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You can turn in your Bibles to 
Numbers chapter 12. Numbers chapter 12. Remember 
the book received its name Numbers from the Septuagint, or the Greek 
translation, and basically the numbers refer to the two censuses, 
the census that begins the book, and then a census about halfway 
through, as a result of God's judgment upon the first generation. 
Remember, the census was specifically designed to number military-age 
men ready to fight, ready to go into the land of promise, 
and to conquer it as God had given them command. In the Hebrew, 
the book is called In the Wilderness. That's based on the first line 
in chapter 1. And so what we have is the wilderness 
wanderings takes us from the promise of God to the patriarchs, 
the deliverance of God, the deliverance of Israel by God out of Egypt, 
and then it sets the stage for the book of Deuteronomy when 
Moses exhorts that second generation to prepare them for entry into 
the promised land. And then, of course, Joshua leads 
that campaign. Joshua is a favorable view. of 
the conquest, Judges shows us that not all that glitters is 
gold, and there was still a lot of problems in Israel. And as 
a result, because of Israel's imitation of the Canaanites, 
the nations around them, they were called the dispossessed, 
they became like them, so subsequently they too were judged and ultimately 
cast out of the land. And the northern The northern 
tribes were cast out in about 722 B.C. through the Assyrian 
Empire, and then in about 586, Judah was shut down by the Babylonians 
under Nebuchadnezzar. So basically what we see in this 
section is the complaint of the people. We saw that last week 
in chapter 11. Tonight we see it extends to 
the leadership in the rebellion of Miriam and Aaron. So I'll 
read beginning in verse 1. Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against 
Moses because of the Ethiopian woman he had married, for he 
had married an Ethiopian woman. So 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 humble, more than all men who were on the 
face of the earth. Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, 
Aaron and Miriam, come out you three to the tabernacle of meeting. 
So the three came out. 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. 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. Not so with my servant Moses. 
He is faithful in all my house. 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? So the anger of the Lord was 
aroused against them, and he departed. And when the cloud 
departed from above the tabernacle, suddenly Miriam became leprous, 
as white as snow. Then Aaron turned toward Miriam, 
and there she was, a leper. So Aaron said to Moses, oh my 
Lord, please do not lay this sin on us in which we have done 
foolishly and in which we have sinned. Please do not let her 
be as one dead whose flesh is half consumed when he comes out 
of his mother's womb. So Moses cried out to the Lord 
saying, please heal her, oh God, I pray. Then the Lord said to 
Moses, if her father had but spit in her face, would she not 
be shamed seven days? Let her be shut out of the camp 
seven days, and afterward she may be received again. So Miriam 
was shut out of the camp seven days, and the people did not 
journey till Miriam was brought in again. And afterward, the 
people moved from Hazaroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran. 
Amen. Well, remember that there is 
an idealized version of what God says would happen when they 
wandered in the wilderness. In Exodus chapter 40, verses 
36 to 38, and then again in Numbers chapter 9, verses 15 to 23, God 
would guide the children of Israel through the wilderness to their 
destination, to the promised land, so that they could then 
receive that promise that God had given to Abraham, Isaac, 
and Jacob. But the realistic version is that the people of 
God complained, the people of God crumbled, the people of God 
whined, and the people of God invoked His judgment upon them. We saw that last week. The people 
complained. It was about food. They got sick 
and tired of the manna. Remember, they had not been out 
wandering that long. It had only been a couple of 
days. They were not starving. They had provision. They had 
plenty of manna. but they wanted meat. So God 
promised that he would give them meat, but it would be an act 
of judgment. So he tells Moses that specifically, and then that's 
fulfilled at the latter part of the chapter. As I said a little 
bit earlier, we see now that that contagion has spread to 
the leadership in Israel. So we'll look first at the rebellion 
of Miriam and Aaron, verses 1 to 3. Secondly, the explanation 
of Moses' authority in verses 4 to 8. And then finally, the 
execution of God's judgment in verses 9 to 16. Now there's some 
details here that are a bit difficult to work out, especially in the 
first couple of verses, but we'll just try to take a stab at what 
seems to be obvious in this section. But notice first the rebellion 
of Miriam and Aaron in verses 1 to 3. You'll note the complainers. Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against 
Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married. So 
the reference to Miriam, we know that she's a sister of Moses. 
We know that from the book of Exodus. We know as well that 
she prophesied according to Exodus chapter 15, verses 20 and 21. Certainly Aaron was a brother 
of Moses. We know that as well from the 
book of Exodus. but he was also a priest. We 
know that that was his particular inheritance. He served alongside 
of Moses. He functioned as the priest relative 
to the people of God. When it speaks first concerning 
Miriam, and then we see the judgment of God specifically directed 
against Miriam, we ought to suppose that she's the ringleader in 
this particular event. Now Aaron does include himself 
as guilty with her, But Aaron doesn't receive any judgment. 
Commentators speculate it was most likely because Aaron had 
a particular task that he had to carry out in terms of priestly 
conduct with reference to the people and with reference to 
God. Now their complaint is a bit 
difficult. Notice in verse 1, because of 
the Ethiopian woman whom he had married, for he had married an 
Ethiopian woman. So the options are Zipporah, 
and with a bit of cross-referencing we can see that Ethiopian and 
Cushite are basically the same or similar. So Zipporah was the 
wife of Moses, according to Exodus chapters 2, 4, and 18. Some speculate 
this was a second wife in addition to Zipporah, or that it was a 
wife after the death of Zipporah. Again, it's difficult for us 
to know with certainty, but if it was the original Zipporah, 
why did it take Miriam 40 years to complain about his marriage 
to an Ethiopian woman? But I think the context would 
indicate that it could in fact have been Zipporah. The issue, 
again, it's speculative in many ways, but based on what we find 
in the later part of the chapter, is that some have speculated 
that she was too involved with Moses' leadership. Perhaps she 
had a hand in selecting the 70 in Numbers 11 at verses 16 and 
following, or because she was a foreigner. Remember, there 
are foreigners mingled in with the people of God. Exodus chapter 
12 verse 38 tells us there were others, non-Israelites, that 
joined Israel in the Exodus out of Egypt. They would have been 
enslaved by Pharaoh. They would have seen that the 
children of Israel were acting on the promise of their God, 
and they thought, hey, let's join ourselves with them. We 
know there is a mixed multitude according to chapter 11. specifically 
at verse 4, now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to 
intense craving. So it's not just Israelites that 
we're dealing with in this particular section. So it could have been 
some sort of prejudice, perhaps even racially motivated. She 
could have had black skin. And it is interesting that, by 
way of irony, the leprosy inflicted upon Miriam turns her skin white 
as snow. But again, we don't know the 
specifics involved here, but one man, Robert Alter, says they 
mean to suggest that Moses' marital behavior is unworthy of a prophetic 
leader, and hence evidence that he does not deserve to be the 
exclusive vessel of prophecy. So whoever the woman is, whatever 
the specific issue is, as we move through the narrative, it 
does seem to be a challenge of Moses' leadership and authority. 
So whatever they were thinking in terms of Zipporah, or a subsequent 
wife to Zipporah, or an additional wife to Zipporah, they used that 
as a foil to challenge Moses' leadership with reference to 
the children of Israel. Now note then their question 
in verse 2. It says, so they said, has the 
Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? This is how we know to 
challenge ultimately against Moses. The wife, again, is a 
foil, a means by which they can level their real charge against 
Moses. So they said, has the Lord indeed 
spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us 
also? And the Lord heard it. So with 
reference to these two, Aaron had been an instrument or a vehicle 
by which God had spoken. We see that in Exodus 4 at verse 
30, and then again in Exodus 12 at verse 1. Miriam was a prophetess, 
and she spoke by the Lord as well in Exodus 15 at verses 20 
and 21. The issue seems to be one of 
privilege and authority, leadership. They saw him as perhaps dictatorial. They saw him perhaps as a tyrant. 
They saw him perhaps as taking too much upon his own shoulders, 
which the previous narrative simply mitigates against. If 
Moses was a dictator, if Moses was a tyrant, when God says, 
I want you to select 70 elders, he wouldn't have done that. And 
remember that Moses' lament or Moses' intercession in chapter 
11 was over that fact that he felt all alone. Notice in chapter 
11, specifically at verse 12, that I conceive all these people, 
that I beget them, that you should say to me, carry them in your 
bosom as a guardian carries a nursing child to the land which you swore 
to their fathers. Where am I to get meat to give 
to all these people? For they weep all over me, saying, 
Give us meat that we may eat. I am not able to bear all these 
people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me. If you treat 
me like this, please kill me here and now, if I have found 
favor in your sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness." 
Again, doesn't sound like the ramblings of a tyrannical lunatic 
that only wants to consolidate his own power. Now whatever we 
may think of that particular intercessory prayer, God thought 
it appropriate and God answers specifically. He answers again 
by telling Moses to gather to me, verse 16, 70 men of the elders 
of Israel. So God is going to equip Moses 
with further help and assistance so that he can execute his leadership 
and authority in the nation of Israel. God also in that section, 
at least indirectly, answers Moses' prayer because he's going 
to bring judgment upon the whiners and complainers that are craving 
meat. And so when it comes to this 
particular section with Miriam and Aaron, it's tough to know 
what kind of a bee got into their bonnet. It's tough to know what 
kind of thing got into their hearts. It's tough to basically 
surmise what it was that Moses had done. Well, I think there's 
some suggestions in the text that we'll look at in a moment. 
but they certainly have this rebellious attitude in that. 
And then with reference to them, the issue was exactly opposite 
to that of Joshua in chapter 11 at verse 28. Remember when 
the Spirit of the Lord comes upon the 70, and that man Eldad 
and Medad received the Spirit, and they prophesy, this is a 
caution, this is a bit of a warning sign to Joshua. So, verse 28 
says, Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, one of his 
choice men, answered and said, Moses, my lord, forbid that. Joshua was concerned at what 
could have been the compromise of Moses' leadership, his unique 
status as the one invested with authority and invested with that 
role of leadership. For Joshua, it seemed to be perhaps 
a compromise, and yet for Miriam and Aaron, they interpret these 
events and they see it completely opposite. Morales says, in contrast 
with Joshua, who had been jealous to defend Moses' unique status, 
Miriam and Aaron jealously deny Moses' status as Yahweh's unique 
prophet. Does the Lord only speak through 
Moses? Doesn't He speak through others 
as well? This is a classic case of envy. This is a classic case 
of covetousness. They wanted something that they 
did not have. When they saw the Spirit come 
upon Eldad and Medad, perhaps they were jealous that they themselves 
hadn't been included in that 70 to serve or function in that 
typical Sanhedrin. So Miriam and Aaron are upset 
at what is going on in terms of Moses' leadership in and amongst 
the children of Israel. Robert Alter says Moses responded 
to the prophesying of Eldad and Medad by wishing that the whole 
people might be endowed with the spirit of prophecy. Let's 
pick up in 1129. So Joshua gives his caution or 
his encouragement to Moses, and Moses' response is absolutely 
anti-dictatorial. It is absolutely anti-tyrannical 
or despotic. Then Moses said to him, Are you 
zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the Lord's people 
were prophets, and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them. 
And Moses returned to the camp, he and the elders of Israel. 
So again, whatever Miriam and Aaron are interpreting, they're 
doing it in the worst possible light. And that seems to happen 
with the people of God. Something happens in terms of 
a bee in the bonnet, and then everything that someone does 
is only bad ever. And I would suggest that we need 
to caution our hearts against that kind of a response. Usually, 
we're not dealing with Satan himself. Usually we're not dealing 
with Lucifer. We're dealing with brothers and 
sisters or leaders and followers. We're dealing with people that 
perhaps have gotten a bit off kilter, but it's probably not 
the case that they are the archfiend of hell himself. And so there 
ought to be a charity in our hearts relative to situations 
and circumstances such that we don't read into them the worst 
possible things that could possibly issue from that. Love doesn't 
do that according to the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 
13. Love takes a step back, love 
gathers itself, love contemplates, love considers, and love realizes 
that if this person is in fact a blood-bought child of God, 
it's probably not the case that everything they're doing is absolutely 
positively evil every step of the way. We need to cut people 
a break. Miriam and Aaron were not willing 
to do that. So back to altar. Moses responded 
to the prophesying of Eldad and Medad by wishing that the whole 
people might be endowed with the spirit of prophecy. In flagrant 
contrast, Miriam and Aaron pretend that their brother has been treating 
prophecy as a private monopoly, and their view of the prophetic 
spirit is of something one can seize as a means of privilege 
and power. And I would suggest that's along 
the lines of proper interpretation, and what's said into Miriam and 
Aaron is unconscionable. And we see that further with 
reference to, well, we'll look at verse 3 in a moment, but notice 
the end of verse 2, and the Lord heard it. Moses, we're not told, 
heard it. He may have. Others in the congregation 
may have. Typically, whining and complaining 
and grumbling likes an audience, right? And I think that's a pattern 
here in chapter 11. It's certainly going to be the 
case in chapters 13 and 14. So most likely, and this is perhaps 
why God acts the way God does in terms of his judgment of Miriam. 
He wants to send a message. When you question the leadership 
or the unique status of Moses, you're questioning the one that 
I positioned there. When you are challenging his 
authority, you are challenging the God who gave him that authority. So again, Moses doesn't respond 
to Miriam and Aaron. It's God who heard it, and it's 
God who responds through vengeance and judgment. So then notice, 
in terms of the gravity of the situation, I think that parenthetical 
note in verse 3 helps exacerbate, or rather, exacerbates their 
grumbling and their whining. In terms of the comment proper, 
it is unlikely that the most humble man on the face of the 
earth would write that about himself. In other words, if you 
see at the Christian bookseller a book called Humility and How 
I Mastered It by Joe Smith, it's probably not a good book to pick 
up. People that are humble don't 
celebrate their humility. They're just humble. People that 
are humble don't advertise that humility to others. That's why 
Jesus says, when you fast, don't be like the Pharisees. Rather, 
anoint your face with oil. Go around with joy in your heart. What's the contrast? Most likely, 
the Pharisees, you could tell when they were fasting, because 
their faces weren't anointed with oil, and they looked miserable. They were hangry, and everybody 
understood it and knew it. So with reference to verse 3, 
it most likely indicates that there was an editor involved. 
Now divine inspiration does not militate against an editor. I think that the book of Psalms 
was edited. I don't mean the words. but I 
mean the shape of the Psalter as a whole. The Psalter is referred 
to as David in the book of Hebrews. We know that David didn't write 
all of the Psalms, but most likely under David, one of his men compiled 
or edited the Psalms and put them in categories. If you look 
at the Psalms, they're broken down into five books. Those are 
collections that you find that have the similar themes or emphases 
involved. And so verse 3 is an editorial 
comment concerning Moses. And again, that editorial comment 
suggests just the opposite of what Miriam and Aaron are accusing 
him of. He's not a dictator. He's not 
a tyrant. Dictators and tyrants don't pray 
intercessorily the way that Moses prays in chapter 11. Dictators 
and tyrants don't appoint 70 elders to assist them in their 
task the way that Moses does in chapter 11. Moses is faithful 
to God. Moses is the most humble man 
in the world. And as well, had Moses known 
of their complaint, he chose to ignore it. Again, God heard 
it. God initiates the judgment. God 
chastises Miriam and Aaron. It's not Moses saying, how dare 
you question my authority? I'm the despot. I'm the tyrant. I'm the dictator. Off with your 
heads. That's not what the most humble 
man in the world does. As well, the fact that he was 
the most humble underscores the gravity of their complaint. Moses 
was not in this for himself. In fact, in that intercessory 
prayer in chapter 11, he was all too willing to be checked 
out. God, if you find favor with me, 
kill me. That's an interesting prayer. 
If you find favor with me, kill me. Let it be a mercy from you 
based on your favor of me to remove me from this situation 
because I alone am unable to bear the burdens of so many people. Remember the contrast. Moses 
couldn't alone bear those burdens. Jesus, according to Matthew 11, 
does bear the burdens of his people. Come to me, all you who 
are weary and heavy laden. Bring your burden of sin and 
cast it upon the Lord of glory for forgiveness and for an imputed 
righteousness received by faith alone. So all throughout the 
Pentateuch, we see the wonder, the excellence, the magnificence 
of the man Moses, but he always falls short. There's one hero 
in Scripture, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ. And as good 
as Moses was, and as humble as Moses was, nevertheless, he paled 
in significance to the Lord Jesus Christ. And so Moses is not in 
this for himself. He is in it for God's glory, 
he's in it for the good of Israel, and he is in it by the command 
of God himself. A command he is willing, as I 
said, to take himself out from under and pass into the heavenly 
Jerusalem. So that then brings us to the 
explanation of Moses' authority. That's the issue. It's not the 
Ethiopian woman. It's not his wife. It's not Zipporah. It's Moses' leadership. They 
have interpreted Moses in the worst possible light. And so 
God is going to bring to them judgment so that everybody in 
Israel doesn't interpret everything that Moses does in the worst 
possible light. And I should qualify that. That 
doesn't mean that we let people get away with sin, but it means 
we don't magnify them to the point where only ever they are 
sinful. We are apt to do that, and this 
is a classic example of this. So notice, under the explanation 
of Moses' authority, first the meeting in verses 4 and 5. Note 
that word in verse 4, suddenly. Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, 
That's interesting. God understands the contagion 
of complaint. And in chapter 11, it's the mixed 
multitude and the children of Israel. In chapter 12, it has 
come now to the leadership, right into Moses' family with reference 
to Miriam and Aaron. And so God doesn't say, I'm going 
to let this play out for a few days. We'll see what happens. 
We'll see if they get over it. We'll see if they make peace 
with their brother and settle their score. Nope. God comes 
to crush that rebellion immediately. Matthew Poole says with reference 
to suddenly, partly to show his great respect unto Moses and 
unto the grace of meekness, and partly to stifle the beginnings 
of the sedition, that this example might not spread amongst the 
people who had too much of that leaven among them. That leaven 
among them is in chapter 11. That leaven among them is going 
to continue into chapters 13 and 14. That leaven among them 
is going to extend again to leadership in chapter 16. That leaven is 
tough to kill. That mutiny, that sedition, that 
rebellion. And again, for this to happen, 
to get from Egypt to the plains of Moab, then into the promised 
land, is no small feat. Moses isn't taking a Boy Scout 
troop out. He's not got 12-year-olds and 
a tent and some hot dogs and stuff for s'mores. He's got a 
lot of people under his charge. Remember, the order of the camp 
is in such a way that it is that. It is orderly. It is military. It is such that they need to 
be able to pack up. They need to be able to march 
off. They need to be able to keep it together. So sedition 
and mutiny is a surefire way to capsize this particular boat. That's why on ships, mutiny against 
the captain is never looked at as a favorable thing. You cast 
the captain over the side of the ship, you may just realize 
once you start to veer off course, Perhaps we needed him. Perhaps 
he made the big bucks because he knew how to navigate these 
particular waters. Perhaps we shouldn't have been 
so hasty in throwing him off the ship's side. So this is a 
great undertaking and Moses has authority invested in him by 
God. And then in terms of the nature 
of the meeting, notice again in verses 4 and 5. So suddenly 
the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, come out you three 
to the tabernacle of meeting. So the three came out. So he 
gives this instruction, and then notice he includes Miriam and 
Aaron. which underscores and highlights 
and evidences that what they said is absolutely true. Has the Lord indeed spoken only 
through Moses? Verse 2. Has He not spoken through 
us also? They acknowledge it. They understand 
it. They had been vehicles or instruments 
previously. They just want more. They just 
want their comeuppance. They want their time in the spotlight. They want to shine. They want 
more of the Spirit. If Eldad and Medad, these newcomers 
on the block, got a measure of the Spirit, we want some of that 
too. It's dangerously close to Simon the Magician in Acts chapter 
8. He wanted the gift of the Holy 
Spirit. It would help his magic act. Imagine that. If you had 
the power of the Spirit when you're doing sleight of hand, 
or when you're engaged in trying to move the forces of nature 
around so that people give you money. We get the word simony 
from that. The attempt to purchase divine 
power to manipulate the forces of nature or the supernatural. And so it is obvious what these 
people want. God had used them, but he hadn't 
used them enough. And they were tired of watching 
Moses get all of that glory. I guess Moses would have probably 
said, what glory? Are you kidding me? Glory? You 
call this glory? If you'd have been in my prayer 
closet with me back in chapter 11, you would have heard what 
I thought about this glory. I asked God to kill me. If he's 
favorable toward me, remove me from this situation. And then 
God indicts them. So he indicts him as we move 
through the narrative. Notice in verse 5, so 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. So the three are assembled, but 
he addresses specifically here Aaron and Miriam, the very thing 
they crave, the very thing they want. As I said last week, be 
careful what you ask for. The people of Israel in chapter 
11 wanted meat. We need to make sure we get it. 
I've already said it tonight. I probably said it five times 
last week. They weren't hungry. In fact, look at 11, 7 to 9. Now the manna was like coriander 
seed and its color like the color of delium. The people went about 
and gathered it, ground it on millstones, or beat it in the 
mortar, cooked it in pans, and made cakes of it. And its taste 
was like the taste of pastry prepared with oil. And when the 
dew fell on the camp in the night, the manna fell on it." That's 
not a menu. That shows the various and manifold 
ways one can use manna. It is a highly useful item. They'd only been out a few days, 
they had plenty of food to sustain them, but they wanted meat. And 
here's where I say, be careful what you ask for. Notice in verse 
18, Then you shall say to the people, consecrate yourselves 
for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat. For you have wept in the 
hearing of the Lord, saying, who will give us meat to eat? 
For it was well with us in Egypt." There's the problem. They didn't 
just want the meat in Egypt. They wanted the who that supplied 
the meat in Egypt. Who will give us meat? Well, 
back in Egypt, we had it freely. Again, completely out of their 
minds. They were slaves. They didn't 
have it freely, they worked for it, they were beaten for it. 
But their hankering wasn't so much meat, their hankering was 
for another God. That's the problem of these people. Notice in verse 18, Therefore 
the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. You shall 
eat not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, 
nor twenty days. but for a whole month, until 
it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you." 
That's just here we need to qualify. This is not vindictiveness. This 
is not pettiness. This is not the angry father 
that starts swinging the stick around at his children. This 
is the God of absolute righteousness and glory, who gives us the reason 
and rationale, because you have despised the Lord who is among 
you, and have wept before Him, saying, Why did we ever come 
up out of Egypt? That's the rationale for the 
latter part of chapter 11. Notice verse 31. Now a wind went out from the 
Lord, and it brought quail from the sea, and left them fluttering 
near the camp, about a day's journey on this side, and about 
a day's journey on the other side, all around the camp, and 
about two cubits above the surface of the ground. And the people 
stayed up all that day, or all that day, all night, and all 
the next day, and gathered the quail. Huh. God's command was 
consecrate yourselves. God's lesson was always gratitude. When the Lord gives you quail, 
numerous quail out of heaven, stop for a moment, bow your heads, 
offer up a prayer of gratitude, praise, and thanksgiving, and 
then commence according to instruction. They're acting like animals. 
They're acting like beasts. Notice, such that they gathered 
so much. He who gathered least gathered 
ten homers. If you're interested, you can 
ask Catherine after this study tonight. She has all the data, 
the facts, and the math. And they spread them out for 
themselves all around the camp. Notice in verse 33, I think this 
perplexes people. They asked for meat, God promised 
meat, God gave them meat, they start eating meat, and God kills 
them. He's not vindictive and he's not petty. He is fulfilling 
the promise that he made to Moses. I'm going to give them meat and 
it's going to be so much, so abundant, they're going to vomit 
it out. It's going to come out of their 
nostrils. This verse 33 is an act of God's judgment. They weren't 
hungry, they weren't far in the wilderness, they were hankering 
not just for food, but they were hankering for Egypt and the plentiful 
gods that were there that seemed to satisfy and cater to all their 
needs. They wanted leeks, they wanted 
melon, they wanted garlic, they wanted onions, they wanted all 
those things along with meat. And as far as they had been able 
to tell at this point, God of Israel has only given us this 
manna, and we're quite sick of the manna, thank you very much. So again, be careful what you 
ask for. So here in chapter 12, Miriam 
and Aaron want some face time with God. Well, they're going 
to get face time with God, and it's not going to work out very 
well with reference to their particular request. So notice 
in verse 6, then God said, hear now my words. If there is a prophet 
among you, I, the Lord, make myself known to him in vision. 
I speak to him in a dream. So the revelation to the prophets 
by vision and dream. The entirety of the Old Testament 
teaches us that. Vision and dream. That is a revelatory 
mechanism or vehicle or instrument by which God gives His Word. He's not denigrating that. He's 
not saying this is second-class revelation. You don't really 
have to pay attention to that if it came by vision or it came 
by dream. He's not putting down the revelatory 
process to the prophet through vision or dream. Rather, he is 
underscoring or he is highlighting Moses' unique status as the leader, 
as the one invested with authority, as the one given responsibility 
that Miriam and Aaron don't have. Remember that when you're gifted 
like Moses, you got a lot of responsibility. And this is something 
that Miriam and Aaron had not taken into consideration. They're 
going to feel a bit of it after this little event, but then notice 
in verse 7. So the contrast here isn't prophetic 
message by vision and dream bad, and prophetic message by word 
to Moses good. No, it's good, but Moses possesses 
or has a unique status in Israel. So notice in verse 7, Not so 
with my servant Moses, he is faithful in all my house. I speak 
with him face to face, even plainly, and not in dark sayings, and 
he sees the form of the Lord. So the faithfulness of Moses 
in all of God's house. You see that language picked 
up by the apostle in Hebrews chapter 3 as he's stressing the 
faithfulness of Jesus over the house of God, just like Moses 
had been faithful in all his house. And probably all his house 
here means not just Moses abode with Zipporah, And not just the 
children of Israel, but the tabernacle, and the cult, and the very covenant 
community itself. Moses is a faithful man. He is 
over them. But then that language, I speak 
with him face to face. We see that encounter in Exodus 
chapter 33. Now, of course, God says you 
can't see me the way that you see creature. Exodus 33 20. God makes it very clear. You 
cannot see me. I will put you in the cleft of 
the rock. I will pass by you and you can 
see my hind parts. You can see my backside as it 
were." And even then, brethren, it's not like Moses saw an apparition 
or some form. It is rather a manifestation 
in a special way of God's presence. And so he reveals that to Moses 
and he uses that language of face-to-face. Again, suggesting 
to us something about the unique status of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
John 1-1 is a face-to-face sort of encounter. In the beginning 
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 
There is a face-to-face connection in terms of the Son with the 
Father, and that is what John brings out, very much so in the 
prologue. So God says, we speak face-to-face, 
plainly, and not in dark sayings. He sees the form of the Lord. And technically, as I've said, 
Moses didn't see the Lord. No one has seen God, right? John 1, 18. But the only begotten 
Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. When you're reading Moses' narratives, 
think of Jesus. Because so much of what happens 
to Moses is typical, or foreshadows, or prefigures, or gives us glimpses 
in Old Covenant prophecy concerning the glory that is our Lord Jesus 
Christ. Morales says, Yahweh's defense 
of Moses' unique status as his servant, will serve as a response 
to and clarification of the previous chapter, which may have left 
the impression that others, by virtue of their prophesying, 
have mitigated Moses' authority." So Morales not only sees its 
application to the specific rebellion by Miriam and Aaron, but extends 
that out to the giving of the Spirit at the appointment of 
the 70, such that persons might, like Joshua, say, well, wait 
a minute, we can't have the Holy Spirit just kind of coming on 
all these different people. And then you've got others who 
are saying, well, I want the Holy Spirit, I want more Holy 
Spirit. It's almost calling, well, it 
is calling into question the Lord's sovereignty, the Lord's 
providence. If we trust God who gave the 
promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to fulfill those promises 
in the conquest under Joshua, we have to trust God in the wilderness 
to get us from point A to point B. And if that God who is faithful 
in promise and faithful in fulfillment can't get us from point A to 
point B, then guess what? He's not faithful in promise 
and he's not faithful in fulfillment. So along the way, the children 
of Israel need to learn that don't question God. That's the 
lesson here. It's not, don't question Moses. The lesson is, don't question 
God. Don't challenge the authority 
of the Most High. If the Most High conveyed special 
status upon Moses, you need to respect that, you need to understand 
that, and you need to operate in light of that. And then notice 
the indictment at the end of verse 8. Why then were you not 
afraid to speak against my servant Moses? That's not rhetorical. That's real. If, in fact, The 
Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, the Deliverer of the 
children of Israel out of the bondage of Egypt, the Promiser 
that is going to bring you into that land flowing with milk and 
honey, the Promiser who through that body is going to bring Messiah, 
who's going to function as Savior of the world. If I set up Moses 
as my representative, why were you not afraid to challenge him? That's a great question there. 
Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? David has some of this when it 
comes to his beef with Saul. David had opportunity. David 
had the prerogative to cut Saul's throat and dispatch him. David 
had plenty of men at his behest that would have done that deed 
handily and effectively and without any complaint and would have 
rejoiced after with a nice big steak. But what did David say? 
Touch not the Lord's anointed. David understood that Saul occupied 
the office of king because Yahweh of Israel put him there. Again, 
brethren, the issue here is a challenge against the authority of the 
Most High God. That brings us then thirdly and 
finally to the execution of God's judgment. Notice verse 9, an 
expression of His justice. So the anger of the Lord was 
aroused against them, and He departed. The anger of the Lord 
is not new in this section. Look at 11.1. Now when the people 
complained, it displeased the Lord, for the Lord heard it, 
and His anger was aroused. Notice in verse 10. Then Moses 
heard the people weeping throughout their families, everyone at the 
door of his tent, and the anger of the Lord was greatly aroused. 
Moses also was displeased." And then of course in verse 33, "...but 
while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, 
the wrath of the Lord was aroused against the people, and the Lord 
struck the people with a very great plague." So God's anger 
was aroused and God departed. And again, I think both of those 
are spoken in the manner of men. There's no movement in terms 
of God with reference to passion. He doesn't move from one state 
to another. This is an analogical predication 
concerning His righteousness and His judgment relative to 
the sinfulness of man. And as well, departed. There's 
no local motion in God. God is omnipresent. It means 
He's everywhere present. God is immense. That means He 
fills all of His creation. But it means, in the manner of 
man, that in his displeasure he departs from them. It's kind 
of like the father who chastens the children and then walks out 
of the room. That's the image that is conveyed 
there for us and one that we can sink our spiritual teeth 
into. So that's his judgment expressed, justice expressed. Now notice the judgment in verses 
10 to 16. The judgment upon Miriam, verse 
10. And when the cloud departed from 
above the tabernacle, suddenly Miriam became leprous, as white 
as snow." Miriam became leprous, as white as snow. Now the word 
leprosy is used here. It's some form of skin disease. Scholars say that leprosy or 
Hansen's disease wasn't in the Middle East or ancient Near East 
until New Testament times. I have no idea, but this is as 
good a rendition of skin disease as any that I know. It certainly 
suggests things like uncleanness, ceremonially impurity. There's 
a quarantine time. I think it's at least 14 days. 
Here we see it's only seven. Most likely the leprosy was lifted, 
but the shame incurred so that she needs to stay outside the 
camp for that seven-day period. Numbers chapter 5, verses 2 to 
4 highlights ceremonial purity or cleanliness, to be able to 
participate in the camp, to be able to participate in the cult, 
to be able to participate in all of the religious activities 
conducted by Israel. So God inflicts her with this 
leprosy for her having challenged the authority ultimately of God, 
but specifically with reference to his representative Moses. 
And then notice in the middle of verse 10, then Aaron turned 
toward Miriam and there she was, a leper. And that then invokes 
from Aaron this appeal. Notice in verse 11, he confesses 
sin. Verse 11, so Aaron said to Moses, 
oh my Lord, please do not lay this sin on us in which we have 
done foolishly and in which we have sinned. That's good. When confronted with sin, he 
owns his sin. That's Proverbs 28 13, brethren. That's not a new thing with Solomon. That's always God's way. If you 
cover your transgression, you will not prosper. But the one 
who confesses and forsakes it will find mercy. Proverbs 28, 
13. We have a version of Proverbs 
28, 13 in the New Testament. If we confess our sins, He is 
faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all 
unrighteousness. See, the worst thing about being, 
or worse than being found out in sin, is doubling down in that 
sin. Aaron doesn't say, well wait 
a minute, it was all Miriam. I told her she was barking up 
the wrong tree, Moses. I told her that you had unique 
status. I told her that the provision 
of the Spirit that we have, the prophesying that we've gotten 
to engage in, I told her that was enough. Aaron doesn't do 
that. His heart was complicit. His 
heart was involved. She may have been the ringleader, 
but she was leading a particular ring. And he was right there 
with her in this. So Aaron says, oh my Lord, please 
do not lay this sin on us in which we have done foolishly 
and in which we have sinned. Which incidentally, Moses is 
in fact the humblest man in the world because he invokes God 
on their behalf, according to verse 13. The tyrant, despot, 
Dictator would say, off with your heads. How dare you challenge 
my authority? Perhaps he hadn't heard it. God's 
just making him aware of it now. He gets wind of this and he says, 
wait a minute. I can't have my leadership challenged. I can't have a mutiny on my hands. 
I can't have sedition or a coup. I gotta get rid of you, Miriam. 
I gotta get rid of you, Aaron. That's not Moses' disposition. 
Everything in the narrative speaks exactly the opposite to the charge 
proffered by Miriam and Aaron. But then notice as well, there's 
ironies all throughout this section. Look at verse 12. So verse 11 
is confession. Verse 12 is petition. Please 
do not let her be as one dead, whose flesh is half consumed 
when he comes out of his mother's womb. Huh, weren't you just complaining 
along with Miriam that God had special access to Moses? Well, that special access to 
Moses is paying rich dividends now for you, Aaron. Isn't it 
good that Moses does speak to God face-to-face? Isn't it good 
that Moses has intercessory capacity with God? It's a wonderful thing. It's worked out in your favor. 
When commentator Timothy Ashley says, Aaron intercedes with Moses, 
who in turn intercedes with Yahweh for Miriam's restoration. Here 
again the irony is obvious. Aaron, who wanted to be able 
to be like his brother in the latter's role as a speaker for 
Yahweh, is forced to intercede with Moses, who intercedes with 
God. Again, another lesson here is 
just do it God's way. God's wise. God's good. God knows how to get a big group 
of people from point A to point B. Saint God's first rodeo. He's infinite, eternal, and unchangeable. 
I'm not suggesting He had another earth and another deliverance 
and all that sort of a thing. But all knowledge is always His 
all the time. So there's never a sense where 
it's God's first rodeo. He knew exactly what he was doing. 
And here Aaron makes the case that Aaron was arguing against 
previously. It's a good thing that Moses 
has this kind of intercession capability. And then as far as 
the limitation of Aaron, Morales says, even as high priest, Aaron 
is powerless to heal Miriam. The priest's role being merely 
diagnosis. Now the priest didn't heal your 
leprosy. They just quarantined you. They 
just kind of made sure you didn't mix with non-lepers. Priest didn't 
have the capacity to give you the whammy and heal you from 
head to toe. And so it necessitated the intercession 
of Moses on behalf of this situation. So Moses does that because Moses 
is a wonderful human being according to verse 13. He's not petty. He's not proud. He's not arrogant. He doesn't say, well, Miriam 
can stew in it for a while. Let her ponder the error of her 
ways. And once I think she's had enough, then I'll invoke 
the mercies of God. Now Moses does it right away. 
So Aaron petitions, verse 12, Moses intercedes, verse 13. So Moses cried out to the Lord, 
saying, Please heal her, O God, I pray. So Moses is needing to 
get used to this. He's going to have to intercede 
in Numbers 14. He's going to have to intercede 
in Numbers 21. He's going to have to go to that 
throne of grace on behalf of the sinning covenant people more 
times than not. And then that brings us finally 
to the command of God in verses 14 and 15. Notice, he gives this 
analogy of spitting in the face. Then the Lord said to Moses, 
if her father had but spit in her face, would she not be shamed 
seven days? Again, I think it's quite likely 
he lifted the leprosy. But the shame of her rebellion, 
the shame of her challenge of God's authority, the shame of 
her challenge of Moses' authority, she is going to have to stew 
in that. And not her and her alone, but the rest of the people, 
so that they can learn. Don't challenge Moses. He has 
unique status. It's not just by vision or dream, 
but it's face to face. It's not oblique or dark or hidden, 
but it's plain. He's a friend of God. He has 
seen the form of the Lord. So this seven-day period where 
Miriam is not allowed into the camp of Israel, and by the way, 
there's no journeying. There's stationary. They're still 
at Hazeroth. We see that in chapter 11, verse 
4, and then this chapter in verse 16 ends. It's only then that 
they depart from Hazeroth. People have often said, well, 
how come it took them so long to get from point A to point 
B when point A to point B wasn't 40 years? Well, because of this 
kind of stuff. When you don't proceed orderly, 
when you don't proceed militaristically, when you don't proceed without 
complaining and whining and grumbling, you don't make good time. And 
so they had to spend that seven days. Now this convention, spitting, 
it's used in a legal context in Deuteronomy 25.9. It's also 
suggestive of insult and shame. You see it in a servant song 
of Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 50 verse 6, where the servant says, 
he turned his face to their spitting. That's obviously fulfilled in 
our Lord Jesus, who is the servant of Yahweh in Matthew's gospel 
at chapter 26 verse 67. When he's before the Sanhedrin 
and they slap him, they also spit in his face. What is the 
spitting in the face? insult and shame. So what God 
says to Moses, if her father had but spit in her face, which 
is far less than the divinely imposed leprosy that she now 
bears, she would have been outcast for seven days. So God says she's 
going to be outcast for seven days. The middle of verse 14. 
Let her be shut out of the camp seven days and afterwards she 
may be received again. That's mercy. That's grace. God 
doesn't chop her head off and throw her out into a ditch. God 
does chasten, God sends the message, God communicates to Israel, it's 
no bueno for you to challenge my authority by challenging Moses 
who has unique status under me. And then of course the people 
comply. What else could they have done? Verse 15, so Moses, 
I'm sorry, Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days, and the 
people did not journey till Miriam was brought in again. And afterward, 
the people moved from Hazaroth and camped in the wilderness 
of Paran. Well, in conclusion, I think 
the contagion of complaint ought to be evident in this section. 
And that contagion of complaint is gonna be carried over into 
numbers 13 and 14. This idea that whatever we see that is 
displeasing necessitates complaint, whining, and grumbling on our 
part. That may be Canadian, it may 
be American, it may be Adamic, but it's not godly. This idea 
that whatever displeases us. Now, brethren, I'm not picking 
on you. I'm preaching to at least one of us here. This contagion 
spreads. Proverbs 6, 19. that section, 
there are six things that Yahweh hates, yea, seven are an abomination 
to Him. The last, or the second to last 
rather, is one who sows discord among the brethren. Isn't complaint 
a vehicle or instrument to sow discord? Isn't that how mutiny 
arises? Well, this captain or this Moses, 
he thinks he has special status. What happens with that? Taken 
to its logical conclusion, you end up with a coup. And that's 
what God is quelling. That's what God is crushing in 
this particular instance. To get this lot from point A 
to point B necessitates Moses and Aaron functioning in the 
way that God stationed them to and the people following. The 
psalmist celebrates this. The psalms refer to this. It 
was by the appointment of God that Moses and Aaron functioned 
to shepherd the children of Israel. In chapter 11, Timothy Ashley 
says, the people, led by the rabble, rebelled against Moses 
and ultimately Yahweh. But the people's leaders were 
not involved in this struggle, other than Moses himself. The 
present narrative widens the rebellion to include Moses' own 
family. That's another thing that's pretty 
shocking. If you can't trust your own sister 
and your brother, that's pretty bad. Kind of gives you a window 
into why, at times, Moses prays the way that he prays and why 
he could possibly feel all alone at times. Because when his own 
sister and his own brother are whining or complaining about 
his station or status before God and over the people, it's 
got to be a lonely gig. And so Moses now feels that challenge 
intimately in his own family. And as far as this contagion 
of complaint, we've got the paralysis of progress. You ain't moving 
the ball down the field to the promised land when you're doing 
this. You're not advancing the kingdom of Jesus Christ when 
there is the sowing of discord or disunity among the brethren. 
If we're not about Ephesians 4, 1 to 6, endeavoring to keep 
the spirit, or keep the peace, I'm sorry, the unity of the spirit 
and the bond of peace, if we're not doing that, we're not moving 
the ball down the field. This is a wonderful illustration 
of that. Seven days would have been a 
lot of advance in terms of this particular journey. And then, 
of course, it invokes the displeasure of God. But as I said, in this 
see Moses as backdrop to the glory of Jesus Christ, the one 
who is faithful in all his house, the one who is face to face with 
God, the father, the one who images God, the father. So if 
Moses had unique status based on verses seven and eight, What 
does Jesus Christ bear based on John 1, 1 to 18? Well, let 
us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank 
you for your word. We thank you for its practicality 
in the life of the church. We thank you for your goodness 
and your graciousness to us and for these records that we have 
concerning Moses, and the way that Moses points us even more 
so to the Lord Jesus Christ, that wonderful, humble servant 
of God Most High, who didn't turn his face from spitting, 
who took upon himself the slaps of the Sanhedrin, ultimately 
took and bore the wrath and fury of God the Father for us men 
and for our salvation. We thank you for his death and 
his resurrection, his ascension on high, and his current session 
now at your right hand. And God, I pray that you would 
go with us now, keep us safe in the remainder of the week, 
watch over all of our brothers and sisters, give grace to your 
people, cause us to love you, cause us to grow in that love 
and to know you intimately and joyfully. And we ask this through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, any questions or 
comments on anything but Moses' wife?