46.x. “Wilderness” – 11.c. “Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”

 

Num 12:3-9  Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth. And suddenly the LORD said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” And the three of them came out. And the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them, and he departed.

 Psalms 147:6    The LORD lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground.

 Psalms 149:4    For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.

 Matthew 5:5   “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

 Matthew 21:5   “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”

 James 3:13    Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.

 1 Peter 3:4    but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.

  Opposition from our near relations, and from religious friends, is most painful. But this is to be looked for, and it will be well if in such circumstances we can preserve the gentleness and meekness of Moses. Moses was thus fitted to the work he was called to. God not only cleared Moses, but praised him. Moses had the spirit of prophecy in a way which set him far above all other prophets. (Henry)

Moses, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth; being seldom angry, and when he was, it was generally, if not always, when the honour of God was concerned, and not on account of his own person and character; though it must not be said of him that he was perfect in this respect, or free from passion, or from blame at any time on account of it, but, when compared with others, he was the meekest man that ever lived; whereby he became the fittest person to have to do with such a peevish, perverse, and rebellious people as the Israelites were, whom no other man could well have bore with. (Gill)

The basis of the complaint of Miriam and Aaron was essentially, “What’s so special about Moses?” God here explained exactly what was so special about him. Most prophets receive revelation through a dream or in a vision, but God spoke with Moses face to face. As much as Miriam and Aaron did not want to recognize it, Moses did have a unique calling and equipping from the LORD. They did not speak against Moses as the leader of Israel as much as they spoke against Moses the servant of God.  Miriam and Aaron should have been afraid to speak against Moses because their criticism was prompted by their own self-interest; they were jealous of all the attention Moses was receiving and wanted some of it for themselves. (Guzik)