Numbers 12:1-3—1 Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. 2 So they said, "Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?" And the LORD heard it. 3 (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.)
This may very well be another case of “be careful what you wish for”. The people are still in Hazeroth (חֲצֵרוֹת, “settlement”), no indication of how long after the quails this was, when, not the people of the camp, but Moses’ own brother and sister question Moses’ qualifications as a prophet. Why? Because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. So basically, God told Miriam, “You don’t like that Moses married a woman whose skin is darker than his? Then I will make you whiter than white!”. And He did, and we will get to that. But first, I want to touch on what Aaron and Miriam were guilty of. And that is something that pervades even some parts of the church today. And that is racism. It was much worse until the 1960’s, but really has never gone away. And it is not a concept unique to America, you find it all across the globe. In the 1990’s you had a Civil War in Rwanda between the Hutus and Tutsis. In the early 2000’s there was a Civil War in Bosnia. Tensions were high between Japan and China, probably still are. Then you have the hatred with which Roman Catholics view us Protestants. So for all the slogans many are putting forth, to “end racism” and so on and so forth, while their efforts are commendable, it’s not gonna happen. Why? Because we are human, and we have built-in prejudices. If you remember the group DC Talk, they had a song years ago (“What Have We Become?”) that started:
Preacher shuns his brother
‘Cause his bride’s a different color
And this is not acceptable
His Papa told him so
Was love that he’d been preaching
But this was overreaching
The boundaries stretching further
Than his heart would choose to go
There are those who say that having black skin is the “Curse of Ham” (one of Noah’s sons), or the “Mark of Cain”. The latter is how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints excused their racism against blacks in denying them the higher “Melchizedek Priesthood”. But in reality, racism goes against everything the Jesus taught, everything we find in Scripture, and everything about the gospel. Even in Jesus’ and Paul’s day, the Jews hated the Gentiles. There was a saying among Jews that the Gentiles were to be used as fuel for the fires of Hell. (For all the people who say “Jews didn’t have a concept of a fiery Hell”, ask them about this). When Jesus came, He demolished this thinking. And even Paul wrote against it. Galatians 3:28—There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:11-14—11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation. Revelation 14:6-7—6 Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people—7 saying with a loud voice, "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water." In the Dallas Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel, it states the following:
All races are equals before God. Any teaching that encourages racial groups to view themselves as privileged oppressors or entitled victims of oppression is wrong. A person’s feelings of offense or oppression does not necessarily prove that someone else is guilty of sinful behaviors, oppression, or prejudice…Racism is a sin rooted in pride and malice which must be condemned and renounced by all who would honor the image of God in all people. All cultures, including our own, at times contain laws and systems that foster racist attitudes and policies. Individuals of any particular ethnic group are capable of racism.
Notice that last sentence. “Individuals of any particular ethnic group are capable of racism.” This is true. It doesn’t matter if you’re white, black, yellow, red, or brown. You can be just as guilty of racism as anyone else. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. And it has indeed gotten better over the years, but there are some pockets where it still exists. The racism displayed by Aaron and Miriam was not about skin color, but about national origin. He had married an Ethiopian woman (a Cushite), and they didn’t like that. But apparently they were okay with him being married to a Midianite woman (his first wife, Zipporah). And this bigotry led them to question why they had to submit to Moses’ being a prophet, seeing as how Aaron was High Priest and Miriam was a prophet. “Why would God speak through a man who has married an unclean woman?” If you haven’t guessed by now, God does not take too well to being criticized. Questioned, perhaps; who doesn’t sometimes wonder why God is doing something a certain way? But to criticize God is to say that He doesn’t know what He is doing, and if He doesn’t know what He’s doing, then He is not God. Just like stealing is a sin because you are saying that God hasn’t given you enough; just like adultery is a sin because God hasn’t given you the right woman; just like murder is a sin because God made the person you don’t like and you had to take him out of this world.
Now, after Aaron and Miriam criticize God in verse 2, God speaks to them in verse 4. And notice the first word in that verse. Suddenly. God didn’t wait around, He didn’t just kinda meander in their general direction. He spoke to them Suddenly. He calls all three to the Tabernacle, and He’s gonna talk to them. All of them. And it is not a long discourse, just enough to get their attention. Numbers 12:4-9—4 Suddenly the LORD said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, "Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting!" So the three came out. 5 Then the LORD came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both went forward. 6 Then He said, "Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream. 7 Not so with My servant Moses; he is faithful in all My house. 8 I speak with him face to face, even plainly, and not in dark sayings; and he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?" 9 So the anger of the LORD was aroused against them, and He departed. God basically said “Alright, all of you, get out here. We need to talk. And by ‘we’, I mean ‘Me’”.
There are many today who reckon themselves a prophet (or prophetess), who obviously have not been called to that office by God. And why do they call themselves a prophet (or prophetess)? Obviously it is not only to gain prestige, but also not a small income. And when you question these people, does God get upset? No. Who gets upset? Those who have joined themselves to this so-called prophet (or prophetess), those who hang on every word they say, and who buy the excuses when their prophecies don’t come true. Benny Hinn made some prophecies in 1989, that didn’t even come close to coming true. Did his ministry crumble? Was he brought to tears and repentance for falsely speaking in the name of God? No. In fact, his global outreach continues to grow. Why? Because he preaches what people want to hear. He preaches that if you send him every dime in your bank account, then you will become rich. How often has that happened? I dare say any guess that is higher than ZERO is wrong. Because he is not speaking for God. He will have his reward. You see, if a man is truly a prophet and is truly speaking from God, then what he says will come true 100% of the time. We will see that in Deuteronomy 18:21-22—21 And if you say in your heart, 'How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?'—22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him. And God says pretty much the same thing here. That any “prophecy” that does not come from God is not a true prophecy. God does not beat around the bush when He gives a prophecy. He speaks plainly to the prophet, He makes it clear what He is saying, so there is no confusion on the part of the prophet or the person(s) that prophet is speaking to.
For if a man claims to speak what God has told him, and it does not come true, what does this mean? It means that that man makes God a liar. And God is not a liar. We see twice in the New Testament that God cannot lie—not just that He does not lie, or even could lie. It is clear—God CANNOT lie. Hebrews 6:17-18—17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, 18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. How could we have any kind of faith in Him if He could lie? How could we ever believe Him, not knowing if He is telling the truth or if He is not? But we see here that it is IMPOSSIBLE for God to lie. Also, Titus 1:1-2—1 Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, 2 in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began. Many atheists and skeptics like to pose questions to us about what God cannot do. Like “Can God make a rock so big He cannot lift it?” or “Can God make a round square?” These are silly and fallacious questions. But one question is applicable: “Can God lie?” Well, of course not. For lying is a sin, and God cannot sin. We must never make the mistake of thinking that God is capable of the shortcomings that we humans are so very capable of. We will see that also when we get to Numbers 23:19—“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” Neither could Jesus lie, and He didn’t. He didn’t even want to. 1st Peter 2:21-22—21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: 22 "Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth".
Now, we do have an example of a true prophet who had an instance of believing he was speaking for God in 2nd Samuel 7. David has the idea that he will build the Temple to YHVH. And Nathan, speaking on his own with no forethought, says, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you” (2nd Samuel 7:3). He had not received a word from the Lord; he had not received a message or a dream or any such thing to indicate that the Lord was in what he was saying. And God corrected him that night. 2nd Samuel 7:5-6—5 “Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Would you build a house for Me to dwell in? 6 For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in a tent and in a tabernacle.”’” Nathan was not speaking prophetic words from God, but rather was being, so to speak, a supportive friend, and God corrected him that night. Most likely so it would not seem to the people that His prophets would speak a false prophecy, and so that office would continue in honor. So when Aaron and Miriam spoke against the prophet of God, it was not out of character for God to become angry with a righteous indignation. He is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5), and He is jealous over His people and those people He calls His servants. This should not make us afraid, but should rather make us happy, that He watches over us and will not allow us to be taken away from Him. CH Mackintosh—
Let us see to it that we be not found doing that which is so offensive to Him, even speaking against those who are dear to His heart. There is not a single one of God's people in whom we cannot find some good thing, provided only we look for it in the right way. Let us be occupied only with the good; let us dwell upon that, and seek to strengthen and develop it, in every possible way. And, on the other hand, if we have not been able to discover the good thing in our brother and fellow-servant; if our eye has only detected the crooked thing; if we have not succeeded in finding the vital spark amid the ashes — the precious gem among the surrounding rubbish; if we have only seen what was of mere nature, why then let us, with a loving and delicate hand, draw the curtain of silence around our brother, or speak of him only at the throne of grace.
Part 2 next week
