On three occations in today's reading, Moses seems to blame or is resentful toward the Israelites for the fact that he will not be able to enter into the promised land. “Because of you the LORD became angry with me also.” This seemed out of character for Moses, so I did a little research and found this in the Whole Bible Project.
After 38 years of desert wandering and still another rebellion by the people, Moses, for a few brief moments, lost faith that God could ever keep his promise to bring such a rebellious people into Canaan. Recall the events at Meribah recorded in Numbers 20:1-13. God wanted Moses to speak in a kindly way to the new generation—to speak gospel and not law. Moses’ lack of trust and his disobedience were just as bad as that of the previous generation. Therefore Moses would share their fate, dying outside the Promised Land.
Was Moses denying his own guilt when he said that God was angry with him because of the people? Do you sense resentment festering in Moses’ heart against the people?
That is my first impression when I read it, that Moses is bitter, because he always says "because of you." However, the People's Bible says the same thing as the Whole Bible Project. Moses was pointing out Israelite rebellion and this was another consequence of their rebellion, leading him to sin as well. I guess if you put yourself in his situation, everyone probably knew the details of his sin so all he had to say was "Because of you, you know what happened to me as well." With Moses being their great leader and this being his great trip-up, I'm sure the peopel talked and he didn't need to explain. Even bringing it up probably brought him shame and he could use it as a lesson now.
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