Moses
– Freeing
Yourself to Know God
·
It
is one thing to receive personal criticism that is justified, it is quite
another to be criticized unjustly, especially by those we thought we could
trust. This week, we'll look at how Moses was criticized by his family, by the
leaders who served under him, and by the whole congregation
·
Think
of all that Moses has gone through up to this point, all the stress and turmoil
he has endured. Moses would have given up long ago if he had to face all this
alone. But God has never left Moses alone, God has been close to Moses all
along
·
Aaron
and Miriam seem to have been bitten by the jealousy bug. They tried to disguise
their motives by criticizing Moses for marrying a Cushite woman. Why bring this
up now?
·
But
in Num. 12:2, they reveal the real reason for their hurtful attack on Moses.
They wanted more of the spotlight. They wanted to be seen as great spiritual
leaders, too.
·
Verse
3 tells more about Moses' character. Notice that Moses doesn't lash out at
them.
·
God
was listening though, and let Aaron and Miriam know in no uncertain terms that
they weren't equals with Moses (12:8) and left a reminder (12:9-10)
·
Aaron,
even though he has his flaws, immediately asks for forgiveness, and Moses asks
God to heal Miriam! Again, Moses intercedes for people that have attacked him!
(12:11-13)
·
Chapters
13 & 14 describe the lowest moment of this long trek through the desert.
Because of their unbelief, those who left Egypt would not be allowed to see
Canaan, and they would wander in the desert for 40 years (see 14:26-38, and
14:45)
·
A
group of leaders who apparently failed to learn the lessons of those chapters
came and openly opposed Moses. (16:1-3)
·
Moses
and Aaron had never acted on their own desires. They leadership was a model of
sacrifice and integrity. No wonder Moses was dumbfounded (16:4)
·
Moses
immediately takes this to God, and doesn't try to fight this on his own
(16:5-10) Like Aaron and Miriam, these leaders didn't seem satisfied with their
positions (16:10)
·
And
again, God showed that Moses had not equal, and these leaders were punished
(16:11-35)
·
But
that doesn't end the sniping. The people grumble against Moses and Aaron
(16:41) Hadn't they seen what had just happened? How could they think these
leaders were "God's people"?
·
Again,
God is incensed, and who can blame Him? God again wants to destroy them all
(16:42-45) and again, Moses intercedes for them (16:46-50) Consider Hebrews
11:26 again.
#1) It is not always wrong to
defend ourselves against unjust criticism, but we must do it God's way
#2) When we defend ourselves,
our motives should never be vindictive
#3) There are times we should
never try to defend ourselves but allow God to set the record straight
For
next week read Numbers 20 & 27
