Numbers 12 JEALOUSY IS SERIOUS In watching from my distant place as I trace the journeying of God's people from then until now, I learn that it is easy to get our attention off the goal before us and onto something that distracts us. Every day we live there are events and issues that arise to deflect our minds from God's will and what He has before us. When we start to focus our attention on people, God's people or the people of the world, we have our mind's eye in the wrong place. It is then the comparison of people and position can quickly deteriorate into the serious sin of jealousy.
Moses was God's chosen leader for God's people even though he was younger than both Miriam and Aaron. It is not uncommon for God to pick a person using a different criteria than men would normally use. He is sovereign in all His ways, and does His will in a way that pleases Him. When Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses' wife, they were really avoiding the real issue. Their accusation, if not racial discrimination, certainly had that appearance. Grace still draws opposition from law-keepers. Jews in the New Testament days had obvious opposition against Gentiles, and Gentiles demean Jews even today. Moses and his Gentile bride were a type of Christ and His Church. Racial discrimination was a cause of jealousy then, even as it is today.
But behind the accusation against Moses' wife, of whatever nature it was, lay the real cause of Miriam's and Aaron's criticism. They were jealous of Moses' position and influence. The smoke-screen of their accusation did not hide the real issue of jealousy from God. Attacking a person's work and character is still often used as a deceptive to try to bring a person down from the work to which God has called them. Unjust criticism is used even though mature people know it is used because people are afraid to admit to the real reason behind the attack. Jealousy needs to be faced and dealt with while it is still a thought. When it becomes a real issue and takes a form, it is much harder to deal with. Like any sin persisted in, jealousy causes serious grief to those who entertain it as well as those to whom it is directed.
When those two brothers and their sister were called out by God to stand in front of the Tabernacle, the word would have spread like wild-fire all over the camp. When the cloud of God's presence came down right before those three and in front of the door, everyone would know something very serious had happened. God Himself stepped in to deal with this situation. I learned from this that it is not a light thing to criticize a servant of God or to speak against any of His children. Their work is different from mine. Their call may be entirely different from what I think it should be. But he or she is God's servant, the same as I am. He is using them to fulfill their responsibility in the commission He gave.
The Silent Listener to every conversation knows what is behind every word we say. I learned from watching this scene from ancient history, that I need to avoid the conversation of a backbiter. When God spoke to those three people, He used a poetic form indicating He was not just dealing with them in a legal way, but there was an emotional response on God's part toward Moses, the man He spoke to face to face. Moses displayed his meekness previously in his attitude toward Eldad and Medad when they prophesied off by themselves. With his critical sister and brother, he became the intercessor and gains the victory of acting in grace. There is a quiet, real dignity in meekness.
There are consequences that follow criticism and opposition toward God, but there is also mercy that reaches out to restore. The leprosy that left Miriam standing there in the stark whiteness of disease that ran its course, struck a deep fear into Aaron as well as her. Whatever kind of leprosy it was, there was no question that God had dealt in judgment. In meekness, Moses became the intercessor for his sister and brother, even though he had been the real object of their attack against his wife. Aaron's words acknowledged Moses' divinely appointed position and his own jealousy. There are times when we leave our own defense to God to accomplish in His way and His time.
As I considered the seriousness of jealousy, and the round-about way of its action, I was again reminded that God knows everything about the situation and what is behind it. Jealousy against a child of God and a servant of God is actually questioning God's own judgment and authority. It is God who places people where He wants them. In some things we need to keep our hands off the matter and let God deal with the problem. If disgrace and fear result, accept God's verdict without question if the jealousy is on one's own part. If one is the object of jealousy, remain silent and consistent. Let grace rule and love not be diminished - and move on to the next stop on our journey toward the goal.