Numbers 12:1-161And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. 2And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the Lord heard it. 3(Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) 4And the Lord spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out. 5And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth. 6And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. 7My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. 8With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? 9And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them; and he departed. 10And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous. 11And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned. 12Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb. 13And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee. 14And the Lord said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again. 15And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again. 16And afterward the people removed from Hazeroth, and pitched in the wilderness of Paran. (Numbers 12:1‑16)
Something very sad takes place in our chapter—rebellion breaks out, and that among the leaders. First Moses’ father-in-law had said that it was too much for Moses to bear the burden of the people alone. Moses had then taken this up himself, and God had put His Spirit upon the seventy elders. Now Miriam and Aaron took it up, too, and rebelled against Moses, saying, “Hath the Lord spoken only by Moses?” How watchful we should be about little things, for one thing soon leads to another, and an open outbreak generally has a small beginning.
And yet how often these outbreaks of sin bring out the wondrous ways of God in grace! Miriam and Aaron had used the marriage of Moses to an Ethiopian woman, as the occasion of their rebellion, but we can see in this a beautiful type of the grace that has brought us poor Gentiles, who were once afar off, into a place of nearness as the bride of Christ, just as this poor black Ethiopian woman became the bride of Moses. This grace to the Gentiles incited the hatred of the Jews, and they have rebelled against the sovereignty of God (Acts 22:21,2221And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles. 22And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live. (Acts 22:21‑22)), as Miriam and Aaron rebelled against Moses.
Moses, the meekest man in all the earth, left everything with. God. How good to do this when misunderstood! God will make known His mind and will vindicate His servants, as He viicated Moses here, but we must wait His time. If we have been misjudged, let us take all from the Lord, who aows such things for our good, because He sees we need it to keep us humble. Then, too, if He does clear us, let us not he puffed up by such tokens of His goodness. It is sad to see that even grace, which ought ever to humble us, will cause pride if we are not watchful.
There is nothing which our poor hearts will not glory, if the eye is off Christ! May He keep us!
The Lord then called Moses, Aaron and Miriam to come out to the tabernacle of the congregation, and said, “If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make Myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all Mine house ... Wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?” The Lord then departed, and Miriam, who was apparently the leader in the rebellion, became leprott, as white as snow. Aaron then said, “We have done foolishly ... we have sinned.” After all this, Moses showed a beautiful spirit of grace, and prayer. for Miriam, saying, “Heal her now, O God, I beseech Thee.” The Lord heard Moses’ cry, but Miriam had to be shut out of the camp for seven days. Even though Moses had shown the spirit of grace, God allowed Miriam to suffer for her sin, as well as rebuking Aaron, Let us remember that there is a government of God, and we have to reap what we sow in His ways, even though we have owned our sin. We notice also that God made a difference between Miriam and Aaron. He knows who is really at fault, and who stirs up the trouble, and He judges accordingly. How foolish to dunk that we can eape the government of God! He knows all—the very secrets of our hearts—and we can never escape His watchful eye. How many have to reap in later life the careless sowing of their youth. Let us be careful what we sow! (Gal. 6:7,87Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. (Galatians 6:7‑8).)
ML 09/30/1951