Honor God's Leaders

Read Numbers 12-14
 
Numbers 12:6-8 And the Lord said to them, “Now listen to what I say: If there were prophets among you, I, the Lord, would reveal myself in visions. I would speak to them in dreams. 7 But not with my servant Moses. Of all my house, he is the one I trust. 8 I speak to him face to face clearly, and not in riddles! He sees the Lord as he is. So why were you not afraid to criticize my servant Moses?”
 
SIN’s division affected this specially anointed family of Moses, Aaron and Miriam. Aaron and Miriam were outwardly unhappy that Moses had married a Cushite woman. It is not known if Moses’ wife Zipporah had died. If Zipporah were still alive, Moses would be guilty of bigamy. But we don’t know. And neither was the Cushite among the nations God banned Israel from marrying.
   But it seems envy was the true cause of Moses’ brother’s and sister’s challenge: “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Hasn’t he spoken through us, too?” (Numbers 12:2)
   Then God stepped in to affirm Moses: “Of all my house, he is the one I trust. I speak to him face to face clearly, and not in riddles!” This is God’s call on Moses’ life. From the desert’s burning bush, I AM had chosen Moses and Aaron for particular roles: Exodus 4:16 Aaron will be your spokesman to the people. He will be your mouthpiece, and you will stand in the place of God for him, telling him what to say. The eternal God of the Living had chosen Moses to be his direct mouthpiece. Moses was a prophet hearing from God to tell Aaron. Aaron was the priest to tell the nation.
   Miriam, too, had her unique roles in God’s salvation plan. She was vital to protect Moses’ infant life as you can read in Exodus 2. Miriam was also a prophet who led worship: Exodus 15:20 Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine and led all the women as they played their tambourines and danced. About 1,000 years after this, God reminded Israel of this family’s leadership: Micah 6:4 For I brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from slavery. I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to help you. Miriam and Aaron did not meet with God as Moses did, but their roles as prophet and priest were different skills to connect Israel to God. Why were they not satisfied with God’s remarkable call on their lives?
   God’s face-to-face relationship with Moses is the personal relationship God enjoyed with Adam and Eve. It is the type of relationship the LORD would later have with prophets. And Jesus chose certain people to be his direct voice to the world. In Christ today, through the Holy Spirit, you are face-to-face with God, anointed to a privileged position in the world. How do you respond? Are you jealous of others or satisfied and pleased with the LORD’s call on your life?     
   Perhaps because Miriam began to challenge Moses’ authority, she is the one God struck with leprosy. For seven days she was outside the camp as a punishment for her envy. God did forgive and restore her. Aaron and Moses will continue in their roles.
          Let’s be thankful for the role we have in Jesus’ church. Each Christian is vital and precious to Christ’s cause.