Did you know God limits even His biggest names in their service? Numbers 25-28

Numbers 27:12-14

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up to this mountain of Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the sons of Israel. When you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was; for in the wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command to treat Me as holy before their eyes at the water.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)

God withholds leadership positions and blessings based upon sin in our lives.  This is a very important truth for all of us to know, learn, memorize and commit too in our lives.   David experienced it by not being allowed to build God a Temple.   In the above passage, Moses, is experiencing it when it comes to leading the people into the promise land.  There may not be a larger picture of leadership in the Bible than David and Moses.   Yet, both, because of sin, were not allowed to do something great and glorious for God.  Their desires were holy.  Their dreams were glorifying.    Yet, their lives had a level of sin that God limited what they could do for Him based upon that disobedience.   It should be noted that their disobedience was not necessarily a pattern of sin in their lives, but rather instances where they simply failed God in that moment.   David's sin is a little easier to understand as a limit to why God was restrictive to his leadership.  He not only committed adultery he had Uriah, the husband and valiant warrior, in essence, murdered.  Moses, on the others hand, as stated above, simply hit the rock to get water to come out, instead of speaking to it as instructed by God.  Previously he was told to hit the rock.  The second time he was told to speak to the rock.  But, his anger controlled him and that caused the sin.  David's lust and shame controlled him and that caused him to sin.   It matters not what the sin is and it matters not who the person is.  God is no respecter of persons.   Both men sinned and were limited in their ability to serve God.   This is a lesson I simply struggle with.  I am not in the "church" ministry because of such things in my life.  I accept that and need to further grasps it and not fight it.  I, too, must, like Moses, go up to the mountain and see the beauty of what God will allow others to do and be reminded that past sins matter to God.