This week we are looking at an event from history that is
recorded for us in a section of a letter in the Old Testament of the Bible
called the book of Numbers. Yesterday, we looked on as Moses, the author of the
book of Numbers, brought us into this event from history by revealing a
conflict that occurred between himself and Miriam and Aaron. Miriam and Aaron
decided to challenge Moses leadership and authority in front of the entire
nation and attempted to overthrow Moses from his position of leadership and
authority so that they could instead be in the position of leadership and
authority over the Jewish people.
Miriam and
Aaron spoke against Moses because they did not like the fact that Moses had entered
into an interracial marriage by marrying a Cushite woman. And as a result of
Moses entering into this interracial marriage, Miriam and Aaron felt compelled
to challenge Moses leadership and authority. Miriam and Aaron felt compelled to
challenge Moses leadership and authority because they believed that they were
superior to Moses.
They
believed that they were superior to Moses because Moses had demonstrated that
he was inferior by marrying someone from another race that they believed that
they were superior to. Miriam and Aaron’s racism led them to challenge their
brother as being inferior as a result of his marriage to someone that they
viewed as being from an inferior race. Moses, in his humility, did not feel the
need to defend himself. However, while Moses humility was driving him to not
defend himself, as the Lord heard the racism of Miriam and Aaron, He was driven
to defend Moses.
As Miriam
and Aaron challenged Moses, the voice of the Lord called Miriam, Aaron, and
Moses to the Tent of the Meeting. Today, we see Moses reveal what happened next
in the second half of Numbers 12:5:
When they had both come forward, He said, "Hear now My words: If there
is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, shall make Myself known to him in a
vision. I shall speak with him in a dream. "Not so, with My servant Moses,
He is faithful in all My household; With him I speak mouth to mouth, Even
openly, and not in dark sayings, And he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then
were you not afraid To speak against My servant, against Moses?" So the
anger of the LORD burned against them and He departed.
Now the
Lord’s statement to Miriam and Aaron, if it was communicated in the language we
use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: “Now I want
you two to listen very carefully to what I am about to say. I, the Lord, when I
want to make myself know to an ordinary prophet, I do so in the form of a
vision or a dream. Those who I usually use to proclaim My message to My people
and the world usually receive My word in a vision of a dream. But My man Moses
over there, his not some ordinary prophet. My man Moses over there, he serves
Me faithfully like no one else. And because of that reality, I speak to Moses
personally; I make My presence present when I speak with Moses. And when I
speak with My man Moses, I speak openly and clearly. And Moses has spoken and
been in My presence like no one else around here, let alone you two. So based
on the relationship that Moses has as My representative and My special leader,
why are you so unafraid to challenge his leadership and authority? What makes
you think that you can view him as being inferior to you because he chose to
marry someone who you think is of an inferior race.”
Notice that
the Lord does not speak to Moses. Notice that the Lord does not call out Moses
for violating one of His commands. Notice that the Lord does not address Moses for
marrying an African black woman. The Lord did not call out Moses because Moses
did not enter into an interreligious marriage which would have violated His
commands.
Moses did
not enter an interreligious marriage; Moses had entered into an interracial
marriage. Instead, the Lord’s anger burned against Miriam and Aaron for their
selfishness and rebellion in a way that resulted in the Lord intervening to
defend Moses, who was too humble to defend himself. And in the Lord’s right and just anger over
the selfishness and rebellion of Miriam and Aaron, there would be consequences.
Friday, we
will discover those consequences together...
No comments:
Post a Comment