Numbers
chapter 12 presents an amazingly realistic picture of how pride
deceives us. The chapter begins, “Miriam
and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife“.
An interesting side note, nowhere else in scripture is it mentioned
that Moses had any other wife beside Zipporah (Daughter of Jethro the
Midianite). Some Jewish scholars believe that since Chush was south
of Egypt in Ethiopia, they were actually insulting Zipporah because
of the dark skin she would have from years of shepherding her
father’s flocks. Clearly, this is just a petty reason to attack the
authority of Moses. The real complaint follows; Miriam asks, “Has
God only spoken through Moses? Hasn’t He also spoken through us?”
They are really questioning the authority of God’s Word. Isn’t that
exactly what we do when God’s Word doesn’t fit into what WE want to
do? The next verse has an ominous tone, “And
the Lord heard this.”
2 Timothy 3:16 explains, “All
scripture is God-breathed and is useful in teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in righteousness so the man of God may be
thoroughly equipped for every good work“.
We cannot pick and chose which verses we will follow and which ones
we will ignore.
God
acts immediately, “At
once the Lord said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, ‘Come out to the
Tent of Meeting, all of you.’ so the three of them came out“.
We read, “The
Lord came down in a pillar of cloud“.
God defends the authority of Moses to speak on His behalf, noting
that “I
speak to him face to face, clearly and not in riddles… Why then are
you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?”
It is incredible how every person in our society that stands for
God’s righteousness is ridiculed by those that do not want to
acknowledge the truth of God’s Word. Standing up for God’s
righteousness is even called hate-speak! Again listen to how our
loving God feels when His own are defamed, “The
anger of the Lord burned against them and He left them“.
As always there is a consequence to rebellion, “When
the cloud lifted from above the Tent, there stood Miriam– leprous,
like snow“.
Aaron
saw the leprosy and immediately said to Moses, “Please
my lord, do not hold against us the sin we have foolishly committed“.
How quickly those in rebellion ask for help when they are reaping
what they sow. Moses does not hesitate, in fact his first recorded
words in the chapter are, “O
God, please heal her!”
I wish my reaction was always so faithful! No wonder earlier in the
chapter Moses is called “more
humble than any man on the face of the earth“.
But God does not want to rob everyone of the lesson being taught
here. When you rebel against God’s Word, don’t be surprised if your
rebellion is found out by others. But listen to how God tempers His
judgment with mercy, “Miriam
was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not
move on until she was brought back“.
God does not take away the consequences even though He brings her
back into the camp (and He heals her as Moses prayed!). We need to
be careful that we don’t interfere when God is correcting someone.
When we take away the consequences of rebellion, we may also be
preventing the lesson God is trying to teach. 2 Timothy 2:25
explains the reason for this tough-love: “In
the hope that God will grant them repentance, leading them to the
knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and
escape from the trap of the Devil“.
May each of us experience God’s mercy.