Bereans Corner
Bereans Corner
Thru the Bible - #126 -Numbers 12 - The Murmuring of Miriam and Aaron
Welcome to Berean's Corner, the podcast where we go through books of the Bible chapter by chapter and verse by verse, wherever you are in the world. Thank you for joining. Grab a glass of water, a cup of coffee or tea and let's get into today's lesson. All right, thank you for joining me. Open your Bible to Numbers, chapter 12. The title of today's lesson is the Murmuring of Miriam and.
Speaker 1:Aaron, lesson is the murmuring of Miriam and Aaron. For those of you who are new here, what we do is we bring in the reader first and then we go into the lesson, like to always bring the reader in first. That way, you get the scripture into your mind in its context and then we go back and we break it down verse by verse in its context. Of course, if you are new here, we would appreciate it if you start all the way back to the beginning, because the whole point of this is to go through the Bible in chronological order. But for today we are in Numbers, chapter 12, and let's read.
Speaker 2:Numbers 12. 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.
Speaker 2: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.
Speaker 2: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 until she was brought back. And the people did not move on until she was brought back. After that the people left Hazroth and encamped in the desert of Paran.
Speaker 1:Welcome back Now. The last time we were together, we looked at the complaining of Israel. Today, the complaining continues as Miriam and Aaron complain about Moses and his wife. Now what we've done is we broke down this chapter into seven parts. Part one Miriam and Aaron speak. We see this in verses one to two. Then 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 as well? And the Lord heard it. Now there has been much speculation as to why Miriam and Aaron spoke out against Moses, but verse one says because of the Cushite woman whom he had married. Now, the reasons for this could be many. It could be because of some legal codes that they have, it could be because of Moses first wife still being in the picture Moses first wife, zipporah. So just to refresh, keep your finger right here, but go back to Exodus, chapter 2, exodus, chapter 2, and we're going to look at verses 15 through 21 to give us a refresher.
Speaker 1:When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he tried to kill Moses. This is after Moses had killed the Egyptian, but Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian and he sat down by a well. Now the priest of Midian has seven daughters and they came to draw water and fill the troughs, to water their father's flock. Then the shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock. When they came to Raul, their father, he said why have you come back as so soon today? So they said, an Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds and, what is more, he even drew the water for us and watered the flock. Sorry, and and he said to his daughters where is he then? Why is it that you have left the man behind? Invite him to have something to eat. And Moses was willing to dwell with the man and he gave his daughter, zipporah, to Moses. So that's a refresher who Zipporah is now Midian. Where Zipporah is from is modern-day Saudi Arabia, so it is safe to assume that Zipporah was of Arabic ethnicity, but the scripture does not tell us what happened to her. Maybe she passed away, or maybe she went back to her father's house, or it could be because Moses' new wife is a Cushite now. Cush is what the land south of Egypt and Libya was called. Those lands would be Sudan, eritrea, djibouti and Ethiopia, where Moses' new wife was from. So Miriam and Aaron could have a racial thing going.
Speaker 1:But you also have to notice something that was said in verse 2. And they said has the Lord indeed only spoke through Moses? Has he not spoken through us as well? So it also could be that Miriam and Aaron have an issue because Moses is doing the speaking for the Lord, because the Lord is not using them in the same way that he used Moses. But we have to look at what the scripture says. Verse one said because of the Cushite woman. So, as I mentioned, there could be many reasons why Miriam and Aaron had issues with this.
Speaker 1:Moving on to part two, the Lord spoke. Notice verses three to four. Now, the man, moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth. And suddenly the Lord said to Moses and Aaron and to Miriam you three come out to the tent of meeting. So the three of them came out. The scripture says the Lord spoke to all three of them. So this wasn't an issue where he just spoke to Moses, but he spoke to Moses, aaron and Miriam. Remember Miriam brought up and said, or I should say Miriam and Aaron said is the Lord only spoke to the most. Now the Lord is speaking to all three of them, which moves us on to part three.
Speaker 1:The Lord calls Miriam and Aaron out. We see this in verses five to nine. Then the Lord came down In a pillar of cloud and stood at the doorway of the tent and he called Aaron and Miriam. When they had both come forward. He said hear now my words. If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, shall make myself Known to him. In a vision. I shall speak with him in a dream, not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my household. With him I speak mouth to mouth. Knows what the Lord said. Yes, aaron is different and he is called different. That's why I deal with him different. With him I speak mouth to mouth, even openly, and not in a dark saying, and he beholds the form of the Lord. When they then sorry, why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant, against Moses? So what? The I'm sorry? One more verse. So the anger of the Lord burned against them and he departed. So the Lord is telling them if you knew these things. He's talking to Aaron and Miriam. If you know how I've dealt with Moses, why were you not afraid to speak up against him? I'm using him mightily. Yes, I do speak to some of you in visions and dreams, but him I speak to face to face, mouth to mouth.
Speaker 1:Part four the Lord departs, but he leaves a plague on miriam. Notice verse 10. Sorry, let's go, let's go. Let's go back to verse 9 and do 9 and 10. So the anger of the lord burned against them and he departed. But when the cloud had withdrawn from over the tent, behold, miriam was leprous as white as snow. As aaron turned towards miriam, behold, she was leprous. Now, as you all remember, leprosy was a huge disease in that time, and what it did was it basically put these scabs or these scales on your body. That was very, very white once again. Not white as we know a European to be or white American to be, but white like snow. It was like a powder, kind of like powdered sugar, was poured on you.
Speaker 1:Part five Aaron cries out to Moses for forgiveness. Notice verses 11 and 12. Then Aaron said to Moses oh my Lord, I beg you, do not account this sin to us, in which we have acted foolishly and in which we have sin. Oh, do not let her be like one dead whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes from his mother's womb. So now Aaron is crying out, because now the Lord has put the action on them and actually put it on Miriam. Now Aaron is crying out for his sister. Part six Moses cries out to the Lord to heal his sister. Verse 13 Moses cried out to the Lord saying oh God, heal her, I pray. Even though they're going through all of this, moses still cares about his sister and actually Moses and Miriam have a relationship. Let's look at their relationship. Keep your finger right here. Go back to Exodus A little bit ago I had you in Exodus chapter two. We're going to go back a little earlier in Exodus chapter two. So you can kind of see the relationship that they had.
Speaker 1:Exodus, chapter 2. We're going to look at verses 1 through 8. Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi and the woman conceived and bore a son and when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got him a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile and his sister stood at a distance to find out what would happen to him. We know that the baby in the basket is Moses, the sister is Miriam. Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile with her maidens walking along the Nile, and she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid and she brought it to her. When she opened it she saw the child and behold, the boy was crying and she had pity on him and said this is one of the Hebrews children. Then his sister, that's Miriam, said to Pharaoh's daughter shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women that she may nurse the child for you? And Pharaoh's daughter said to her go ahead. So the girl went and called the child's mother. So Moses and Miriam have a relationship. Of course, miriam is a little bit older. I'm not exactly how old Miriam is, but we know she's older than Moses because Moses is three months or so and she is a bigger child because she's running along the river to see what would happen to him.
Speaker 1:And now we get to part seven. God responds to Moses plea verses 14 to 16. But the Lord said to Moses let's go back to 13. And Moses cried out to the Lord saying oh Lord, heal, heal her, I pray. But the Lord said to Moses if her father had but spit in her face, would she not bear her shame for seven days? That's a question. Let her be shut up for seven days outside the camp and afterwards she may be received again. So Miriam was shut up outside the camp for seven days and the people did not move on until Miriam was received again. Remember this is what they had to do when they was full of leprosy, verse 16. Afterward, however, the people moved out from uh Hezaroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran.
Speaker 1:All right, that brings us to the end of Exodus, chapter. Excuse me, we went to exit so many times I lost my spot. That brings us to the end of Numbers, chapter 12. I hope that you got something out of this lesson. You know, aaron and Miriam. You would think that the fact that the Lord was in the pillar cloud by day, that they would know that the Lord was dealing with Moses, and you would think that they wouldn't have that jealousy in their heart, or maybe even that hatred in their heart towards his wife, but instead they would go along with God's plan. But of course, just like all human beings, do we always have to find a problem with something, even when the Lord has his hands on it. And we see that he has his hands on it. All right. That brings us to the end of Numbers, chapter 12.
Speaker 1:I hope you enjoyed this and got something out of it. As always, I'm asking you to pray for me that I stay strong in these scriptures and we continue to race, and I am always doing the same for you. That is all. Until next time. God bless Amazon Music and more. Let's stay connected. If you have questions, comments or prayer requests, reach out to us at BereansCornerBuzzsproutcom, where you can follow along with, show transcripts and leave a message in the fan mail slot. Also, follow us on YouTube at Bereans Corner, and don't forget to subscribe. We'd love to hear from you. Until next time, keep searching the scriptures like a Berean, stay discerning, stay faithful, and God bless ¶¶. Thank you, thank you, thank you.