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Numbers Chapter 12

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¹ And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.

² And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it.

³ (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)

⁴ And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.

⁵ And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.

⁶ And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.

⁷ My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.

⁸ With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?

⁹ And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed.

¹⁰ And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.

¹¹ And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned.

¹² Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb.

¹³ And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.

¹⁴ And the LORD said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again.

¹⁵ And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.

¹⁶ And afterward the people removed from Hazeroth, and pitched in the wilderness of Paran.

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GiGi's Numbers Chapter 12 comment about verse 3 on 5/19/2023, 10:30am...

NUMBERS CHAPTER 12

Part 2

..as one would speak to another close friend.

vs. 3 speaks of the meekness of Moses. This small glimpse into the character of Moses is very telling. He was humbled by God in those years after fleeing from Pharoah to Midian. (From being the top man to Pharoah to being a refugee from him). He was humbled when he became a shepherd tending flocks in Midian. He was humbled when God appeared to him in the burning bush. He was humbled when God called him to stand before Pharoah demanding in the name of the LORD that Pharoah let God's people go. He was humbled through the encounters with the LORD on Mt. Sinai. He was humbled through all the years of leading the Israelites through the desert according to the way the LORD directed them with the pillar of fire and clouds. And above all, He was humbled by the calling of being the prophet of the LORD and both hearing directly from God and in being tasked with speaking the words of God to the people.

Since it was Miriam who was struck by God with leprosy, perhaps she was the one who started the murmuring and Aaron joined in with her. Aaron asked Moses to intercede for Miriam, and he did. Here Aaron understood that it was Moses who was the intercessor and not himself. Moses was the one who spoke face to face with the LORD, not himself.

Moses spoke to God to heal Miriam. God replied that Miriam will go through the ritual of the law for leprosy by being sent out from among the people for seven days. God could have healed Miriam right away. But He must have wanted to press the point of the consequences of rebelliousness are separation from God and His people.

After seven days the people were then led forward on their journey. They traveled from Hazeroth to the wilderness of Paran.

GiGi's Numbers Chapter 12 comment about verse 3 on 5/19/2023, 10:15am...

NUMBERS CHAPTER 12

This chapter starts out with the account of Miriam and Aaron murmuring against Moses. It seems that they spoke against the fact that Moses had married a woman. (Ethiopian) It is unclear if this is speaking of Zipporah, the Midianite woman Moses wed while in Midian after fleeing from Pharoah or of another wife Moses may have married while in Pharoah's court or perhaps from among the mixed multitude that came with the Israelites out of Egypt. So it is unclear if this passage is referring to Zipporah or to another wife of Moses. Either way, Miriam and Aaron murmured among the people concerning this wife. They did not come straight to Moses with their complaint, but spoke behind his back about this foreign wife. We do not know what the complaint about this wife entailed. Was it because she was a foreign wife or because Moses was influenced by this wife or was it something about this wife's personality that Miriam and Aaron had difficulty with. We don't know the details.

Also, Miriam and Aaron questioned if God only spoke through Moses but also by them. Were they jealous of Moses' special standing with God? Were they desirous of having such a close relationship with God as Moses had? The text does not make it very clear. However God was aware of their murmuring and called Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to the entrance to the tent of meeting. Did they think that God would not be aware of what they were speaking and thinking concerning Moses? They were going to soon find out.

When they came to the entrance, the presence of the Lord appeared and God confronted Miriam and Aaron about their sin. Addressing Miriam and Aaron, the Lord tells them that He chooses the prophet among them (who was Moses) and will make Himself know to him in a vision and speak to him in a dream (vs. 6)

Verse 7 says that Moses is not called in such ways, because Moses is faithful and God speaks with Moses as one would speak to another face to face.. continued

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