Troubles on the Way

Numbers 11-12

            Three stories of unrest today. The first is very general, three verses about the people complaining. The next stems from “the rabble,” and the last generates from Aaron and Miriam, the leaders.

            In the first case, we are introduced to a theme we’ll encounter a lot in this part of Numbers, namely, that the Lord is done messing around. They complain and He punishes. Here it is fire, probably lightning that causes a fire among the tents. The Lord is exceedingly patient. Consider His own self-description, “The Lord, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” But like any good parent is patience is not inexhaustible and at some point He will intervene to discipline and set right. The good news is that He always does it from a place of love and His anger does not burn forever (Psalm 103:9).

            The next case bears some consideration, if for no other reason than that it is a much longer story. Notice here that it is “the rabble” that complains. My study Bible argues that these are non-Israelites among them, but I wonder if they’re trying too hard to insulate the Israelites from bad behavior. The word for “rabble” isn’t much help; as far as I can tell, it’s only used here in the Old Testament. (I checked one dictionary that says the rabble are the camp-followers, but again, the word only appears this one time.) There doesn’t seem to be any reason this rabble couldn’t be a malcontent portion of the Israelite population. We certainly know that sin gets the best of us; why couldn’t it get the best of them?

            Moses is frustrated by the constant grumbling. I love the honesty with which he addresses the Lord, how he tells the Lord about the burden of leadership he’s feeling. There is something refreshing about knowing that even the best of leaders feels the pressure. Of course, Moses had the good sense to share his hard feelings with Lord.  One of the pressures of leadership is that you can’t let the people you’re leading know that you’re discouraged.

            The appointment of the 70 is curious, but only because in Exodus 18 we seemed to have had a system for pushing leadership down to lower levels—thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. I wonder if Jethro’s system never took root or if that was still in place and these 70 were added for another reason. Whatever the case, the Holy Spirit is given to them temporarily as a way of relieving Moses’ burden.

            The final bit that stands out in this story is that the Lord does indeed provide them the meat that they crave, but that the Lord also punishes them for their complaining. Again we see the interplay of God’s anger and mercy. He provides, but He still disciplines.

            The last story we read tells about opposition among the leadership and not just any leadership but Moses’ most intimate helpers, his sister and brother. Why Aaron and Miriam decided to attack Moses because of his Cushite wife at this moment is a question I can’t answer. The Cushite wife in question is most likely Zipporah, the Midianite Moses had married after he fled Egypt. If that’s the case, she had been around for a long time. Were they upset because she wasn’t an Israelite? Was she putting on airs and irritating Aaron and Miriam? If Moses was as humble and unassuming as verse 3 says he was, maybe Zipporah was the one who was always bragging about how special Moses was. That seems likely to me. (Now considering that Moses is the author of Numbers, admittedly under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, I do love the humble brag of verse 3. I mean, he did write those words about himself.)

            That Miriam is punished but Aaron is not stands out. One has to wonder if the story is really about rivalry between Zipporah and Miriam and whether Aaron got caught up in it. That would explain why Miriam is struck with leprosy but Aaron is unscathed.

            The effect of these two chapters is twofold. First, that the Lord will discipline His people, and He will do it in ways that seem harsh to us. Second, that Moses’ leadership is ratified and strengthened.