Welcome to Numbers study number 12 and chapter 12. We got 16 verses ahead of us. I plan on covering that, Lord willing, and the church don't rise as we give out a hibbily holler out to brother Tom Frank, longtime friend on social media and listener to our messages. And it's another example of I can't believe this is taking this long to send out a holler out to brother Tom Frank. So brother Tom, here's your hibbily holler. And we're glad to have you with us, as always, as we get into this interesting study in Numbers chapter 12 with a word of prayer. Father, we thank you, Lord, for another opportunity to learn. I learn as I prep, and I learn even as I teach. I also learn when people send me messages afterwards and make comments or ask questions. So I just thank you for the whole process And then I come back and read through numbers numerous times through the year. And we just pray that everyone following in these studies will go through the Bible at least once every year, reading every word which proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Thank you for your Holy Spirit, and we ask his help. And we ask in Jesus' name, amen. So this account, Here in Numbers 12 could be approached from various angles, and I can think of two legitimate and important angles to consider right off. And number one is sibling rivalries. We're going to see right off the bat, and Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses. And we'll get into the rest of the text and the specifics in a moment. But sibling rivalries, anybody who has a brother and or sister, and if you have bigger families, it just changes the dynamic, but it's still there. Jesus, he went through this. Over in John chapter 7, verses 1 through 5, it tells us that his brothers didn't believe on him until after he rose from the dead. And we know I say that because in John 7, they don't believe on him at that time, but later we find that they do believe and are following him. And Jesus said this in Matthew 13, 57, a prophet is not without honor, save in his own country and in his own house. I can speak from personal experience. I was raised in Wheelersburg, Ohio, Southern Ohio. And there's some people down there that have the sense to know that once I was saved, I became a new creature, a new creature in Christ Jesus, a new man. I'm not perfect, but they don't think back before I got saved and hold grudges. But there are some down there who do. So even though I've been in the ministry since then for 33 plus years, there are still people down there that when they think of me, they think of what I was and who I was in the 1980s, back in my hometown. I just recently talked to somebody and I could just see it on his face. But I'm not going to stop talking to him about the Lord and talking about the gospel. It's on them if they won't listen. But that's a big thing. Sibling rivalries or with family and loved ones, you have that kind of thing going on. Then the other approach or consideration in this text is male leadership. 1 Timothy 2.12 says, but I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. Now, this is regarding the local church in the local church when meeting as a church for worship, as we call it, worship services, meetings, whatever you want to call them. But we also read in 1 Corinthians 11.3, but I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God. Now, some men don't deserve respect or earn respect in their positions as head over the woman in the home, and many pastors don't. But you take that up with the Lord and you don't rebel. If you're a woman and you don't feel like your husband's what he ought to be or even your pastor, he's not what you ought to be. Because a lot of times people say that or think that and they're really being a lot like we're going to see Miriam here because they have the wrong idea. Don't throw on pastors things that the Bible doesn't say we're supposed to be. Some people think a pastor is supposed to fix everything and give them all the perfect advice to handle every situation in life. They dig their ditch and the pastor is supposed to help them get out and all that. That's not what a pastor does. A pastor is to lead by example. He's supposed to live the way he teaches to live. He's supposed to practice what he preaches, but he's a teacher. and he does love you, he prays for you if he's a real man of God, but he is not your savior. He is not your mediator. There's only one mediator between God and man, and that's the man Christ Jesus, not the man who you call pastor. So that's another issue, is people put on husbands and pastors things that they, according to the Bible, aren't even supposed to have on their shoulders, responsibilities and that sort of thing. So just with those approaches in your mind, sibling rivalries or, what is the old saying? Familiarity breeds contempt. That's why a lot of pastors I know just don't become close friends with the people in their churches, because they've been burnt so many times. People get to know them, and then the next thing you know, they don't show them any respect, and that sort of thing. So let's jump right in and see this situation we're talking about. Verse one says, and Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married, for he had married an Ethiopian woman. Now, this verse is not the favorite of those who oppose interracial marriage. It's been a peculiar thing that I've noted over the years that most of the people who are against interracial marriage, first of all, they're not real particular when it comes to the white race. They just say it's all like one race and they go by skin color. But, you know, there's really a difference if you want to get down to the race. We're not all Caucasian in any real sense. There's the English and there's the Germanic. English might be called Anglo-Saxon and all that. Of course, they never have a problem with that kind of intermarriage. And then I know a lot of guys have no problem if a white dude marries an Asian, American white man, or even black man, you know, marries a Filipino. But really, in America, the issue is black and white. And I mean blacks and whites. You talk to these guys and they'll say, the Bible teaches against interracial marriage. And I don't have time to go into a lot of detail about this issue right here. But I just want to tell you, the Bible doesn't say anything about it. Now as a Jew, Moses, people say, well Jews weren't supposed to interracially marry. Yes, they were allowed as long as that person who's not a Jew converts. Just like Ruth with Boaz. Rahab with Solomon. And every time you see it, the woman has converted and becomes a Jew. As Ruth said, your God will be as my God, your people as my people. That's the attitude. But the race isn't the problem, it's religion. And that's the only thing the Bible ever speaks about is inter-religious marriage. You're not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers. But if you've twisted and turned the Bible to teach against interracial marriage, you're just, well, we're gonna talk about a couple other examples later. People would just treat the Bible the way Lucifer does, and it's shameful. And that's what probably going on in Miriam and Aaron, you know, they're speaking against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman he married. Now, Zipporah was a Midianite. So this isn't Zipporah, but a lot of guys, people who don't want to acknowledge that Moses married a black woman, they'll try to pretend that somehow a Midianite was sometimes known as an Ethiopian, and that's just hogwash. There's no basis for that at all. The Midianites were descendants of Abraham and Keturah. After Sarah died, Abraham married Keturah, and one of his sons was Midian. and they were not in any way associated with Ethiopia. So this is not a Midianite, another name for a Midianite. Midianites were from the land area between Judea and Egypt, mostly desert, considered the northern Arabian desert. Like Joseph, the adoptive father of Jesus, Zipporah just disappears from the text. We don't know what happened. She could have died. She could have abandoned Moses. But she may have gone back to daddy, Jethro, the priest of Midian. We just don't know. But the only thing we know for sure is that Moses was not sinning in marrying an Ethiopian woman. And yes, it's possible you had two. Sort of like Abraham had Sarah and Hagar. Jacob had Leah and Rachel, and two concubines in addition to that. But that's, again, the text never says, so it's all guesstimations. The fact is though, Moses married an African woman from Ethiopia, and all efforts to deny that and teach otherwise is obviously motivated by a dislike of the black race. That's just all there is to it. It's not motivated by a love for the plain, honest reading of God's word, that's for sure. Verse two continues, and they said, half the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses, Hath he not spoken also by us, and the Lord heard it? It's interesting that they make an issue with Moses about his authority here in verse 2, but verse 1 makes it clear that what's behind it is some sort of jealousy and hatred for this Ethiopian wife. You'll see that people will have a thing, but they'll find something else to go after you for. And, you know, we see this sort of thing today with fundamentalists who change God's Word in order to disqualify divorced preachers from the ministry. It's possible that that's what's going on here with Miriam and Aaron, that Moses is abandoned by Zipporah. He's freed according to 1 Corinthians 7. In the New Testament church, he'd be free to move on. He's under no bondage. He moves on to get an Ethiopian wife. And if he were alive today, there's a lot of fundamentalists under that circumstance. If that's how this has worked out, then they would say Moses was disqualified from the ministry. But there isn't a word about divorced preachers being disqualified from the ministry. If the preacher commits adultery, it's not the divorce that causes him to be disqualified. It's the fact that he's committed adultery. But if he's divorced because his wife's committed adultery or abandoned him, then he's under no bondage. And they'll go to 1 Timothy 3, 2. It says, a bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife. vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach. Now, go there and look at it, 1 Timothy 3, 2, and you can't find the word divorce or any reference to divorce in that verse if your life depended on it. And every person who said that divorce is in that verse is going to answer to God for using and treating the Bible the way Lucifer does. They are adding something that's not there. And it's because of their own opinion and agenda. It's not because God said so. And that's true for anybody messing with the Bible like that in any case and point. But many, by the way, so-called once married preachers are not vigilant. Many of them are not sober. Some of these guys are messed up on psych meds and other mind-altering substances. Some behave badly. Some are not hospitable. Some can't or don't really even teach the Bible. They teach about the Bible or use the Bible to teach, but they're not actually teaching the Bible the way God wrote it. And yet, in my 30 plus years in ministry, I've not once heard or seen some fundy Pharisee run to this text in order to disqualify a preacher for not living up to those other standards mentioned in that text. but let that preacher's wife run out on him, and they'll take him down as quick as you can bat an eye. I could tell you stories, but we don't have time. So we continue, and again, it would appear likely that Zipporah simply abandoned Moses and he's moved on, even though as mentioned, Joseph disappeared without explanation. and it's possible that Zipporah died without mention of her death. We'll have to find out those details after the rapture when we attend the Jesus Bible Institute. I just believe he's going to explain all these things to us. Verse three, we continue, it says, now the man Moses was very meek above all the men which were upon the face of the earth. Now, this is a verse that sometimes is used by skeptics because of the hardline Mosaic authorship claims made by well-intentioned fundamentalists. Moses wrote the five books of Moses. Moses wrote every jot and tittle of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Now Jesus called these the books of Moses, but he never said that Moses wrote every jot and tittle of those. He said that not one jot or tittle will pass before all is fulfilled, but he never said Moses wrote every jot and tittle. That's a fundamentalist addition to adding words to Jesus there, putting words in Jesus' mouth. What I've taught, and I believe that this verse right here proves, is that it's obvious that Moses didn't write everything in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The first five books were compiled by Moses, including the entire book of Genesis. It all took place before he's even born. Exodus begins with him being born. or it was written by Moses, which would include most of Exodus through Deuteronomy, and then there's some patchwork here and there compiled and completed by an anonymous contemporary, most likely a contemporary of Moses. Candidates include Joshua, Caleb, or Eleazar, who replaced Aaron as high priest after Aaron died. Or it could have been another prophet who later compiled them. It could have been Samuel or even Gad or one of those. I just think it probably happened right after Moses died. So when you take the accurate biblical view of the books of Moses, there's no problem and no fuel for the apostates to fire up their attacks. And obviously Moses didn't write verse three, but he is the general editor and co-author and a majority author of the Torah, the Pentateuch. So we pick up now verse four, as we read what happens as a result of Miriam and Aaron's backbiting that we read about in verse one, for being married to an Ethiopian and for being the chief of the tribes of Israel. Verse four says, 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. Man, you talk about scary. That had to have been shaking in the boots. Oh, man. And Moses has no idea. I don't believe at this point he has any idea what's prompted this. Verse five, 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. You talk about intimidating. And both of these are probably scared to death. Aaron and Miriam are probably shaking in their boots and knocking their knees because they know what they've been saying and what they've been thinking. And they know that the Lord knows. Let's read six through eight. 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. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. 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? In other words, the Lord saying, this is how I talk to Moses because he's my prophet. You, I have not talked to that way. You are not Moses. You are not my chosen mouthpiece, servant, messenger. Moses is. Now what are you doing running your mouth? That's what the Lord's saying. So, in verse nine, the Lord goes up and judgment comes down. Verse nine says, and the anger of the Lord was kindled against them and he departed. Then verse 10 and the cloud departed from off the tabernacle and behold Miriam became leprous white as snow and Aaron looked upon Miriam and behold she was leprous So they're standing next to each other and Aaron looks over and he's got to be. Oh, you know wondering what's gonna happen to him actually now So that you know leads us to the question. We'll see here that Why does God strike Miriam and not Aaron? A couple of things to consider is that Miriam is the one listed first in Numbers 12.1 when this happens. And so then seeing that and how this whole thing works itself out, You kind of can picture Miriam here being a bossy, rebellious woman, running her mouth, and then the mousy, yellow-bellied man, Aaron, just saying, yes, dear. If you stick around long enough, you'll see this constantly among Christian men and their wives way too often. I've seen it with most fundamentalist pastors I've ever known personally. Thankfully, I'm here to tell you my wife and I, that's not our relationship. She's free to speak her mind, but she does so with respect. I respect her opinions, I consider things when she says them. When she's hungry or tired, you know, she can get a little cranky. That's not what this is here. That happens to all of us. So don't expect your wives to always be perfectly toned in their voice when they speak and always say exactly the right thing with the perfect level of respect. That's not what I'm saying. But this thing here with Miriam just went way too far. And she seems to be the leader of it. Of course, it reminds you of Adam and Eve in the garden. And again, there's nothing wrong with listening to your wife if your wife is giving you sound biblical advice. And when she's not, then that's when the man is supposed to say, wait a minute, but the Bible says. That's not what happens here. Verse 11, and Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my Lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly and wherein we have sinned. So right there, Aaron says us and we twice, acknowledging his part, confessing his part right away. And he does the right thing, credit where due. And keep in mind that this is also his sister. And if the order of mention over in Numbers 26, 59 is correct, then she's the baby of the family. Aaron's the oldest, Moses is the middle child, and Miriam's the baby of the family. So add that into this very human scene that we're reading here. Verse 13, and Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, heal her now, O God, I beseech thee. You see how Moses, even the way he approaches the Lord here, it's unlike other instances, because this is his baby sister. And so the Lord's response is, you know, I think here just really gritty, real, down to earth. Look what he says in verse 14. And the Lord said unto Moses, if her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? Let her be shut up. Let her be shut out from the camp seven days. And after that, let her be received again. So instead of sending Miriam to her room, the Lord puts her outside of the camp for seven days to think about what she's done. And I love this, verse 15, and Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days, and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again. And it just reminds me when I was a kid, just one particular time, we were supposed to go as a family to a gathering, I think it was a family gathering, with cousins and aunts and uncles. Something like that was going on, but my mom said we couldn't go until we finished cleaning our room. It was something we really wanted to go to, so she figured that'd be motivation to get us moving. My kid brother just took his sweet old time. I remember we got a half hour late start to get there. I just think Miriam sat out there for seven days ashamed of what she did and knew that her punishment was holding up the wagon train for a week. So verse 16, and afterward the people removed from Hazaroth and pitched in the wilderness of Paran. So they hit the trail again after this whole scene and all was forgiven, evidently. But God's not gonna put up with that kind of thing. And just closing thoughts here before our last minute. Miriam is the Hebraic form of the word Mary in English. In Greek it's Maria. So Miriam, Maria, Mary. Miriam would be known as a Mary today. We can be thankful or at least appreciative of the fact that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was not rebellious as Miriam was in this chapter. She was humble and very submissive to the will of God. Mary was never claimed to be a co-redemptrix or queen of heaven or mother of God as the pagan Roman Catholic religion claims. That spirit of rebellion and pride is found in the Roman Mary worship cult and it's not biblical. It's not the biblical Mary. It's the spirit of Jezebel and not the spirit of the Mary, the mother of Jesus of the Bible. So with that, see you next time. Lord willing.