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Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses
12 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. And they said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the LORD heard it. Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth. And suddenly the LORD said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” And the three of them came out. And the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them, and he departed.
When the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, like snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. And Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, do not punish us because we have done foolishly and have sinned. Let her not be as one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother’s womb.” And Moses cried to the LORD, “O God, please heal her—please.” But the LORD said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut outside the camp seven days, and after that she may be brought in again.” So Miriam was shut outside the camp seven days, and the people did not set out on the march till Miriam was brought in again. After that the people set out from Hazeroth, and camped in the wilderness of Paran.
(ESV)
Numbers 12 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
There are so many lessons in this chapter.
When jealousy enters the heart, it often manifests a different form in words and behavior. This was most definitely the case with Miriam and Aaron. They were ultimately jealous of Moses’ direct communication with God. But take notice of their initial complaint.
Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had married a Cushite woman); [2] and they said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?” And the LORD heard it.
Numbers 12:1-2 NASB
Look closely at the passage. They spoke against him because of his wife, yet, their main issue was a completely different accusation which Moses had little control over. They were upset because God had chosen to speak directly to Moses and not them. This was their first issue. Murmuring and complaining about the divine will of God will get us nowhere. In fact, the passage states the most sobering reality of this situation. The Lord heard it. He always does.
There was a lack of communication and a pride issue at hand. So, God illustrates exactly what we should do in situations like this. He calls all three siblings into his presence for a talk. Miriam was the primary instigator of this jealousy and so God allows her to feel the consequences of her actions. She is struck with leprosy. What I find so fascinating about this is that God allowed for the filth inside her heart to now be seen on the outside by everyone. She was exposed.
I wonder, what would that look like for us? What kind of thoughts and attitudes would God expose from our hearts and what would it look like to others? I’ve got to say, this is extremely convicting and unpleasant. However, it should be. God hates sin and will do whatever it takes to destroy it from our lives.
However, we must always remember that the grace of God is ever-present. The people waited 7 days for her! They waited for her punishment to run its course and welcomed her back with open arms. This illustrates the respect they had for Moses and his family as well as the amazing grace of God to not hold this sin against her.