IF YOU DON'T HAVE SOMETHING NICE TO SAY...

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“Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. "Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?" they asked. "Hasn't he also spoken through us?" And the Lord heard this. (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.) At once the Lord said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, "Come out to the Tent of Meeting, all three of you." So the three of them came out. Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the Tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When both of them stepped forward, he said, "Listen to my words: "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.” Numbers 12:1-15

In any election year, and certainly in this one, we are subjected to more than our share of attempts by candidates to smear their opponent. Nothing seems to be off limits if it means that they might be able to make themselves more attractive to a voter.

Well, in Chapter 12 of Numbers, I get a sense that there is some less than subtle posturing happening within the leadership ranks of the Israelites and what makes it different from the typical political wrangling is that the smearing is happening within the same family…between siblings.

We read right away that Aaron and Miriam begin to “talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite.” Now Aaron and Miriam know that Moses is not only an obedient servant to God but also has special favor with Him. For God had not spoken to anyone else as much as Moses.

Given this, if God were opposed to Moses being married to a Cushite (comparable to a Midianite) then He would have told Moses Himself. That didn’t happen yet Aaron and Miriam decided to judge him themselves and attempt to discredit Moses in the court of public opinion. Their motive? Well, if they could make Moses look bad then they themselves would look good.

So they foolishly ask others, “"Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?..."Hasn't he also spoken through us?" In other words, they were saying, “Moses doesn’t have the corner on communication with God. We’re just as in touch with Him as Moses. What makes him any better than us.”

Well, not only did the people hear their words but so did the Lord…and He took action. Scripture tells us He told “Moses, Aaron and Miriam, ‘Come out to the Tent of Meeting, all three of you.’ " And they came as He commanded. “Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud” and “stood at the entrance to the Tent” where He “summoned Aaron and Miriam.” As they came forward, God addressed them for their actions saying, “"Listen to my words: "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?"

Moses was no ordinary prophet. Yes, he had experienced God communicating with him through visions and dreams like other prophet but the faithfulness of Moses unto the Lord took him to a higher relationship with His Creator. For God said that He spoke with Moses “face-to-face” and “clearly and not in riddles”. God’s connection with Moses was personable and intimate. No one was as connected to God than Him. Thus, Moses garnered a higher level of respect and esteem for others. God spoke as if speaking against Moses would be akin to speaking against God Himself. This is why God asked Aaron and Miriam, “Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?" If they had no respect for their own brother and spiritual leader, then how much respect did they have for The Lord? This is what God was getting at.

So what would come of this? Obviously, God was very upset at Aaron and Miriam. Our passage tells us that “the anger of the Lord burned against them”. And as God departed with “the cloud lifted from above the Tent”, the evidence of consequence remained. For “there stood Miriam—leprous, like snow.” It was more than Aaron could bear as he pleaded with 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." Aaron spoke to Moses as if he was the one who had inflicted the judgment. He hadn’t and although Aaron and Miriam had acted so sinfully against him, notice that Moses doesn’t say to them, “Away from me with your complaints! You received what you deserved.” No…Moses intercedes for his siblings. He supports them, something they failed to do for him. In doing so, Moses showed why he was distinguished from them in the first place.

Scripture tells us that Moses “cried out to the Lord, ‘O God, please heal her!’ “ but the Lord replied "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." God shows in His decision that He indeed is a God of mercy but also a God of discipline. Allowing Miriam to be healed immediately would not have taught her or Aaron the proper lesson regarding their actions. The seven day period was consistent with penalties that were already in replace for disrespecting an elder so thus was the penalty for Miriam who was “confined outside the camp for seven days”. And as for Israel, they “did not move on till she was brought back.” Once again, God showed His mercy for Miriam by allowing her to be healed and return to His flock.

This entire passage reminds me about a saying my parents used to teach me. It went like this:

“If you don’t have something nice to say about someone, don’t say anything at all.”

Well, Aaron and Miriam would have definitely been in a lot better shape if they had heeded that wisdom…and so will we. Nothing good comes out of slanderous talk or gossip intended to bring another person down. Living for the Lord is supposed to be about personal edification not personal destruction.

Question: Do you watch the words that come out of your mouth? Do you check to make sure that they are not just edifying others but glorifying God in the same process?

My prayer today is that we learn from the mistakes of Aaron and Miriam. May we think first before we allow our tongue to get us into trouble...a tongue that James had this to say about:

“It (the tongue) is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.” James 3:8-10
And as we call on God to help us control our tongue, blessing us with the right words to say, my hope is that we would use the words of David as he said:
“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14
Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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