Inerrant Lie #49

Moses insinuates truths and tells bald- faced lies. I can only imagine the reason he does so is that such obfuscation likes him and his LORD God. It seems they both prefer to dwell in "the thick darkness [Exodus 20:21, et. al.]."

At any rate, ask any Christian or Jew why Moe wasn't allowed to cross the Jordan, and they'll say, without hesitation or equivocation, that Moses was kept back from entering 'the promised land' because he struck a rock which he was supposed to speak to at Meribah-Kadesh. They cite no meaner authority on the matter than Moses himself-- Deuteronomy 32:48 - 52 being one of many such statements scattered through Numbers and Deuteronomy by Moses. While this is the reason most often given by Moses, it is not the only one he offers.

The latter half of Deuteronomy 1 recounts the tale of the twelve spies sent by Moses into the land to recon the 'lay' of it. This runs parallel to the account in Numbers 13 & 14, sort of. The upshot of the misadventure is that a whole generation is disallowed entrance to the land promised them. One of the differences between the two accounts is that, in the Deuteronomy version, Moses at least explicitly implies 'the LORD' chose this moment-- which precedes the second striking of the rock in Merbah-- to impose the 'no- entry injunction' on Moses.

The narrative in question runs so: "Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land, which I sware to give unto your fathers.... Also the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither [Deuteronomy 1:35 & 37]." 

Certainly this lie isn't as cut- and- dry as many of Moses' lies are, but given the lie he tells in rationalizing the sending of the spies in the first place, I'd say it's a bona fide lie, nonetheless.