Numbers 12:1

Numbers 12:1 says, And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.  Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses, God's chosen leader, because he had married an Ethiopian woman.  We may at times want to criticize those whom God has put in power today because we don't like who they are married to, but if God called them, He knew all about them, as He did about Moses, so we need to simply support them.  Verse two adds, And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it.  Miriam and Aaron were basically jealous of Moses, and that is where a lot of problems in the church, the family of God, come from today.  They asked if God spoke only through Moses, or if He didn't speak through them too.  We should never be jealous of anyone because the fact that God is doing more through them than He is through us.  God heard what they were saying, just as He hears our complaints about others today.  Verse three continues, (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)  Moses was the most meek man in the world, yet God chose him to lead the nation of Israel out of bondage and to the promised land.  We sometimes may feel that a preacher should be a more forceful person, but they just need to be who God wants them to be.  Verse four states, And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.  God called Moses, Aaron, and Miriam into the tabernacle of the congregation.  Since they were the three people involved in this, God called them all together.  God may call us together with those we have a problem with if we are listening to Him.  Verse five adds, And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.  God came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle and called Miriam and Aaron to Him, and they stood before Him.  One day, God is going to call everyone before Him, but in this lifetime He may call us together spiritually if not physically with those that we have problems with, and if He does, we would be wise enough to respond.  Verse six continues, And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. God said that if there was a prophet among them, it would be because God had spoken to them first through a vision or dream.  Verse seven declares, My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.  God then said that He had not spoken to Moses through dreams or visions, but had spoken to him face to face.  As followers of Christ today, we can speak directly to God and He can speak directly to us.  That doesn't mean that He will never speak to us through dreams or visions though.  We just have to make sure that we know beyond a doubt that is really God Who is talking to us.  Verse eight adds, With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?  God continued to tell Miriam and Aaron how He spoke personally with Moses, then asked how they were not afraid to speak against Moses.  We should never speak against anyone that God has called to serve Him because we don't like the way they are doing it, or because we feel that we can do it better.  Verse nine continues, And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed.  God was angry with Miriam and Aaron and departed from where the were.  We need to pray that our actions as Christians will never cause God to leave our presence.  Though we are saved forever if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ, we can still act in such a way that we lose His direction in life at times.  We should never act out of envy or jealousy for how God is using someone else.