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Deuteronomy 33:8
And of Levi he said,Let thy Thummim and thy Urimbe with thy holy one, whom thou didst prove at Massah,and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah;

Psalm 95:8
Harden not your heart, as in the provocation,and asin the day of temptation in the wilderness:

Psalm 106:32
They angeredhim also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes:

Meribah, strife

Exodus 17:7
And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?

Deuteronomy 32:51
Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of MeribahKadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.

he was

Isaiah 5:16
But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.

Ezekiel 20:41
I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen.

Ezekiel 36:23
And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that Iam the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.

where the Israelites quarreled with the LORD
The Israelites' quarrel with the LORD at Meribah reflects a recurring theme of unbelief and rebellion during their wilderness wanderings. This incident underscores the tension between God's provision and the people's lack of faith. The Israelites' complaints about water reveal their persistent struggle to trust in God's promises, despite witnessing numerous miracles. This event is a reminder of the human tendency to doubt in times of need, as seen in other biblical narratives such as the grumbling inExodus 16 andNumbers 11.

and He showed His holiness among them
God's response to the Israelites' quarrel at Meribah demonstrates His holiness and justice. By instructing Moses to speak to the rock to bring forth water, God intended to display His power and sanctity. However, Moses' disobedience in striking the rock instead of speaking to it (Numbers 20:11-12) resulted in a failure to uphold God's holiness. This incident emphasizes the importance of obedience and reverence for God's commands. It also foreshadows the ultimate revelation of God's holiness through Jesus Christ, who is described as the "living water" inJohn 4:10-14, offering spiritual sustenance to all who believe.

• The scene takes place at Kadesh in the wilderness (Numbers 20:1), a dry, inhospitable region where Israel again faced thirst.

• “Meribah” literally signals strife. Israel had already experienced a Meribah at Rephidim decades earlier (Exodus 17:1-7), yet the new generation repeats the old complaint.

• God’s provision of water from the rock underscores His covenant faithfulness in spite of repeated unbelief, echoingPsalm 95:8-9, which pleads, “Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah.”

• By identifying the location so clearly, Scripture teaches that physical places can become spiritual memorials—either of trust (Genesis 22:14) or of testing (Psalm 106:32-33). Meribah belongs to the latter category, warning every future reader.

• The people’s dispute was not merely with Moses; verse 3 records them saying, “If only we had perished when our brothers fell before the LORD!” Their grievance is ultimately vertical.

• Complaining reveals a heart that questions God’s goodness. Paul later cites this very episode to admonish believers: “Do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel” (1 Corinthians 10:10).

• The quarrel exposes a cycle of unbelief: hardship → complaint → forgetfulness of past deliverance (Psalm 78:17-20).

• Moses himself, provoked by the people, strikes the rock twice instead of speaking to it as commanded (Numbers 20:8-11). In that moment leader and nation alike fail to revere God’s word.

• God still brings forth abundant water, proving mercy, yet He immediately announces judgment: “Because you did not trust Me to demonstrate My holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land” (Numbers 20:12).

• Holiness means God cannot overlook unbelief, even in His chosen servants.Leviticus 10:3 laid down the principle: “Among those who approach Me I will be proved holy.”

• The tension of mercy and judgment reveals God’s character. He supplies life-giving water (a picture fulfilled in Christ,1 Corinthians 10:4) while upholding moral purity.

• Later Scripture revisits this moment:Deuteronomy 32:51 links Moses’ exclusion from Canaan directly to failing to “treat Me as holy,” andPsalm 99:8 balances forgiveness with retribution. God’s holiness is consistent from Genesis to Revelation.

At Meribah, God turned a place of desperate need into a stage for His glory. The nation’s quarrel exposed unbelief; Moses’ rash action added disobedience; yet God’s response—water for the thirsty and discipline for the faithless—displayed unblemished holiness. Meribah therefore stands as both a warning against grumbling and a testimony that the Holy One remains faithful, merciful, and absolutely just.

And he was sanctified in them.--The reference in the wordsin themseems to be either to the wordwaters,which is plural in Hebrew, or, more probably, to the children of Israel, amongst whom Moses and Aaron were included. It has been supposed that the place derived its name ofKadesh(or, more fully, Kadesh-Barnea,Numbers 32:8) from the cognate verb, which is renderedsanctifyin this and the preceding verse. It was in Kadesh that the sentence of exclusion had been pronounced upon the people generally (Numbers 14:22-23), and upon Moses and Aaron in particular, and it was thus that the Lord sanctified Himself in dealing with the transgressors. If the place derived its name, Kadesh, from these circumstances, it must have been called by that name proleptically inGenesis 14:7--a supposition which is entirely consistent with the manner in which the place is mentioned in that verse ("Enmishpat,which is Kadesh.") . . .