Theological Commentary: Click Here
In this
chapter we see the true downside of religious people. When human beings care more about absolutes
than they care about grace, we end with Miriam and Aaron in this passage. Don’t get me wrong. Miriam and Aaron are just trying to be
pure. Their heart is in the pursuit of
purity. But they are absolutely wrong. When we are more interested in being religious and less interested in being spiritual, there is always trouble ahead.
Aaron and Miriam reject
Moses because of the nationality of his wife.
Don’t forget that Moses’ father-in-law was a Midianite who feared the
Lord. He wasn’t a part of Abraham’s
offspring, but that doesn’t mean that he didn’t know God. We can also assume that Moses’ wife grew up
knowing the Lord as well. However, they
forget this fact because they are too focused on the literal. They can only see that she is not of Abraham’s
lineage. They see the obvious, missing God entirely.
God comes to
the rescue of Moses and his wife. Miriam
is cursed with leprosy for a week. In
this, God is merciful. He could have killed
her. He doesn’t. He shows Miriam grace, even when she is
guilty.
This is the
thing about people. God is gracious to
us over and over. He lavishes us with
His grace. We deserve His judgment, and
He makes life possible. Yet, how do we
repay Him? So often we are interested in
judging other people instead of looking in towards their character when God
makes every effort to give our inner character an opportunity to become more
like His!
I find this
battle to be one of the fiercest within me.
I am fully aware of God’s grace in my life. I am also fully aware of my propensity to
judge the people around me. At the same
time, I make rash judgments based on what I see, not what I experience and know
about a person’s character. This is a
battle I constantly fight. Just when I think
that I’ve won, I find new places in my life that I am quick to judge based on
my experience and uninterested in truly knowing.
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