“Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married” (Numbers 12:1). We recall that Jethro/Reuel, priest of Midian, had given his daughter Zipporah to marry Moses (Exodus 2:21). That would make her a Midianite, a Middle-eastern tribe, northeast of Egypt. In contrast Cush was south of Egypt, where Sudan is today. It’s likely that there was trade across the Red Sea, and some amount of intermarriage as well, which would mean that some Midianites would have African characteristics – which could explain why Miriam and Aaron spoke against Zipporah, on the basis that her heritage did not match with the people of Israel.

Miriam and Aaron, older sister and brother to Moses, complained that Moses was not after all the only one through whom the Lord had spoken; they, too, were prophets who had spoken the word of the Lord. I confess that I can never read this narrative without thinking that we are all one good argument away from squabbling with each other just like we did when we were children. According to Stephen’s narration to the Sanhedrin (Acts 7:23-30), Moses was eighty when he returned to Egypt to call on Pharaoh to set the people of Israel free, so what we see is these three eighty-somethings elbowing each other for position.

God called out Aaron and Miriam, along with Moses, and insisted that Moses had a special position and relationship with God. So, “Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” (Numbers 12:6-8). And immediately Miriam was filled with leprosy. (Why just Miriam? It’s Aaron’s sin, too, and his plea to Moses plainly acknowledges this: “Do not punish us for a sin that we have so foolishly committed (12:11).) We should notice this a subtle point: Miriam and Aaron complained that Zipporah’s skin was too dark, and now Miriam’s skin is too white (12:10).

Moses prayed for Miriam’s healing. The Lord was not easily mollified: “If her father had but spit in her face, would she not bear her shame for seven days?” (12:14). So Miriam was banished outside the camp for seven days, and the people of Israel did not march on until she had been brought back into the camp. It would come to pass that Moses would cite Miriam’s leprosy as a reminder to be sure to keep God’s commandments (Deuteronomy 24:8-9), but the people of Israel also remembered that she was a prophet (Exodus 15:20-21).

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I don’t like this story, Lord, but here it is in the Bible. What if someone else has a more significant role than I do, and I resent it? Can I learn to be satisfied with the gifts and calling I have received? Can I rest content to do as well as I can with what you have entrusted to me? Be gracious to me, O God, and let me learn from you.

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