Numbers 12 Devotional
by Pastor Lawrence
After the Lord had taken some of the Spirit that was on Moses and put it on the seventy elders to assist him in leading the people of Israel, it seems that there was some jealousy coming from his sister and brother, Miriam and Aaron, concerning their place in this new spiritual economy. Before this turn of events, they were part of the inner circle having something of the ear of God by having the ear of Moses. But when Moses married an outsider, they felt pushed even further to the outer rim of the circle of influence.
It seems that Miriam was the leader of this fraternal critique since she received the brunt of God’s anger when reproached for their rebellion against God’s authority as it was vested in His humble servant Moses. Just a quick note regarding this description of Moses’ character: although Moses was the author of the Book of Numbers, obviously someone, perhaps Joshua, added this statement as a genuine testimony to Moses’ sober estimate of his own worth in God’s eyes. This comment is written is stark contrast to the ugly pride that manifests itself through the words of Miriam and Aaron.
Miriam’s initial complaint regarded Moses’ choice of wife. Instead of marrying an Israelite, he espoused a Cushite woman, or a woman from Ethiopia. If this is referring to Zipporah, she was actually a Midianite who lived nearby the region of Ethiopia. They were known to be a darker skinned people than the Israelites and this may have played a part in the siblings low estimate of her as a bride for Moses, not because they were racists in the way that we think of racism today, but primarily because of their strong sense of nationalism and pride as the people of God. The point is that her darker skin clearly demonstrated that she was not an Israelite by birth. Of course, the later prohibition in the law of God concerning marrying foreigners was concerned not with the color of one’s skin but with the practice of one’s faith. Zipporah had attached herself to the people of Israel and they should have accepted her as one of their own. But this attack by Miriam doesn’t seem to be the primary thrust of their complaint. Instead they are using it in order to lower the esteem of Moses in the eyes of the people in order that they themselves might be elevated.
Their primary complaint is that Moses has made too much of himself, which isn’t true, and that they are just as worthy as Moses of leading God’s people, and they said, in v.2, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” It seems laughable that they would have such a high estimate of their own prophetical gifts when they had not been used by God even half as much as Moses. After all, as far as we know, Miriam only prophesied once after Israel crossed the Red Sea on dry ground and it was such a brief prophecy leading the people of God to worship the Lord. Aaron, on the other hand is attributed with more prophecy but always in relationship to Moses. Either he was speaking on behalf of Moses as his mouthpiece or else a prophecy was attributed to the two of them together. But Aaron had to know that the Lord revealed himself to Moses in a special way that far surpassed anything that he had received from God.
When the Lord heard of these grumblings from Miriam and Aaron, He was not pleased but immediately summoned them to the tent of meeting in order that they might stand before His presence and give and answer for their insubordination. Of course, when the Lord asks them “Why were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” they could stomach no response but put their hands over the mouth in the presence of a holy God. And when the cloud of God’s presence moved away from them, Miriam was covered from head to toe with leprosy. Perhaps having her skin turn white as snow was a consequence of her degrading the skin color of the Cushite woman, but there is more to the judgment then mere poetic justice. When Aaron recognized the judgment of the Lord upon his sister, notice how quickly he changed his tune concerning his brother Moses. Instead of calling upon the Lord directly to heal his sister, he calls upon the Lord’s mediator, his own brother and pleads for him to pray for her instead, recognizing his special standing with God. And although the Lord grants Moses’ prayer and immediately heals Miriam of her leprosy, she is forced to live outside of the camp of Israel for seven days in order to bear the shame of her pride and grumbling. Truly the proud heart will be brought low. If she thought she deserved to be in the inner circle, now she’s not even part of the outer circle but is treated as an unclean thing in God’s sight and in the eyes of the people of Israel.
Thankfully, the Lord doesn’t immediately bring the same type of judgment upon his people today when they grumble and complain in the Church of Christ. Although each of us deserves something much worse than Miriam received, it is the Lord himself who suffered outside the camp in our place bearing our sin and our shame in his own body for our rebellion and insubordination against a holy God. Indeed, just as Moses graciously pleaded for his sister in love, even though she had villainously attacked and maligned his character, so the Lord intercedes for us in love to forgive us our sins and to restore us to a right relationship with the Lord and with his people.