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. Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth. And suddenly the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” And the three of them came out…  – Numbers 12:1-4.

The one thing that I never wanted to hear from my mom was, “just wait until your father get’s home.” When mom dropped on us kids, the “wait until your dad gets home,” we knew we were in trouble. Having to face dad we knew he would not fool around with any insubordination. He would deal with us kids, and he would do it decisively.

Could there be anything worse than the scenario in Numbers 12 where Miriam and Aaron start complaining about Moses and his leadership. There appears to be two issues: first, that Moses had married a Cushite woman; secondly, the accusation the LORD only spoke through Moses. Had not God spoken through Miriam, or more particularly, Aaron too?

Here is the problem. Their teamwork between Moses and Aaron has been going on for a while now. God told Moses He would speak to him and then Moses would share that with Aaron, and Aaron would speak to Pharaoh (Exodus 7:1-2). This was the arrangement. So what changed? Aaron could have gotten frustrated his role may feel obsolete now they are out of Egypt, or he may have wanted more recognition. But what catches my eye is the verse starts with, “Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses.”

I think Miriam instigated this little revolt. Before you think I am being prejudicial, let me explain. First, her name is mentioned first in this revolt. Yes, I know Aaron is also included but the fact that Miriam is placed first makes me think she is the ringleader. This was, after all, a patriarchal society and having the woman’s name first would be a bit unique.

Secondly, notice the first complaint was Moses’ wife. She was a Cushite or Ethiopian, not part of the family so to speak. Easy target for another man’s wife to be jealous of her success over her own, especially being a foreigner. How does this woman have better privileges and recognition than one of her own family members?

Thirdly, after God hauls them out to the tent of meeting, defends Moses and then pronounces His displeasure with Miriam and Aaron, notice what happens next. To make His point, God afflicts Miriam, and only Miriam, with a serious infection of leprosy; not Aaron, just Miriam. Why would he not afflict them both with leprosy?

Me thinks God wanted to make an example of the one who initiated this little rebellion against His servant. Clearly, Aaron confesses and vigorously pleads for forgiveness so that God would restore her health. Obviously, he went along with it, but she takes the brunt of the judgment.

The details are not given, but we can surmise a couple of things. Maybe she talked her husband into standing up for himself because he deserved the lead role even more than Moses, at least in her mind. She may have thought her husband was better than playing second fiddle to Moses and deserved more recognition. Maybe she was jealous of the Cushite wife, who knows. But I think she talked her husband into trying to advance his career because he deserved it. At least that is the story we are sticking to for now.

Either way, it is always a bad idea to complain against God’s servant, especially the ones that are described as being more humble than anyone on the earth. I would love to grow up and have God say that about my life.

But the temptation to make accusations of others, just to advance yourself in front of them, is never a good tactic in God’s economy. This is not how God operates. He assigns a role, and we need to learn to be happy serving Him in the role He gives to us. If we can choose to be satisfied with doing what He calls us to do, and do it well, then comparison and competition are not part of the strategy to advance myself over others, regardless of how justified I think I am, being a great team player, serving my role well, and supporting others on the team as fully as possible makes better sense.

I suspect that Moses would not have any more problems with other leaders trying to make him look bad just to advance themselves after this incident. The LORD has a way of validating His own.

Pastor Brad Little