Numbers 12 Commentary: Miriam and Aaron oppose Moses
On the face of it, the reason for the opposition seems to stem from Moses’ marriage to an unnamed African woman. We already know Moses was married to Zipporah, who gave him two sons named Gershom and Eliezer. At this stage, Moses was above 80, and probably Zipporah was dead.
We have very little information on the first family. The mention of the Cushite (Ethiopian) wife for Moses here is motivated by the jealous incident detailed in this chapter.
Aaron and Miriam oppose Moses’ marriage on zero grounds. They don’t cite any law for their opposition – we suspect the usual family resentment of a brother’s choice for a wife. Miriam must have led the charge, hence her punishment!
In Chapter 11, we saw the community in uproar over food. Now we have issues right within the top leadership team. Of course, there is no fatal fire but Miriam’s leprous condition means Israel cannot move until she heals.
Those who champion the LORD’s will and purposes do well to reflect on this passage. They suffer the wrath directed at the LORD. Man’s angry and sinful reaction against God is often directed at the subjects of the kingdom.
These chapters in the middle of the book define the Book of Numbers. In the introduction, we wondered why the population of six hundred thousand men at the start was still six hundred thousand men after forty years, and why a journey of two weeks became forty years.
Chapter 12 can account for seven days – while Miriam recovered from her wounds! Chapter 11 explained the first of the many losses after the census. We are still counting. The Book of Numbers is actually about accounting for the various key numbers.
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