Hi everyone!! Id like to share a few words I read today that made an impact on me today.... Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life. In Lucy Maud Montgomery’s classic novel, Anne of Green Gables, Anne observes, “Oh, it’s delightful to have ambitions. I’m so glad I have such a lot. And there never seems to be any end to them—that’s the best of it. Just as soon as you attain to one ambition you see another one glittering higher up still. It does make life so interesting.” {1 Thessalonians 4:11} But when it is mixed with envy, ambition becomes toxic. This is especially true in ministry. Today’s passage describes the conflict that arose when Miriam and Aaron began to criticize Moses and challenge his authority. The precipitating event seems strangely unrelated to Moses’ leadership. Their initial complaint had to do with Moses’ decision to marry a Cushite woman. Virtually nothing is said about this woman in Scripture. Some Bible scholars think she was a woman Moses married after Zipporah. Others believe that the unnamed “Cushite wife” spoken of in this passage was Zipporah herself. This incident seems more like a family dispute than a leadership crisis. But the real motive for the argument was jealousy over Moses’ role as God’s primary spokesperson (v. 2). People wonder whether someone who was truly humble would describe himself as “a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth” (Num. 12:3). Possibly this assessment was added by someone other than Moses. Whatever its origin, his response to this personal attack confirms the validity of the description. When Miriam was struck with leprosy, Moses prayed on her behalf and begged God to restore her (v. 11). Aaron equally deserved punishment but was probably spared because of his responsibilities as high priest. Leprosy would have made him unclean and disqualified him from this role (see Leviticus 13 and 14).
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 08:36:52 +0000
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