This is an odd chapter in the sense that it doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of the book – however it has some very important takeaways.
“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. And suddenly the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, ‘Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.’ When the cloud [presence of God] 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.’ ” (1-2,4a,10-11)
Miriam (the primary instigator and recipient of the harshest punishment) launches two attacks against Moses. First she belittles Moses’ wife based on her skin color (specifically her Cushite/Ethiopian descent) and then calls Moses out as being “the only one through whom God speaks”.
The first is outside of Moses’ wife’s control, and the second is completely false (and has has far deeper implications we’ll see right away). There is more than one occasion where God speaks through Aaron, his sons, and even once through Miriam, so we know God doesn’t only speak through Moses.
We can infer that Miriam’s second accusation is indicating that Moses acts like he’s the only one through whom God speaks (accusing him of pride), in an attempt to elevate herself and Aaron (because they are proud and want to be recognized). This is ironic, because an editor of the book of Numbers (possibly Joshua) interjects a pointed comment in verse 3: “Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.”
Since Moses is so humble, he probably wouldn’t defend himself against these accusations, so God Himself defends Moses from his siblings: “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.” (v6-8a)
God defends Moses against these false/unfounded accusations. As much as we’d all love to have God stand up to our accusers in the literal sense, we know He stands up for us in the final sense – we will receive an eternal reward and those who do not repent before God will receive eternal punishment. Ultimately, we are not to judge one another out of pride, God will be the righteous judge over our hearts and intentions in the final judgement of the sheep and goats (Mt 25:31-46).
My turn for an editor comment: I find it amusing Aaron, of all people, asks God not to punish them for their sin… doesn’t he know a thing or two about the punishment for sin and the need for sacrifices/cleansing in order to receive God’s forgiveness? He’s the chief priest for crying out loud (and Jesus has not yet made the final blood sacrifice). A minor rabbit trail that caught my attention.
My two primary takeaways are are these: ultimately God will defend/justify our righteous acts (those done in obedience to Him) and we don’t have to defend ourselves (at least not out of wounded pride); and we should not be bringing unfounded/false accusations against anyone else (especially out of a sinful attitude such as pride). Remember: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Pro 16:18) Pride leads to destruction (often of ourselves and others [we seem to take people with us, unfortunately]) which is why the Bible includes so many examples of the sinful attitude (such as this one). I encourage us to humble ourselves before the Lord today.
Father God, we come before You a broken and flawed race of people. We have sinned against You – out of arrogance we have rebelled, thinking our ways are higher than Your ways. Please forgive us this sin of pride. Father please gently remind us of who we are – Your people, created in Your image for Your purposes, and redeemed by Your grace and mercy (not our own works, so we cannot boast). Please help us to filter our hearts and mouths that we would not think more highly of ourselves than we should, and that we would not think any less of others for they too are made in Your image. Jesus, please walk with us and help us to do this. Amen.
~ Conqueror in Training