Was Moses a Water Dowser?

“MOSES, who brought forth water by striking a rock with a rod (Numbers 20:9-11), has been called the first water dowser.” (The Encyclopedia Americana) This is a notion that crops up frequently when the subject of dowsing is discussed. Recently, National Wildlife magazine matter-​of-​factly called Moses’ staff “a divining rod.” And some dowsers believe that their power comes from Moses.

Quite to the contrary, though, Moses was the one who wrote down the command against divining! (Deuteronomy 18:10) And the miracle at Meribah was a far cry from water dowsing. Many dowsers rely on a rod to search for hidden water; they follow it along, waiting for it to bob or jerk. But Moses never followed his staff around waiting for it to bob; in fact, he never actually searched for the water at all. Jehovah, the Creator of the earth and its hidden springs of water, told Moses exactly where and how to get the water: “You must speak to the crag,” God commanded, “that it may indeed give its water.”​—Numbers 20:8.

Moreover, dowsers usually only tell people where to dig. When Moses’ staff hit the rock, a torrent of water burst forth​—enough to quench the thirst of an entire nation. Moses incurred God’s wrath when he took some of the credit for this miracle. How much worse to give the credit to his staff​—a senseless piece of wood!