Numbers 12:1-16

The Old Testament Book of Numbers

In the Desert

Numbers

Marion Adams

Chapter 12

Miriam and Aaron are jealous of Moses – Numbers 12:1-16

v1 Moses’ wife was a woman from Cush (a place in the country called Midian). Miriam and Aaron said bad things about him because of this.

v2 They said, ‘Moses speaks the *LORD’s messages. But he is not the only person who does this. The *LORD has spoken by means of us, too.’

The *LORD heard what they were saying. (v3 Moses was a very humble man. He was the most humble person in the world.) v4 Immediately, the *LORD told Moses, Aaron and Miriam to come to the entrance of *God’s Tent. So they went to *God’s Tent. v5 Then the *LORD came down in the cloud. He stood at the entrance of *God’s Tent. He told Aaron and Miriam to come closer. They stepped forward.

v6 ‘Listen to what I say!’ the *LORD said.

‘I show myself to my *prophets by means of *visions.

I speak to them by means of dreams.

v7 But my servant Moses

is completely loyal to me among my people, the *Israelites.

v8 So I speak to him clearly.

He sees me face to face (see note below).

Everything that I say to him is easy to understand.

And he sees me as I am.

You should not say bad things about my servant Moses!’

v9 The *LORD was very angry with Aaron and Miriam. He left them.

v10 When the cloud rose away from *God’s Tent, Miriam’s skin suddenly became white. It was as white as snow. A bad disease had affected her skin. Aaron saw that she had this disease. v11 He said to Moses, ‘Sir! Please do not punish us because we have done such a foolish thing! v12 Do not let this disease eat Miriam’s skin! Do not let it damage her, so that she becomes like a stillborn baby (a baby that dies before its birth).’

v13 So Moses cried out to the *LORD, ‘Oh God! Please cure her!’

v14 The *LORD answered Moses, ‘Make Miriam stay outside the camp for 7 days. If her father had spat in her face, she would feel her shame for 7 days. (To spit means to send liquid out of the mouth.) Bring her back inside the camp after this period of time.’

v15 So Miriam stayed outside the camp for 7 days. The people did not move their camp until she returned. v16 Then they left Hazeroth. They set up their camp again in the Paran *desert.

Verses 1-2 Aaron, Moses’ brother, and Miriam, Moses’ sister, were leaders too. They helped Moses. But they had become jealous of him. Actually, they were accusing Moses. He was not the only person to speak on God’s behalf. Because of this, they were saying that Moses was not special. Also, they seemed to accuse him because he had married a foreigner.

To accuse an innocent person in this way is bad. In fact, the name ‘Satan’ (a name for the devil) means ‘the accuser’. It is the devil’s nature to accuse. It is very wrong to have this kind of attitude. It is the devil’s attitude. Paul warned about this in 1 Timothy 3:11. That passage is about the attitude that leaders and their relatives should have.

Aaron and Miriam did important work for God. Aaron was the *High Priest. Miriam was a *prophet (Exodus 15:20). But they were jealous because Moses was God’s special servant.

Verse 3 But Moses was not proud because he was God’s special servant. The word ‘humble’ refers to someone who depends on God completely. Moses knew that God gave him the power and strength to lead the *Israelites. Moses knew that he could not do this without God’s help. So he talked to God often. He asked God what to do.

God considered that Moses was great. This was because Moses was humble. God considers people who serve other people to be great (Matthew 23:11). Jesus was humble. He came to serve us and to show us how to have this same attitude (Philippians 2:5-11).

Verses 4-9 Aaron and Miriam had important responsibilities. They were Moses’ helpers. But they were opposing him. They were saying wicked things. When leaders *sin, this affects the people that they lead. Leaders of *churches today should remember this!

God appeared to Moses, Aaron and Miriam. He spoke to them by means of a poem (verses 6-8). He said that he spoke to *prophets by means of dreams and *visions. But Moses was different. God spoke to Moses as a person speaks to another person. This is what the words ‘face to face’ mean (verse 8).

Miriam and Aaron had no right to complain about this. So God acted against them. He punished Miriam. He gave to her a disease that affected her skin. However, he did not punish Aaron like this. Perhaps Miriam was more guilty than Aaron. The author puts Miriam’s name before Aaron’s name in verse 1. This was not the custom usually, because Miriam was a woman. Also, the word ‘said’ in verse 1 actually means ‘she said’ in *Hebrew.

But Moses was not glad because God punished Miriam. When Aaron asked Moses to help Miriam, Moses prayed immediately. It was a very short prayer. But it was very sincere. Immediately, God answered Moses. He cured Miriam!

But Miriam had to stay outside the camp for a week. This was because she was *unclean (see Leviticus 13:1-6). So everyone in the camp knew that Miriam had done a bad thing. It was a sign of shame for a parent to spit in their child’s face (Deuteronomy 25:9; Job 30:10; Isaiah 50:6). (To spit means to send liquid out of the mouth.) Miriam felt this kind of shame. The camp could not move until she returned. People with diseases that affected the skin had to live away from other people. This was so that they did not give the disease to other people. But also, they had to stay outside the camp after the disease had gone. They had to show that it had gone. Also, they had to *purify themselves by means of special ceremonies (Leviticus 14:1-32). These were the rules about people with diseases that affected the skin. So her *sin delayed the *Israelites’ journey to the *Promised Land.

Miriam’s shame should have been an example to warn the people. They should have realised that it is very wrong to say such evil things about someone. This is what the devil does. The devil is the accuser of God’s people.

Also, it is wrong to be jealous of other people who have important jobs. We should be content to do the work that God gives to us. But the next chapter shows that the people did not learn from Miriam’s example.

LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. In Hebrew, it is Yahweh. This name means something like ‘I am’ or ‘always alive’.

Lord ~ one who rules. God is the Lord who rules everyone.

Hebrew ~ the language of the *Jews.
Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.
desert ~ a dry region, or a region where there is just a little water. A few wild plants are able to grow in some deserts. So people who are travelling can live in these deserts in their tents. And they can lead animals through the desert. The Israelites lived in a desert for nearly 40 years.

Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.

'High Priest ~ the most important priest.
sin ~ the nature of all people since Adam chose not to obey God. People’s lives are not acceptable to God because of sin. ‘Sins’ are states, attitudes and acts that are not acceptable to God. A person sins whenever that person is guilty of a sin.
Hebrew ~ the language of the *Jews.
unclean ~ in the Jewish religion, an unclean person could not go near to *God’s Tent or into the Israelites’ camp, depending on the type of uncleanness. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.

Jewish ~ the word that describes a *Jew or anything that belongs to the *Jews.

Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.

uncleanness ~ the state of something that is unclean.

clean ~ in the Jewish religion, this means something or someone that God accepts. People had to be clean in order to approach *God’s Tent. People had to be clean to be in the Israelites’ camp. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.

'purify/purification ~ to make something or someone clean.

clean ~ in the Jewish religion, this means something or someone that God accepts. People had to be clean in order to approach *God’s Tent. People had to be clean to be in the Israelites’ camp. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.

Jewish ~ the word that describes a *Jew or anything that belongs to the *Jews.

Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.

unclean ~ in the Jewish religion, an unclean person could not go near to *God’s Tent or into the Israelites’ camp, depending on the type of uncleanness. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.

uncleanness ~ the state of something that is unclean.

'Promised Land ~ the country that God promised to give to Abraham and his *descendants.