Our Daily Bread passage on Mon, Sep 19, 2011 was "Moses' Humbleness" (Num 12:1-16). Later that day, someone asked me, "Teach us about Moses' humbleness." These are my reflections.
My Initial Thoughts: Without the gospel of grace, at best we Christians will act humanly humble, usually by being soft spoken or silent. Though Moses was "humble," 8 chapters later he was proud, impatient and filled with anger, when he struck a rock twice in defiance of God's instructions to him (Num 20:8-11). This caused him to forfeit his life dream of entering the promised land (Num 20:12). Moses the humble man, needed a humbler Man. Moses, the mediator of Israel, needed a Mediator himself. Moses who delivered his people needed a Deliverer himself. Moses who saved his people needed a Savior himself. Only the gospel of Christ being butchered for me produces true sweet humility. This narrative is ultimately not about Moses' humility, since Jesus said that Moses wrote about Jesus (John 5:39, 46). My Questions. I asked myself a few questions: What is the main biblical teaching of Num 12:1-16? Is it to be humble like Moses, who allowed God to deal with his dissenters? Is it to never complain against God's appointed leader, or else face very harsh and severe consequences? Absolutely and surely without question, as God fearing and God honoring Christians, we should always seriously heed the obvious answer to both questions with fear and trembling in our own frail and proud hearts. But do such teachings help us to see Jesus and to understand the gospel? My above thoughts suggests, "No." Outside of the gospel, no one can be truly humble. Also, outside of the gospel no one can overcome his or her own pride and jealousy. These are my burning thoughts as I looked into Num 12:1-16. My key verse is Num 12:11: "I ask you not to hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed." A title could be "Complaining in the Camp/Church." A Painful Reality. A sad and painful reality in Christian ministry is when dissension arises within a church family or community, even among good, godly, God fearing, God honoring Christians. This was apparently what happened in Numbers 12. It is similar to the 2 prior incidents of grumbling in Num 11:1,4-6,10, except that this 3rd time it occurred in the highest ranks of Israel's leadership. Moses was a great leader. Aaron was the chief priest and Moses' older brother. Miriam was a prophetess (Ex 15:20) and Moses' older sister. Both Aaron and Miriam were greatly honored servants of God in Israel in their own right, and whom God had also used mightily. Was there jealousy over Moses their younger brother playing the lead role in Israel? Perhaps so. Regardless, it displeased and angered God, because Moses was God's appointed servant and mediator. Though God had used Aaron and Miriam greatly, yet there was folly and sin in them. 2 observations: 1. God violated the traditional and expected iron law of primogeniture. Primogeniture is a hard and unfamiliar word. It means that the chain of command in any family begins with the oldest son, for the oldest son always receives the largest share of the family inheritance--ALWAYS. But God does not follow "human rules and tradition." God's calling and election is ALWAYS by grace alone, and never based on a person's status or standing. As a result, God often breaks this "iron law" and expected tradition of man. For instance:- God chose Abel the younger instead of Cain the older.
- God chose Isaac the younger instead of Ishmael the older.
- God chose Jacob the younger instead of Esau the older.
- God bypassed the older 10 sons and chose Joseph the 11th of Jacob's sons.
- God chose Ephraim the younger son of Joseph instead of Manasseh the older son.
- God chose David, the youngest of the 8 sons of Jesse.
- God chose Moses, the youngest one in his family.
- Rebellion: Rebellion Against Moses by His Own Family (1-3).
- Mediator: A Mediator is Necessary to Stand Between God and men (4-8).
- Judgment: God's Judgment Against Those Who Reject His Mediator (9-12).
- Intercession: The Mediator as Intercessor for Sinners (13-16).
Numbers 12:1-16 “Murmuring In the House.” Sermon by Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III July 18, 2007.
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