“I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon. But the LORD was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me: and the LORD said unto me, Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter.” – Deut. 3:25-26
Moses was a faithful servant of God and a great leader of the people, but not perfect. His imperfection showed through in a fit of anger when he smote the rock rather than speaking to it as God told him to do ( Num. 20:7-13). That act of disobedience caused God to ban him from the promised land that he longed to see. That, however, didn’t stop Moses from begging that God would change His mind. Our text describes God’s response to his request. It is blunt and clear – “speak no more unto me of this matter”. And you can mark it down, God isn’t in the habit of spoiling His children because they keep whining. When He says, “No” He means no! And we are wise to accept that answer.
There is a time to speak and “a time to keep silence” ( Ecc. 3:7), a time to ask and a time to accept what God appoints or allows. Were we as wise as God we would thank Him for what we call “unanswered prayers”. When God told David he wasn’t allowed to build the temple he would have been foolish to keep asking, and even more foolish to do it anyway, or to get bitter about it. When God says, “No” we should cease complaining, refrain from requesting, and quit questioning God. Enough is enough, as we say, and when God says “No” he means no. We ought to drop it, leave it there, and stop talking. Keep in mind that God had already told him “No” – so it’s not like he didn’t know what God wanted. Prayer is one thing, pouting is another.
Indeed we ought to persist in prayer, pray without ceasing, ask, seek, and knock. But there are times when God would have us to stop praying about certain things. And our persistence won’t stop God’s purpose. When He has made His answer obvious we should stop speaking about the matter. Desiring something doesn’t always mean we ought to ask for it. What if God gave everyone everything they desired? He is too wise to do that. God denied his request because He knew what was best and wanted what was best. The good news is that God still had a work for him to do ( Deut. 3:27-28) and Moses did as commanded ( Deut. 3:29). We would be wise to do the same! -HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346
