It doesn't seem like Moses had done anything to merit the
jealousy and sibling rivalry that suddenly arose in the hearts of Aaron and
Miriam. True, they didn't like his wife. Also, God had just divided Moses'
authority among 70 other leaders (but did not include Aaron and Miriam in that
redistribution). Moses had just demonstrated a few weaknesses, although there's
no reason to think that others would necessarily have known about it. Certainly
the nation had just been through a couple of traumatic trials. But still, why
should any of those things have caused Miriam and Aaron to turn on their own
brother. What bad thing had he ever done to them?
One thing is for sure, despite Moses' actual flaws, God had
chosen him as the leader of Israel and God stood behind His selection. Miriam's
treasonous usurpation earned her a temporary case of leprosy. Even with Aaron
and Moses interceding for her to be healed, God refused to grant her amnesty
until she had been shamed for 7 days for her insubordination. Meanwhile the
manifestation of God's presence above the tabernacle had moved on. After God
defended Moses vehemently, He left (Numbers 12:7-9).
One has to wonder why Aaron didn't get leprosy too. Perhaps
there was a connection to Moses' previous hesitation to lead without Aaron's
companionship and assistance (Exodus 4:14-16).
No comments:
Post a Comment