Tag: mouth to mouth

46.x. “Wilderness” – 11.c. “Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”

 

Num 12:3-9  Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth. And suddenly the LORD said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” And the three of them came out. And the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them, and he departed.

 Psalms 147:6    The LORD lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground.

 Psalms 149:4    For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.

 Matthew 5:5   “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

 Matthew 21:5   “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”

 James 3:13    Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.

 1 Peter 3:4    but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.

  Opposition from our near relations, and from religious friends, is most painful. But this is to be looked for, and it will be well if in such circumstances we can preserve the gentleness and meekness of Moses. Moses was thus fitted to the work he was called to. God not only cleared Moses, but praised him. Moses had the spirit of prophecy in a way which set him far above all other prophets. (Henry)

Moses, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth; being seldom angry, and when he was, it was generally, if not always, when the honour of God was concerned, and not on account of his own person and character; though it must not be said of him that he was perfect in this respect, or free from passion, or from blame at any time on account of it, but, when compared with others, he was the meekest man that ever lived; whereby he became the fittest person to have to do with such a peevish, perverse, and rebellious people as the Israelites were, whom no other man could well have bore with. (Gill)

The basis of the complaint of Miriam and Aaron was essentially, “What’s so special about Moses?” God here explained exactly what was so special about him. Most prophets receive revelation through a dream or in a vision, but God spoke with Moses face to face. As much as Miriam and Aaron did not want to recognize it, Moses did have a unique calling and equipping from the LORD. They did not speak against Moses as the leader of Israel as much as they spoke against Moses the servant of God.  Miriam and Aaron should have been afraid to speak against Moses because their criticism was prompted by their own self-interest; they were jealous of all the attention Moses was receiving and wanted some of it for themselves. (Guzik)

44.z. “Wilderness” – 9.e. ” You are my friends if you do what I command you”

 

Exodus 33:11  Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

 Numbers 12:8   With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”

 Deuteronomy 5:4    The LORD spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire,

 Deuteronomy 34:10   And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,

 John 15:14-15   You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

 James 2:23   and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.

God contrasted how He spoke to Moses with how He spoke to other prophets; Moses heard clearly and plainly, and other prophets heard in dreams and visions. The personal revival in the life of Moses was an example to the entire nation, but it was a special example to his servant Joshua. When Moses drew close to God it also drew Joshua close to God, so much so that Joshua did not depart from the tabernacle. (Guzik)

ot that God hath a face or mouth, or that Moses could behold it; which is denied, Exodus 33:20; but the sense is, he spoke with him freely, familiarly, and immediately, and not as he did to other prophets, in dreams, or visions, or by an angel. As a man speaketh unto his friend —Which intimates not only that God revealed himself to Moses with greater clearness than to any other of the prophets, but also with greater expressions of particular kindness than to any other. He spake not as a prince to a subject, but as a man to his friend, whom he loves, and with whom he takes sweet counsel. And he turned again into the camp — To tell the people what hopes he had of bringing this business to a good issue. But his servant Joshua departed not out of the tabernacle — Probably Joshua abode there to assist and direct those who resorted thither to seek God in Moses’s absence. And he seems to have been appointed to this work rather than Aaron, or any other of the elders, because they had, one way or other, been guilty of the late idolatry, and God would hereby punish them with a temporary suspension from his service and their office. (Benson)

And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face,…. Not by an angel, but he himself in person; not by a dream or vision, but apparently, in real visible appearance; not in dark speeches, but clearly in plain words, easy to be understood; and not by a voice from heaven at a distance, but mouth to mouth, being very near, as when on the mount, and now at the door of the tabernacle, as a man speaketh unto his friend; freely, familiarly, plainly, cordially, openly, without any reserve or show of authority, or causing dread and fear. (Gill)

What must it be like to be friends with God? I have many people I would call acquaintances and have a relationship with, however I truly have what I would call 3 Christian friends. I would not be afraid to share anything with them and they with me. One lives in Iowa/Florida, one in Texas/Washington, and one in Kansas where I now live. For two of them time and location have separated us but our friendship is still as it was. It is cherished. My friend in Kansas is not separated and we speak almost every day and meet up frequently each week. A friend is someone who you like to be with, communicate with, and surely cherish their presence. What must it be like to be friends with God? Do we cherish time with Him, communicate with Him, and treasure time with Him? 

22. Do not punish us because we have done foolishly and have sinned.

Numbers 12:1  Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. And they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it. Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth. And suddenly the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” And the three of them came out. And the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and he departed.

When the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, like snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. And Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, do not punish us because we have done foolishly and have sinned. Let her not be as one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother’s womb.” And Moses cried to the Lord, “O God, please heal her—please.” But the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut outside the camp seven days, and after that she may be brought in again.” So Miriam was shut outside the camp seven days, and the people did not set out on the march till Miriam was brought in again.

We all can have temptation to see things and question the hand of God in them.  We all can have the temptation of seeing ourselves much higher and better than we are.  Here we see Aaron and his wife wanting to be recognized for being ones whom God used for speaking His message to the people.  They spoke badly of Moses to lift themselves up.  Do you ever wonder why God would include these aspects of history in His word?  Could it be to give us insight into human nature and how easy it is for us to get sideways in our thinking?

We get thoughts that come into our head and if they are not recognized for what they are there is a good chance for them to take root.  Once they have taken root they seem to grow and produce fruit that is not God-honoring.  In fact, they produce works of sinful desire, greed, pride, lust, hate, prejudice, and love of self.

We can recognize these thoughts for what they are when we spend time in His word each day seeking God to speak to your heart and mind on how we might honor, serve, glorify and obey Him.  It is not rocket science to know that what we spend feeding our mind will eventually come out “whatever a man sows so shall he reap”  Good or bad.

Remember it only takes one conscious decision to commit to reading His word, and likewise, it only takes one to neglect it.