They angered Him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes.
A good man suffering for a community, and a community pursuing its way to destruction
I. A good man suffering for the wrongs of a community (verses 32, 33; Numbers 20:3; Numbers 20:10; Numbers 20:13).
1. The conduct of bad men has a strong tendency to disturb the moral temper of the good.
(1) By disgusting the moral tastes.
(2) By shaking the faith.
(3) By disturbing self-control.
2. God holds the best men responsible for the loss of their moral temper. “So that it went ill with Moses for their sakes.” He lost by it. Difficult as it may be for a good man to keep his temper undisturbed, it is his duty to do so, and under God he can do so. “In patience he should possess his soul.” He should “trust in Him that liveth for ever.” “None of these things move me,” said Paul.
II. A community pursuing its course to destruction.
1. Instead of destroying the peoples, as God commanded, they fraternized with them (verses 34, 35).
2. Instead of serving the one true living God, they engaged in the worship of idols (Psalms 106:36-38). (Homilist.)
Sins of eminent men
It was the sin of one occupying a high official position. You know how in armies a sentinel who sleeps on the post is shot, because great matters are weighed in the balance, great interests are at stake. Why, the ancients used to have a plan of taking a builder, and if his building crumbled and fell, they would take away the ruins and bury him there, and let the next builder put the building up upon him. They held him accountable. Persons that are in positions of authority and of office are held severely to account. Just the same way with a policeman, whose duty it is to see that the law is observed; if he violates the law, he is held to sharpest account. And so we have Moses, the great law-giver. There was an appropriateness in the fact that the great law-giver should himself be held to sharpest and closest account when he himself violated the law of God. (E. Judson, D.D.)