Numbers 12:1-16. It All Adds Up! Introduction. Getting going. Week commencing 11 th February 2013

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1 It All Adds Up! Numbers 12:1-16 Week commencing 11 th February 2013 Introduction There are certain attitudes and outlooks on life that can eat away at a healthy walk with God. In Numbers 11 we saw the Israelites complaining and muttering about their hardships. In this week s chapter we see another attitude that is cancerous to the soul envy. As we will see shortly, envy is not just the problem of those who believe they have little it can affect those with great responsibility and honour in God s eyes. In other words, this is an area that is relevant to all of us! Getting going Envy is one of the seven deadly sins. Can you name the other six? (They are lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, pride) What is so deadly about envy? Numbers 12:1-16 Page 1 of 6 Author: Roger

2 Study Numbers 12 is quite short, so you might like to read it in its entirety before re-reading the relevant verses for the questions below. Question 1 Read Numbers 12:1-2. The opening verses suggest two reasons for Miriam and Aaron speaking critically about their brother Moses. What are they? What do you think is the primary reason? The occasion of their complaint appears to arise from an unrecorded incident concerning Moses Cushite wife, but the real problem seems to be envy and jealousy, as the remainder of the chapter makes clear. Note in passing that the LORD heard the complaining. We might think we are muttering about others behind closed doors, but what we speak in hushed tones in private is heard with crystal clarity by God himself. Question 2 Someone has said that, Envy is the practise of counting someone else s blessings. How would you define envy? Why do you think Aaron and Miriam, who were in such privileged positions in the Israelite community, became envious? Numbers 12:1-16 Page 2 of 6 Author: Roger

3 Question 3 Read Numbers 12:3. In contrast to Aaron and Miriam, Moses is put forwards as a very humble man. How can we become more humble? There are a number of answers to this question. For example, we can accept and being thankful for the circumstances we find ourselves in. Remember Moses extended stay in the desert? See 1 Peter 5:5,6. actively promote others. I like the words of C. T. Studd, who said, We have to be like runners in the Donkey race. The winner is the last and you spend your time hitting other people s donkeys to make them go faster. See Philippians 2:3-4. through reading God s word and prayer, develop a clearer understanding of God s nature, our identity in Christ and of our relationship to others. See Job 42:2-6. seek out opportunities to serve. See Galatians 5:13. Ultimately, of course, the work is God s. Someone might ask how it is that Moses, understood to be the author of the first 5 books of the Bible (e.g. Luke 24:44), could write about himself in such a glowing fashion! It seems inconceivable that Moses wrote that about himself, so there must have been a later editor, perhaps the same one who recorded Moses death at the end of Deuteronomy. Numbers 12:1-16 Page 3 of 6 Author: Roger

4 Question 4 Read Numbers 12:4-9. Why was God so angry with Aaron and Miriam? What is the lesson for us? Question 5 Read verse 9 again. The Christian is a servant of God, and we should be very careful not to speak ill of his servants. Consider the following THINK checklist that one church leader promoted in a church going through difficult circumstances: T - Is it true? H - Is it helpful? I - Is it inspiring? N - Is it necessary? K - Is it kind? If we adopted a THINK approach, how might our conversations about others be different? Question 6 Read Numbers 12: What do these verses teach us about The LORD s attitude to Miriam? Aaron s attitude towards Miriam and Moses? Numbers 12:1-16 Page 4 of 6 Author: Roger

5 Moses attitude towards the LORD, Miriam and Moses? Question 7 Imagine yourself into Moses shoes if you can. Imagine how he felt at the criticism of his closest family members. How would you have felt? Then consider his immediate response to Aaron s plea? How would you have reacted? Moses is a model of grace in action. Grace is unmerited favour. Moses had a right to feel angry, and I can think of a number of less gracious ways to respond to Aaron s request, some of them which sound quite spiritual! How about, for example, LORD, if it s your will in this situation!? When have you observed grace in action? Question 8 Read Numbers 12: Consider the LORD s response to Moses prayer. Is the LORD less than gracious here? In the words of the Graham Kendrick song, what we have here is an example of where wrath and mercy meet. God s wrath (his righteous anger against sin) is tempered by his mercy. There is punishment, and there is an example for the community to take Numbers 12:1-16 Page 5 of 6 Author: Roger

6 note of, but there is grace, for the banishment from the camp, and presumably the affliction of leprosy, are temporary. It s the last we hear of grumblings from within the family of Aaron, and indeed Moses and Aaron seem to be more tightly associated after this incident (see, for example, Numbers 14:5, 26; 16:3). Miriam, however, is not mentioned again until her death (Numbers 20:1). Response What I see when I look back over Numbers 12 is a cause and effect sequence: Jealous words God s anger God s judgment But the first cause is hidden from us the jealous thoughts that Aaron and Miriam entertained which set off this unpleasant chain reaction. In addition to anything you might already be taking away from this evening, why not spend some time meditating on and then praying in these words: Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable if anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about such things. Philippians 4:8 Numbers 12:1-16 Page 6 of 6 Author: Roger