THE DISSENSION OF SIBLINGS
BIBLE PASSAGE: NUMBERS 12: 1-16
Picture taken from Google
Lesson Prepared by: Krisha of
Solomon’s Wisdom FB page
Lesson
ideas taken from: https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/numbers-12
NOVEMBER 21, 2021
MEMORY VERSE
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for
brethren to dwell together in unity!
PSALMS 133:1
INTRODUCTION:
I remember my sister, who bullied me when I was young. She seldom
helped inside the house; she always pointed to me the work that was intended
for her. She pushed her arm toward my neck when she saw a handsome man. That
was hurt but I was helpless at that time; all I had to do was crying. Also, a
sister pushed my head in a pile of dirty clothes. Another sister told me, she
was embarrassed to see me giving bible tracts to people inside the jeepney. To top it all, my experiences are also the
same with some here but my younger sister, Carol, had more extreme experiences
than me. She was slapped, her clothes were thrown away the house, she was
forced to eat “sili” and a lot more. These are some of the examples happened in
the family. I believe all of us had also experienced a “family drama” and if we
remember them at this present time, we already Christians, we just laugh at
them but to unbelievers this is not the case. It took years before they recover
the painful experiences they had. Others, they brought the pain until death
without forgiveness. Why I say this? Because this is the reality of family in
our society.
What was the feeling when in the family there are rivalry or
disunity between siblings or other members in the family? (allow responses from
audience) It’s hard if there are members in the family question your faith,
your testimony or biblical views.
LESSON OUTLINE:
1. WHEN YOUR FAMILY IS THE SOURCE OF
CRITICISM…
The Old Testament is filled
with sibling rivalry drama and examples of how not to treat
your brother. Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers.
But in the book of Exodus,
we come across Miriam, Aaron and Moses, a set of siblings who, for the most
part, got along.
Who is Miriam?
The sister of Moses and Aaron. In Exodus 2:7-9, “Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to
thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? And
Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's
mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and
nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the women took the child,
and nursed it.”
When baby Moses was sent
into the Nile, it was his sister Miriam who waited by the bulrushes to ensure
his safety. We know that Moses was raised by his mother with the knowledge of
God and His people. Miriam witnessed the great miracles of God through Moses,
her brother. She was also part of the huge throng of people to cross the
parted Red Sea. She looked back, after passing, and watched as the chariots and
Pharaoh’s army were swallowed into the sea. There was song of Moses and Miriam
which is found in Exodus chapter 15. Who
is Aaron? He’s the brother of Moses.
In Exodus 4: 14, we can read that God mentioned Aaron to speak for Moses
because he was reluctant in speaking to pharaoh. He took also on role of an
Israel’s priest (Exodus 28). Moses and his brother Aaron worked side by side,
leading the children of Israel out of Egyptian slavery … together! In Exodus 4:29 says, “And Moses
and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel:” How glad to see
that your family is helping and serving in the Lord’s vineyard, right? But life
wasn’t always sunshine and roses for these three. Like most siblings, they also
had their moments. Remember the golden calf? Moses was furious when he came
down the mountain and saw what his brother had done. What was Aaron thinking?
Exodus 32:21,22, 25 say,
“And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people
unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them? And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax
hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief. And when Moses saw that the people were naked;
(for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)”
We can see in these verses that Aaron agrees with the request
of the people without hesitation. In Exodus 32:26, “Then Moses
stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord's
side? let him come unto me. And all the
sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.” Aaron would have been among those who repented of sin.
Then,
in Numbers chapter 12, Aaron and Miriam spoke against Moses.
“And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because
of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian
woman.”
On the one hand, it seems strange
that his sister and brother – his own family – would be the source of such
criticism. We might think that they would be Moses’ greatest support. Yet it is
not unusual for a prophet to be without honor among his own people (Matthew 13:57).
The following were taken from
commentary:
a.
Miriam takes the lead here;
“The feminine singular verb that initiates the chapter (lit., ‘and she spoke,’
v.1) and the placement of her name before that of Aaron indicate that Miriam is
the principal in the attack against Moses.” (Allen)
b.
Because of the Ethiopian
woman whom he had married: This was the reason for
their criticism. This is a problem passage for some, because Exodus 2:16-22 indicates Moses’ wife
(named Zipporah) was the daughter of a man from Midian.
· Some
think perhaps Zipporah had died, and this was a second wife Moses took after
her death. Remember that Moses had a remarkably long life and was more than 81
at this time – it is entirely possible he outlived several wives.
· Others
think Moses took a second wife in addition to Zipporah; this is possible but
doesn’t seem likely.
· Still
others suggest that Jethro, Zipporah’s father, was actually from Ethiopia and
had moved to Midian, making Zipporah an Ethiopian by birth but living in
Midian.
· It
may also be possible that Ethiopian here
was a derogatory term used to criticize Zipporah because of a dark complexion.
c.
For he had married an
Ethiopian woman: Interestingly, they
criticized Moses and his wife over something she had no control over – her
appearance, either because she was an Ethiopian (meaning a Negro) or had a dark
complexion as an Ethiopian. Much criticism comes to pastor’s wives and others
in ministry over things they really have no control over.
https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/numbers-12
If we put ourselves on
Moses’ situation, we can feel how hard it is when the family or your siblings
involved in criticism about you. Also, we see in this scenario that whatever
concerns we have, we need to put our concerns in proper forum. If this complaint had been their true concern, they could
have brought it to Moses or to the council of elders he had recently formed (Num. 11:16-17) for resolution. However,
it seems that the complaint over Moses’ wife was not the real issue, but we can
see how the issue was handled in the presence and help of the Lord. We can see
in this verse that Moses didn’t say a word. He let God handled the situation.
Do you have struggles about
members in the family who spread criticisms about you? Make sure that you are
in God’s side or in the center of His will and for sure, God will take control
of it.
2. WHEN YOUR AUTHORITY IS CHALLENGED BY
YOUR FAMILY…
And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by
Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the Lord heard it - Numbers 12:2
a.
Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses: This attack attempted to
put Moses down, making him seem proud. After all, it should matter nothing to
Aaron and Miriam if indeed the LORD had spoken only through Moses. Their real
charge was that Moses “goes about acting as if he is the only one the LORD
speaks through,” accusing Moses of pride.
·
Did the LORD indeed only speak through Moses? No
and yes. Of course, the LORD had spoken through many in the Book of Exodus
already: The LORD spoke to the people through Aaron in Exodus 4:30; He spoke to Aaron
in Exodus 12:1; Miriam herself spoke
words inspired by God in Exodus 15:21. But in the sense of there
being one leader for Israel, there was only one. Moses, under God’s hand, had
the authority and the accountability to lead the people.
b.
Has He not spoken through us also: This question was meant
to lift Miriam and Aaron up. “After all, God speaks to us also. Shouldn’t we
get some of the credit around here?” Of course, God had spoken to Miriam and Aaron in the past – but
He had not given them the authority to lead the nation.
·
Can God give one man the authority to lead His
people? Of course, He can. The Old and New Testaments are filled with this kind
of leadership (Moses, Joshua, David, Daniel, James, Peter, Paul, Timothy,
Titus; and of course, Jesus, whose leadership style we are commanded to imitate).
·
“Every now and then we hear some foolish or other
talking against a ‘one-man ministry,’ when it has been a one-man ministry from
the commencement of the world to the present day; and whenever you try to have
any other form of ministry, and doing it thoroughly and heartily and
independently and bravely in the sight of God, you very soon run upon
quicksands.” (Spurgeon, A Cheery Word in Troublous
Times)
c.
And the LORD heard it: Of course, God heard it.
God always does, and He hears according to truth, not according to mere
appearance. Miriam and Aaron – as is often the case – were accusing Moses of
the very same sin motivating them to make the accusation (pride).
In verse 3, (Now the man Moses was
very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.). Yet if Moses was so humble, and if
Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible, we wonder how a humble man could
possibly call himself the humblest man on the face of the earth.
In all likelihood, someone added this comment after the death of Moses –
perhaps Joshua, who would have known Moses well. It is important to see Moses didn’t start out as the humblest man on earth; he
grew up proud and confident in his abilities. It was only time, desert
time, lowly time, that made him a humble – and greatly usable – man
Whatever
authority we have in the family, may the situation of Moses remind us that when
our authority is questioned, do what is right in God’s sight, be humble and let
the Lord take the lead.
3. WHEN YOUR FAMILY NEEDS TO BE DISCIPLINED…
Numbers
12:10 “And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle;
and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon
Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.”
Leprosy was a disease of bodily
decay and corruption; it was considered to be a “walking death” – and Miriam
had a seriously advanced case of leprosy instantly. At this moment, God caused
her body to reflect her heart. In verse 11 and 12 say, “And Aaron
said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us,
wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned. Let
her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out
of his mother's womb.” Aaron seems a man easily swayed;
swayed by a crowed wanting an idol, swayed by his sister (who seemed to be the
instigator, because she is named first and was first struck with leprosy), and
now swayed quickly back to a humble submission before Moses. Now Aaron
called Moses his lord, attributed to Moses
the power to strike Miriam with leprosy, and confessed his previous criticism
as foolish and sinful.
We all know the feeling if one
member of the family is disciplined. I remember one time when a person close to
my heart was disciplined. At one point I’ve tried to lessen the punishment but
a leader of the church rebuke me and said, “Don’t include your emotion in terms
of disciplining a sinning brother.” Then I shut my mouth and just prayed.
In verse 13 says, “And Moses cried unto the Lord,
saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.” This was the first word spoken by Moses in this chapter. He
had not spoken the entire time he was accused, leaving it up to God to answer
his critics. His prayer showed how family is family but he still left the
decision to the Lord.
Let her be
shut out of the camp seven days, and afterward she may be received again: God did in
fact heal Miriam. If she were still a leper, she would not have been allowed to
remain in the camp of Israel. Yet, God allowed her to live with the outward
display of her inward heart for seven days – and allowed the whole nation to
know it.
So Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days: This was appropriate, because Miriam had done something even
more shameful than her own father spitting in her face; she tried to bring down
a leader of God’s people with petty, false, and self-interested criticism.
What lesson we could get on this?
There are times we blame or question the people criticize our love ones or the
member of the family but have we thought about what is God’s telling us about
it. Is there something we need to learn or listen to God’s will? Another thing,
in spite of the criticisms, Moses prayed for his sister. We’ve read that
from the beginning, Moses held his tongue and yes, he prayed for his sister
instead.
CONCLUSION:
Moses chose to
turn a bad situation into one of restoration and healing.
Centuries
later, David mentions Moses’ brother Aaron in a beautiful psalm about brotherly
fellowship and the blessing of unity. “Behold,
how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It
is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even
Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of
Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there
the Lord commanded the
blessing, even life for evermore.” (Psalm
133:1-3).
Perhaps you are in the thick of parenting (or caring for some “less
mature” people in your world), and there are days where you feel more like a
referee than a mom … you are not alone! There are parents struggle too. Or
maybe your kids aren’t the only ones at odds with one another. Sadly, family or
other relationship drama can last decades.
I won’t pretend to understand every disheartening situation out there,
but I do know what God says about our situations, through David in Psalm 133.
May we always do our part and strive for unity. It’s good, it’s pleasant, and
God’s blessing is there.
Don’t give up. Even the best of relationships has their moments. And
there is hope for even the worst of relationships. Be that mom, that sister, that girl.
It’s never too late to speak and pray the blessing of Psalm 133 over our
relationships.
“For there the
LORD bestows His blessing ...” (Psalm 133:3b).
Father, You know each and
every relationship struggle we face today. We ask that You bring restoration
and divine unity where there has been discord. Let our thoughts and words be
led by You. I pray we always do our part and strive for unity. We speak and
pray the blessing of Psalm 133 over hurting relationships. In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
