this genius delinquent from flunking the test for the sake of showing off his or her shenanigans (or trolling skills, to use the common parlance):

(Image from http://i.imgur.com/ONFRysx.jpg)

Just as a couple tiny lines separate a "T" from an "F," a seemingly insignificant indiscretion keeps Moses from entering the Promised Land. After the Israelites complain yet again about the lack of water, God tells Moses to speak to a rock, which will apparently be so startled at having a human talk to it that it will gush out water in response. (Biblical scholars believe that this chapter occurs near the end of the 40 years of wandering, which would make these complainers the kids of the folks who have been bleating ever since they left Egypt. Like parents, like children.) Moses, exasperated at the Israelites' inveterate grousing and haggard from walking in circles in the desert for 40 years, instead beats the poor, innocent rock with his staff (verse 11). This impetuous action earns a censure from God: "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them" (verse 12).

From a human perspective, this seems just a wee bit petty, which indeed it would be if this statement were coming from a human. But Moses has a larger responsibility as God's representative--God has never spoken to the Israelites collectively; all His commandments from Exodus to now have been spoken to Moses, who in turn relays them to the Israelites. By not trusting God completely, Moses evinces his contempt for God in front of everyone. Still, I wonder if Moses regretted his lashing out right after he'd done it, realizing his mistake before God told him. I've sometimes acted or spoken in ways that I've immediately regretted afterward. Does that merit condemnation, or does God's grace cover such infelicities if I ask for His forgiveness? In the end, though, Moses did get his ultimate reward by getting to spend eternity with God, even if he was deprived of some worldly pleasures.

After this unsavory weeping boulder affair, the Israelites ask the Edomites if they can pass through their territory. The Edomites, basically acting like jerks, refuse. Knowing that the Edomites are descendants of Esau, who reconciled with his brother Jacob, makes this incident especially disappointing.

Finally, Moses's siblings, Miriam and Aaron, both perish in the desert, as God said they would. Miriam's death, however, earns only a perfunctory mention, almost an aside that takes up less than half a verse (verse 1). By contrast, Aaron gets a whopping eight verses on his death, complete with a dignified, almost mystical ceremony on the top of the mountain (what else?) as he passes his mantle on to his son. I get that Aaron is the high priest and his death thus warrants more ceremony, but the fleeting mention of Miriam's death still strikes me as a tad inequitable.