Not only that, Moses' brother Aaron, who was the first high priest of Israel, who helped Moses lead the nation, whose descendants comprised the Levitical priesthood, was also banned from entering the Promised Land!
Exactly why? It all resulted from one episode in the desert:
Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here? Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!” (Numbers 20:2-5)
The people grumbled, God heard, and God had the solution. It would be a miracle. And like many times before, Moses and Aaron would be the ones God would use to execute the miracle.
Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. The Lord said to Moses, “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.” (Numbers 20:6-8)
Place close attention to the specific instructions from God: "Speak to that rock". Then look at the following verses.
So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank. (Numbers 20:9-11)
Did you notice that Moses did not follow God's command? There's two things that Moses did wrong. First, in his frustration with the grumbling people, he struck the rock twice instead of speaking to the rock as God had commanded. Secondly, he said,"must WE bring you water out of this rock?". He implied that himself and Aaron were the source of the miracle, not God, taking the credit.
But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” (Numbers 20:12)
And it came to pass -- Moses and Aaron never made it to the Promised Land. Moses did get to view the Promised Land from Mount Nebo before dying at the age of 120. Before he died, he passed the leadership to Joshua, who would lead the Israelite nation into the Promised Land. After Aaron died, his son Eleazer took his position.
One more thing.....not only was it true of Moses and Aaron, but because of the nation's disobedience and unfaithfulness, no one else who crossed the Red Sea made it to the Promised Land either, except for Joshua and Caleb who were found faithful! After 40 years (one generation in Biblical terms) of wandering in the wilderness, and after all the original people who crossed the Red Sea died (except for Joshua and Caleb), only the children who were born during the journey entered the Promised Land.
Just shows you how important obedience and faithfulness are to God.
