In Numbers 12 we have two different lessons to which we will do well to take heed. The one is to beware of spiritual pride and to bow to God’s will in the order of His house; the other, God’s intervention on behalf of His despised servant. “Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married.” Moses rejected by Israel (Acts 7:2727But he that did his neighbor wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? (Acts 7:27)) and in exile marrying a Gentile was the foreshadowing of the rejection of One greater than he, who during the time of His rejection calls His bride from among the Gentiles. But this marriage affords a specious opportunity for disputing the position of Moses whose meekness, so marked in wishing that all the Lord’s people were prophets, does not shelter him from envy and depreciation. Indeed it not infrequently happens that the most meek are the most exposed to the shafts of envy, to the disparaging statements of those who are greatly inferior. Here, not even the tie of nature prevented Miriam and Aaron from speaking against their brother. The pretense is his marriage with the Ethiopian woman, but it was only a peg on which to hang their envy.
Miriam and Aaron soon show their real thoughts and advance themselves as of equal importance with Moses. Not his marriage, but rather his position offends them. “Hath Jehovah indeed spoken only by Moses? Hath He not spoken also by us?” But there is a far more solemn thing than losing the esteem of man. “Jehovah heard it.” When the heart is under the influence of such bad feelings, it easily finds an excuse for speaking against God’s servants. But the Lord will soon bring every secret thing into the light, and the hidden spring will appear. Then each will receive according to the things done in the body.
The prominence given to Moses when God miraculously confirmed His word by him in providing flesh for the people seems that which so particularly stirred up the envy of Miriam and Aaron. But such an outbreak was the result of feelings which had been permitted to grow and take form in their heart. It is well to remember that if we allow and do not judge the root, God will make the fruit manifest, and to our shame. It is evident that the indulgence of evil in their hearts had rendered them both incapable of estimating the true position of Moses, but God confirms Moses in his place and asserts His own sovereignty as to whom He speaks and the manner of communication. He assigns to each his place in His house. Aaron would intrude into the office God had given to Moses. There was not merely envy and pride, but the spirit of disobedience against God.
The Meekness of Moses
It was a solemn moment when Jehovah said, “Come out, ye three, unto the tabernacle of the congregation.” What a lesson here for the servants of the Lord in the face of depreciation and criticism! What a testimony the Spirit gives of this man! “The man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.” Yet afterward he failed in meekness (Num. 20:1010And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? (Numbers 20:10)). There was but one perfect Man the earth ever saw, who never failed, and who could say of Himself, “I am meek and lowly in heart” (Matt. 11:2929Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (Matthew 11:29)). Moses was only a man, and to have asserted his own meekness would have proved the contrary, but the Holy Spirit declares it. The question now apparently is between Moses on the one side and Miriam and Aaron on the other. He who was prompt to act and be foremost in separation, when the question was between Jehovah and idolatry, is now meek and silent in the presence of his depreciators. But as he formerly stood for God, now God appears for him. God takes the matter up as His own, and the two guilty ones are made to know that it is not so much against Moses as against God they have spoken. And mark how God puts honor upon His faithful and meek servant. Moses on the former occasion stood boldly for the honor of God; now God appears for him and puts honor upon him. None has such intimacy with God as he. “If there be a prophet among you, I Jehovah 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. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently [visibly], and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of Jehovah shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?”
Miriam Smitten
Miriam is smitten with leprosy and only restored at the intercession of the man she had depreciated. And Aaron also has to bow and acknowledge the superior place of Moses. “Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned.” “Moses cried unto Jehovah saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech Thee,” and an immediate proof of his intimacy with God is given. After the necessary seclusion of seven days, Miriam was brought in again. And thus Moses necessarily stands higher than he did before. God knows how to bring down pride and provide for the honor of His servants when they are meek, and not less in this day than when Moses lived. Only let not servants attempt to vindicate themselves. The right way and the right time are known to God alone.
Consequences
The whole congregation feels the consequences of Miriam’s position; while she is shut up, the people do not journey. But the more prominent, the more responsible, and the more marked is the judgment. This is a principle that is always seen in God’s government. Miriam takes the lead in the sin.
Another consequence of the leprosy of Miriam is that the native energy of God in leading the people through the wilderness is suspended. God would show the people that it was no ordinary failure, nor was she an ordinary person. Such a sin as hers could only have been by one in her position. Neither she nor Aaron were novices, but they fell into the condemnation of the devil (1 Tim. 3:66Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. (1 Timothy 3:6)). God resented their speaking against His servant; in no other case do we read of God’s challenge, “Were ye not afraid?” When a “leader” sins, the consequences for the congregation or for the assembly are far greater than if another fails. The influence of leaders in the assembly of God is a solemn reality, and their position is a weighty factor in the discipline which failure inevitably brings. The body suffers if the least member is injured, but much more if it is an important member. Individual members of the church of God may not through a leader’s failure lose communion with God, nor cease to grow in grace and in knowledge, even while bearing the common shame on their heart and being humbled on account of it. But the assembly as a whole is hindered in the path of public testimony for Christ, and there cannot be greater hindrances to corporate testimony than the spirit that actuated Miriam and Aaron — a spirit that has dared to intrude into the church of God. As a witness for Christ, the church of God is like Miriam shut up as a leper. Will the leprosy be healed? Yes, I am fully persuaded that God will bring the simple and faithful into closer intimacy with Himself, and that by a deeper feeling of dependence upon Him. Thus, though it is a narrower sphere and more manifest weakness, grace will produce a brighter and a clearer testimony.
R. Beacon (adapted)