“They angered him also at the Waters of Strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes; because they PROVOKED HIS SPIRIT, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips” [Psalm 106:32,33].
What is a provoked spirit? A wrong spirit about wrong things. Perhaps there is no greater hindrance than this to the Holy Spirit being poured out abundantly.
These verses sum up Numbers 20:1-13. The people were thirsty, and uttered rebellious words against God and against Moses. God came in and wrought deliverance, but the spirit of Moses and Aaron was provoked. See the comment: “It went ill with Moses.” Who was Moses? Few men had such privileges. See this aged servant of God, who was faithful in all his house, yet in this fortieth year of the Wilderness journey this great disaster came on that man.
Are we not liable to disaster from the same cause? It went ill with Moses, and the crowning honor of his life was withheld. But the people were wicked? Yes, atrociously wrong: “they provoked his spirit.” But Moses was wrong, and who can tell the loss it brought into his own life.
Good people (children of God) often talk of “righteous indignation”; they feel wrong things so keenly, and the devil takes advantage to provoke the spirit, and the child of God does not see that this is a hateful thing to God, the greatest hindrance in Communion and Service.
Turning to the narrative, in Exodus 17, of the smitten Rock, we have the record of an event which took place forty years before. The people wanted water—were thirsty: there was a wicked, murmuring spirit, much wrong doing; they were aggravating and ungrateful to the last degree. But the wrong did not get into the spirit of Moses. He puts the case into God’s hands, and God comes into it and works salvation. An unprovoked spirit always calls God to the scene. The provoked spirit always calls God to the scene. The provoked spirit shuts God out. This is why the devil works to get us provoked. He knows if he gets us wrong, his triumph will be complete. If God keeps our spirit, we can get hold of Him to deal with the wrongdoer. In Numbers 20, the scene is very similar. All goes well at first (verses 6,7,8); Moses and Aaron get to God; but (verse 10) the wrong spirit gets into Moses. He smites the Rock instead of speaking to it, and calls the people “rebels,” etc. He “spake unadvisedly with his lips.”
God is infinitely patient with wrong-doing. He is never provoked. He meant His servants to represent Him, and those men by their provoked spirit put a cloud over God’s character of patience.
In the New Testament we have similar scenes recorded. In Luke 9:51-55, is the narrative of the Samaritan villagers refusing to give Jesus and His disciples shelter. The wrong spirit gets into James and John. It was not the spirit of His own children. God’s greatest sorrow now is over our wrong spirits. What damage has this wrought! We do need this grace—never to be provoked in spirit.
Last sumer a servant of God, Mr. A.M., gave an illustration of this very thing. He was visiting his sister. She was in a great state about her husband—wanted Mr. M. to pray for him. He neglected family worship, and all the home-life was wrong. Mr. M. said, it was never God’s will that anyone should do wrong, but that we, His children, should take wrong in the right spirit. She did not see it. All the fault lay at her husband’s door. Mr. M. came back again in three weeks. “God has been dealing with me; I see it now,” she said. Directly she was in the right, the Spirit of God wrought in her husband, and the home life was adjusted. A provoked spirit keeps His hand off the very circumstances we want Him to touch. There may be wrong in our own work; we see it, fret, struggle; no good is done. We can never get things mended when we touch them with a provoked spirit. God hears our cry, and will shew us His salvation, if we surrender that wrong spirit.
Turn to Matthew 16:47, and onward. Look at the Lord Jesus under circumstances of the most intense provocation.
Look at Peter (verse 51), manifesting the “provoked spirit,” Peter could not stand it—his spirit was up; it was not the Spirit of Christ ; Jesus could not pass it by. Peter altogether missed the duty of that hour. “If I had wanted retaliation on the evildoers, ten thousand angels are at My bidding; I do not need your tiny sword, Peter!” Jesus Christ has too much to do now—healing the ears we cut off. He wants us to be filled with His Spirit. See how He treated Judas. “Friend … ” (Matt. 26:50). Wonderful, the unprovoked Spirit of the Lamb of God!—in presence of such depths of meanness and baseness, as if Judas was an angel sent from the Father’s throne. The Lamb of God—and we followers of the Lamb of God!! Oh, brothers and sisters!
But here an objection may be raised—”Would you have people without backbone?” The answer to this is: “Look at Peter on the day of Pentecost.” This exhibition of his conduct in attacking the bad sent to take Jesus, was strength of a kind. But can you fancy Peter bringing Malchus to the feet of Jesus? James and John certainly acted with spirit, but you could not fancy them going and preaching the Gospel to those Samaritans. Look at all the group “filled with the Spirit.” Were they men without character on the day of Pentecost? Which kind of strength do you choose? The weak things of God overthrow the things that are mighty. If the Spirit of Christ is in us, we shall rebuke evil, but tenderly love the evildoer. I believe this provoked spirit is one of the greatest hindrances to the mighty outpouring of God’s Spirit. I am certain that I—— the greatest hindrance is the spirit of the Protestants. God has to put up with all the wicked and wrong doings in the universe. Have you learned to take things as God takes them? Heaven is a very easy, blessed place! Thank God that we are not there yet, that we may learn the mind of Christ and live like Him. What a glorious opportunity our God is giving us for this lesson!
Did you ever think that God uses the evil in men around us to excavate our souls to make room for the Holy Spirit? I do not think we have taken it to heart how much our God counts on the unprovoked spirit of His people. He works always through this channel.
Look at Jesus on the ross—read again and again that wondrous story. What wrong done to you or me compares to the insults heaped on Jesus Christ the Beloved Son of God! What did He say? “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!” Behold the Lamb of God, wronged by evildoers, yet untouched by it! Our whole Redemption is rooted in the unprovoked spirit—Spirit of the Lamb of God. The Lord God of heaven and earth came down to our utmost need in that unprovoked Spirit. When God wants to reach atrociously wrongdoers, He seems to say again: “I will let them do their evil will, that they may see my Spirit in my child;” and when our spirit is provoked, it hides His glory and stays His hand. We must make way for God. Make way for the Spirit of His Son to possess our spirits. Have you suffered sorely? Do you feel you have a perfect right to feel so wronged? Let the Lord Jesus possess your spirit, beloved, and will have all God’s power on your side to overwhelm the evildoer,
—C.G.M.