Chapter 12 The Jealousy of Aaron and Miriam.
In this chapter the position of Moses is firmly established. It can be compared with Numbers 16-17 where the position of Aaron was firmly established. In both cases they had been directly appointed by God, not by man.
Possibly Aaron and Miriam had become jealous because of the Spirit coming on the seventy elders as they stood with Moses. Aaron was ‘the Priest' and Miriam a prophetess (Exodus 15:20). Perhaps they felt, unreasonably, that Moses was supplanting them and raising up others with spiritual insight. Whatever the cause they began to mutter against Moses.
Because they dared not attack him openly they attacked his wife. She was a Cushite woman and not a true-born Israelite. This then enabled them to get at Moses himself. ‘Why should he think he was different from them?' they asked. Did Yahweh only speak with Moses? Did He not also speak with Aaron and Miriam? How dangerous it is when we become proud of what God has given us, or the position in which He has placed us. But Yahweh immediately stepped in to make clear Moses' unique position and in the end the two had to plead with Moses to intercede for them.
The construction of the passage is clear.
a They journey from Kibroth-hattaavah to Hazeroth (Numbers 11:35).
b Miriam, with Aaron, turns against Moses (Miriam named first) (Numbers 12:1-2).
c Moses is the meekest man on earth (Numbers 12:3).
d Yahweh speaks to Moses, Aaron and Miriam and calls them into His presence (Numbers 12:4).
e The cloud comes down to the door of the Dwellingplace (Numbers 12:5).
f Yahweh's definition of a prophet (Numbers 12:6).
f Yahweh's declaration about Moses (Numbers 12:7-8).
e The cloud departs from the Dwellingplace leaving Miriam leprous (Numbers 12:9-10).
d Aaron pleads with Moses to go into Yahweh's presence on their behalf (Numbers 12:11-13).
c Miriam is as one whose father spits in their face (Numbers 12:14).
b Miriam is cast out of the camp for seven days (Numbers 12:15).
a They journey from Hazeroth to the wilderness of Paran (Numbers 12:16).
It is clear from the chiastic pattern (of Numbers 11:31-34) that Numbers 11:35 belongs to the Chapter 12 and we have interpreted accordingly.
‘From Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed to Hazeroth; and they abode at Hazeroth.'
The people moved from ‘the graves of craving' to Hazeroth, the stage prior to Kadesh. Now they were not far from the land. If only they had left their cravings behind. But they had not. And sadly there were two others who had cravings which they should not have had, cravings for position and glory. Those two were Aaron and Miriam. They had forgotten the commandment, “You shall not covet”.
‘And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman.'
Miriam and Aaron, Moses' sister and brother, had probably become jealous at the power that had been given to the seventy elders. Both probably felt that their influence had been lessened, Aaron because up to this point it had always been him who was next to Moses. He had been ‘the man'. There had been no rivals. And now suddenly there were seventy rivals. And Miriam because she was a prophetess and did not like the idea of seventy men who had prophesied possibly diminishing her position and respect. They were more concerned for their own position than for the expansion of God's work. Thus, while not liking to attack Moses' authority directly, they were looking for other grounds of criticism. They felt supplanted. They felt that Moses was not giving them the consideration that they deserved. Jealousy in spiritual spheres is a dreadful thing. And it can only result in a diminishing of the Spirit.
We note that Miriam is mentioned first and that the feminine verb is used in verse 1 (‘they spoke against'). She was clearly the most prominent in the attack on Moses. It may also be that she saw Moses' new wife as a threat to her own position. Perhaps his new wife was more forceful than Zipporah had been. So the mention of Miriam first and the use of the feminine verb was in order to indicate that it was she who was the main culprit. But that is not to excuse Aaron. It would, however, help to explain why it was she who was punished most severely.
Ostensibly the main ground that they found was that he had married a Cushite woman. The argument would be that she was not a pure bred Israelite. In view of the restrictions on himself Aaron probably felt that that was not right. The priest had to take a virgin of his own people to wife (Leviticus 21:14). Why should Moses not have to do so as well? Why should he be any different? The woman was probably Sudanese (ancient ‘Ethiopia'). Their complaint was not because she was black but because they presumably felt that he was being inconsistent. After all Moses was a Levite and related to a priestly family. He ought to have remembered his position and to have married within the family! (It must be considered quite possible that Moses marriage had been diplomatic, a means of uniting together the true-born Israelites and the mixed multitude, but we are not told so. However it certainly confirmed that in Yahweh's eyes both were on the same level once they were in the covenant).
‘And they said, “Has Yahweh indeed spoken only with Moses? Has he not spoken also with us?” And Yahweh heard it.'
But then the criticism advanced. It became a direct attack on Moses himself. Was Moses not getting above himself? Did not Yahweh speak to them as well? Did they not therefore have a right to be consulted on such things as the elders, and Moses' marriage? Should he not defer a little more to them? He was not giving them the respect due to them as spiritual equals with him. The pride of life was consuming them.
“And Yahweh heard it.” We need to beware of what we say, for God always hears us. And Yahweh was not pleased at what He heard. He had shown His graciousness to them both, and now they were taking it out on Moses because of their own pride And what Moses had done had not been on his own initiative. He had simply been obeying Yahweh. So in effect they were grumbling because God had not sufficiently considered their importance.