Morning

March 6

Numbers 12:1-3 ¹Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. ²"Has the LORD spoken only through Moses?" they asked. "Hasn't he also spoken through us?" And the LORD heard this. ³(Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)

Moses family didn't approve of his marriage. We don't know what happened to Zipporah, his first wife. The new wife was an Egyptian, probably one of the multitude that came out with the Israelites to worship the God of the Hebrews. I think Moses was big enough to make his own decisions, and godly enough not to be second-guessed. The real issue is leadership. Who has the final say? "Shouldn't we vote on whether or not this is the right decision? God speaks to us too! Why should he remarry at his age (over eighty-years-old)?"

Yes, God does speak to them. We just saw in the last chapter how His Spirit was placed upon the elders. The question remains; who will have the final say? It is a power struggle, and not the last one we will see in the desert. The power belongs to God. He's in charge. He is leading through his servant Moses, but helping him through the elders. This most humble of men did not defend himself and his decision to marry, but God defended him.

We can know that if we are walking with the LORD, in humble submission to Him, that we need not defend ourselves. The office of the prophet as the intermediary between God and man has since ceased (Luke 16:16). The Holy Spirit communes with each of us, and we have His Word. Still, the principle is the same. We will often be questioned, and sometimes our whole family will be against us (Matthew 10:36). We should know that we need not argue our case. If it is a righteous decision, the LORD will defend us. If it is not a godly decision, we will see by the fruit and learn from our mistake. That is genuine humility.

Meditation: Can I trust God to defend my godly decisions?