God Squad: Why was Moses kept out of the Holy Land?

Q: I was taught in religious school that the reason Moses was not allowed by God to enter the Holy Land was his killing of the taskmaster in Egypt. Recently, I was told that I was wrong. Who is right? — A

A: Sorry, dear A, but you are wrong. I wrote this answer in 1984 (before I had even met Father Tom Hartman, my former God Squad partner) and I am sticking to it now:

Moses means, "The one who was drawn out of the water," and Moses was indeed drawn out of waters:

Moses was drawn out of the waters of his mother's womb.

Moses was drawn out of the waters of the river Nile.

Moses was drawn out of the waters of the Red Sea.

Only from the waters of Meribah was Moses not drawn out.

In the desert, on the freedom side of the Red Sea, the first response of the people was to cry out for water. God said to Moses, "Pass before the people and take along the rod with which you struck the Nile, and strike the rock and water will issue from it, and the people will drink." The place was named Massah and Meribah. (Exodus 17:5-7) 

At the end of the 40 years of wandering, at the same place called Meribah, the people again cried out for water. This time God spoke to Moses saying: "You and your brother Aaron take the rod and assemble the community and before their very eyes order the rock to yield its water."

Despite God's command to speak to the rock, Moses struck the rock twice with his rod. It worked, but after Moses hit the rock God said to Moses and Aaron, "because you did not trust me enough to affirm my sanctity in the sight of the Israelite people, therefore you shall not lead this congregation into the land that I have given to them. Those are the waters of Meribah." (Numbers 20:7-13) 

These are two linked moments of thirst and faith. One at the beginning of the wandering and one at the end of the wandering, one a blessing and one a curse. Moses drew forth the first waters of Meribah by striking the rock at God's command and was praised. He drew forth the second waters of Meribah by striking the rock and was punished. Why such a great punishment for such a small sin in such a great man?

The answer is found in what separates the first waters of Meribah from the second waters of Meribah. Mount Sinai, where decades earlier Moses was given the Ten Commandments, separates his experiences at Meribah. Moses was commanded to hit the rock before Mount Sinai, and Moses was commanded to speak to the rock after Mount Sinai. Sinai was the place where force was meant to yield to reason, strength to law and violence to compassion.

By striking the rock, Moses sent a spiritually destructive message: Sinai had changed nothing. Perhaps God intended Moses to be the Messiah and by striking the rock Moses showed himself to be just another pharaoh. Perhaps Moses thought that his shepherd's staff was actually a scepter.

Another version: Moses hit the rock on purpose. Moses understood clearly that God wanted him to speak to the rock and usher in the Messianic age of peace and tranquility. However, Moses also knew that though the desert land was behind, the land of Canaan was ahead. Moses knew that even though the land was given by God, it would still have to be taken by the people, and Moses knew that the people could not take the land without force. Moses knew that the strong hand that smote the Egyptians would still be needed to smite the Canaanites. Moses knew that it was too soon for the outstretched arm to supplant the strong hand. Moses knew that by hitting the rock, he would be prevented from entering the land — but he also knew that by hitting the rock at least the people would be able to enter the land.

And then after a long silence God said to Moses, "When my people enter the land, you shall not enter with them, but neither shall I. This exiled part of my presence shall be called my Shechinah. They shall know that I, too, am a divided presence in the world, and that I shall only be whole again on that day when the power of the fist vanishes forever from the world."

When God lifted Moses to Heaven in God's outstretched arm, Moses' shepherd's staff slipped from his hand and fell to Earth. It fell into the waters of Meribah and was gone forever.

And then God kissed Moses on the lips and took his breath away.