let us tame our tongues

Numbers chapter 12 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because he married a Cushite woman. I note that nowhere does scripture say that this was wrong. V2 Miriam and Aaron say, “Has God ONLY spoken through Moses, has he not spoken through us as well?” They were claiming authority that they did not have. As God did not say that the marriage was wrong, I think that the Cushite woman Moses married probably adopted Judaism as her own faith, and was thus grafted in to the people of Israel. Cush was South of Ethiopia so she may have been black. V3 I do not hold with favourite bible verses but I do find some more influential than others and for me Verse three stands out as something to aspire to. Moses, was a humble man, more humble then anyone else on the face of the earth. Note, this is what God said of Moses. I also think that as Moses was the leader, and it was Aaron who publicly spoke to the people, this was not a private family dispute. It is likely that this was a well known national dispute. We are told that Aaron and Miriam spoke against Moses. It does not say that they spoke To Moses ( but they probably did) when they spoke against his marriage, I think it likely that they were gossiping to other people about it, undermining him. They were technically right that God did not just speak through moses but them also. However even if God does speak through anyone, they have no right to take on authority that does not belong to them Finally God speaks to all three of them and tells them to come out to the tent of meeting. If Miriam and Aaron thought that Moses was going to be confronted by God and told that he was wrong and his he should listen to his Brother and sister, they were very wrong indeed. From verses 6 to 8, God takes them up on their own words. If there is a prophet among you, I the lord shall make myself known to him in a vision or a dream. God was saying that he would take the initiative to speak. Aeron and Miriam had not seen the lord in vision or dream telling them to confront Moses about the Cushite woman Then God says Not so with my servant Moses. I do not speak to him through dreams and visions, but face to face, openly and he beholds the form of the lord. This was an awesome thing. To see the lord was considered to bring death for we are sinners. Moses did not die, God preserved him Therefore Aeron and Miriam should have considered well, and not said anything against him. We are told the anger of the lord burned against them. The lord departed. It did not end there. Moses and his family were public figures and speaking against him was a public sin, so God Judged them in an equally public manner for all the nation to see. When the cloud which was the presence of God left, Miriam was leprous. Aeron is repentant and asks that she should not be like one dead Moses asks Oh Lord please heal her. I think they expected an instant miracle, but God says, “if her father spat in her face, she would bear her shame 7 days.” God granted what they asked, but there were rules about lepers being put out of the camp. All the nation would know about her being put out and this was SHAME. God made it clear that her condition would last for seven days, then she would be permitted to come back in. It was the High Priest who checked and declared Leprosy. AERON WAS THE HIGH PRIEST. Therefore it is likely that it fell to him to put his own sister outside the camp. He shared in her guilt. You can almost hear it, “Oh Lord I do not want the shame of putting my own sister outside the camp. I feel so guilty”. God gave Aeron and Moses what they asked, but God did it in a way that would make it clear that he was holy and that What Aeron and Miriam had said, was wrong. I think that apart from punishing Miriam, it was a public and stern warning to the people or Israel not to gossip as they did against Moses. The Cushite woman was welcome. The tongue is an instrument of communication. It can speak Gods word of encouragement, but it can also tear down reputations. It is also difficult to tame. We know that a day of judgement is coming, and every word carelessly uttered will have to be accounted for, particularly if it was damaging to leaders and to brothers and sisters. Someone once gave me some guidance on what to think before I say anything. 1) Is it kind? 2) Is it true 3) Is it necessary? Evidently what Aeron and Miriam said was damaging to Gods reputation. They were really speaking against God even if it seemed they spoke against Moses.