It is not clear what Moshe (and Aharon) did wrong at the Waters of Meribah. There are many possible answers, after all!
Some say that Moshe and Aharon, when first confronted, should not have fallen on their faces and fled from the people. Other explanations are: that Moshe should not have lost his temper; that he should not have called the people “rebels;” he should have spoken to (instead of hitting) the rock; having hit the rock, he should not have done it twice!
All of these are possible, even plausible. But why?
If we are supposed to learn from the Torah, then why is there not a single, clear and simple answer?! Doesn’t G-d want us to know what to do, so that we can obey him?!
Is it possible that the confusion is actually deliberate? That yes, G-d wants us to listen to Him – but that He also very much wants us to be intellectually and emotionally engaged, seeking to have a productive and informative interaction, instead of merely acting like automatons? That our own actions should never be “paint by numbers,” and instead should always involve going through the effort to try to understand what is wrong and what is right?