“ My servant Moses is not so. He is faithful in all my house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even openly (manifestly), and not in dark speeches, and the form of Yahweh shall he behold. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant, against Moses?”
Then He sternly reminded them what Moses was. He was not just a prophet like that. Moses was faithful in his appointment over all Yahweh's house, over the whole people of Israel, from the High Priest downwards. He had made Moses supreme. To Moses He spoke openly mouth to mouth. To Moses alone spoke ‘the Voice' (Numbers 7:89). Moses did not learn things from Yahweh in mysteries and speeches which were difficult to interpret, and hard to understand. Yahweh talked with him as a man talks with his friend (Exodus 33:11). Moses alone had been allowed to behold His form, even if it was a back view when His glory had diminished (Exodus 33:21-23), or in the form of fire in a burning bush (Exodus 3:2-4), or on the Mount. He had seen and known more of Yahweh than any other person, as they well knew. Why then were they not afraid to speak evil against him?
By this time they would be feeling decidedly uneasy, and not quite so happy as when they had started out with such confidence.