When a prophet of the LORD is among you,
I reveal myself to him in visions,
I speak to him in dreams.
But this is not true of my servant Moses;
he is faithful in all my house.
With him I speak face to face,
clearly and not in riddles;
he sees the form of the LORD.
Why then were you not afraid
to speak against my servant Moses?'
The anger of the LORD burned against them, and he left them.
When the cloud lifted from above the Tent, there stood Miriam—leprous, like snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had leprosy; and he said to Moses, 'Please, my lord, do not hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed. Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother's womb with its flesh half eaten away.'
So Moses cried out to the LORD, 'O God, please heal her!'
The LORD replied to Moses, 'If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back.' So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on till she was brought back."
In Numbers 12:1 Miriam and Aaron are talking about Moses. They seem upset or concerned that Moses has married a Cushite woman. The Cushite people were people of the land of Cush, which was in Arabia - or southern Sudan. They were descendants of Cush, the grandson of Noah. These people were contemptible people in the eyes of the Hebrews. Therefore, it appears that Miriam and Aaron were looking out for Moses. However, the true intentions of their hearts is revealed in verse 2 when they ask, "Has the LORD spoken only through Moses? Hasn't he also spoken through us?" At this point you can see their jealousy of Moses. They feel that they should be equals to Moses. Moses should not be the only leader of Israel. It is interesting to note that the English version says that they both spoke against Moses. However, the Hebrew verb used is a feminine singular, making it clear that it was Miriam who was the leader of this criticism.
God calls all three to the tent for a meeting. God clearly states that He has placed Moses in the head position for a reason. It is true that all sin has consequences. The more public the sin, the more public the consequence (especially back in the Old Testament). The Bible clearly states that God's angry burned against BOTH Miriam and Aaron. However, Miriam was the "ring leader" so to speak and was punished more severely. As soon as the cloud lifted, the onset of Miriam's leprosy was in a fully symptomatic state. Her skin immediately took on a white appearance. Because of its contagious nature, those inflicted were required to separate themselves from other people, and had to cry out "Unclean! Unclean!" when anyone came into view.
Can you imagine the humiliation? Here is Miriam, a woman after God's own heart, who allowed bitterness and jealousy take root in her heart. Here is a woman who risked her life as a child to save her baby brother, who is now on the outside of the camp yelling to others that she is unclean.
Moses cried out to God to heal Miriam. Moses was humble (verse 3) and forgave her quickly. He interceded on her behalf. God didn't heal her immediately. He is a just God who allows us to learn from our mistakes. However, He is a merciful God and healed her in seven days.
We don't hear anything more about Miriam until her death. She was given a burial that was fitting for a public leader. Therefore, she was still beloved and still held some kind of leadership role (probably for the women).
How does this fit into our lives? We are all faced with authority. That authority may or may not make decisions that we agree with or feel is in line with God's ways. However, God is the one who is ultimately in control. We don't have to agree with the decisions of every leader, but we do have the RESPECT the leader and his/her leadership role. Here are some people that may be of authority to you (or you may be that authority to someone else). Read the list and pray for each person and search how you can RESPECT that role/leader: Employer, Supervisor, Management, Club Officer, Police, State Government, Local Government, Federal Government, Husband, Parts, Church Leaders, Teachers.
This is a particular struggle for me as I do not believe in many of the policies that our Government is creating right now. However, I need to pray for them and pray that the truth will be revealed. One small victory is the Stupak Amendment. Keep praying!
Suggested prayer from the book:
"Lord, You are the King of every king in my life and Lord of every lord. All men and women in positions of authority are placed in those positions by You. Help me to trust Your choices. Help me to watch my heart with all diligence and root out any attitudes of jealousy, pride, and covetousness. Help me to be satisfied with where You place me (and where You do not). Most of all, help me to be faithful to the tasks you give me, and humble in every position of authority I hold under Your authority. Amen."
