From Being Critical
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SEEKING CHANGE IN MY ATTITUDES |
From Being Critical…
Numbers 12:1-9 (ESV)
1 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman.
2 And they said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the LORD heard it.
3 Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.
4 And suddenly the LORD said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” And the three of them came out.
5 And the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward.
6 And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream.
7 Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house.
8 With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”
9 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them, and he departed.
One Sunday, a pastor received an anonymous note with nothing but the word "FOOL!" written on it. The following Sunday morning, he got up in church and said, "I've gotten many notes without signatures before, but this the first time I got one where someone forgot to write the note and just signed his name!"
Have you ever been criticized before? How did you handle those criticisms or your critics? I'm pretty sure that all of us have been criticized at one time or another. Elbert Green Hubbard has wisely put it:
"To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing."
In other words, if you don't want to be criticized, just settle with being a nobody because the moment you aspire to achieve something or be someone extraordinary, there will be people trying to tear you down. Even Jesus Christ was not exempted from criticism. He was criticized for hanging out with the tax collectors (Luke 19:7) and for breaking the Sabbath Law (Luke 6:1-2; 6:6-7).
Of course, not all criticisms are wrong. Some criticisms can build us up and are motivated by love and concern. We often refer to them as constructive criticisms. But, some criticisms are vicious and cruel and can bring so much harm to us. We know them as destructive criticisms.
This morning, as we continue with our theme, Seeking Change in My Attitude, we will be studying together this destructive type of criticism found in Number 12. As we have seen in our previous studies, the context of the Book of Numbers is Israel's wilderness wanderings. The specific passage we will be looking at narrates the time when Moses was severely criticized by his siblings Miriam and Aaron. This story will help us see how God feels about having a critical attitude. As we consider this bad attitude, if you are always looking for flaws or faults in the lives of the people around you, I hope and pray that you will see why you need to change this attitude. On the other hand, if you are being criticized, I also pray that you would learn how you would handle the criticisms against you. So, diving into our study, let's consider at least three significant elements of being critical in our main text:
I THE ROOT OF CRITICISM (vv. 1-2b)
After the Lord dealt with the covetous attitude of the His people in Numbers 11, chapter 12 transitions to the critical attitude demonstrated by Miriam and Aaron. Verse 1 begins with these words – "Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman."
When you read these words, it is evident that the Holy Spirit emphasizes the two people criticizing Moses. So, in Bible interpretation, you must constantly watch how sentences are written because, unlike English sentences, where you follow the usual pattern of subject, verb, and object. In Hebrew and Greek languages, there is no need for such patterns because the endings of the words will tell which is the subject, the verb, or the adjectives. So, you can place them anywhere in the sentence depending on what you want to emphasize.
So, who are Miriam and Aaron? As we know, they were the siblings of Moses. And so, if there were people who should have been on Moses' side and not criticizing him, they should have been those two people. But because the criticism came from them, you could definitely say it was most hurtful to Moses. It is sad but true that when the people closest to us criticize us, they hurt us the most. Why? We don't expect them to do that to us.
What exactly was their criticism of Moses? The latter part of the verse says, "because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman." When you examine their criticism, it sounds so petty or trivial. Why? Would you really discredit Moses because of his wife? So, what is the problem if Moses married a Cushite woman or an Ethiopian woman? As I told you last Sunday, God did not prohibit inter-racial marriages. What He prohibited is an inter-faith marriage. So, the Lord is okay for His people to marry non-Jewish people, as long as they share the same faith in Jehovah God.
By the way, who was this Cushite woman? Was it Zipporah? If you remember, she was the daughter of Jethro, whom Moses met after he fled from Egypt to Median in Exodus 2. However, many Bible scholars believe that the Cushite woman is not Zipporah because she was a Midianite. Instead, she probably was the second wife of Moses after Zipporah died during the wilderness wandering.
Going back to the criticism against Moses, if you continue to read our text, you will realize that the criticism about Moses' wife was not the real issue. It was only what they were saying because it was less offensive, but their real problem is found in verse 2, "And they said, "Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?" And the LORD heard it."
Their real problem was their jealousy and pride. They both have a problem with the people's perception that Moses was the primary leader God had placed over the nation of Israel. However, they probably felt they should be entitled to the same level because of two reasons:
In Moses' family, Miriam and Aaron were the older siblings – Within their culture, there is preferential treatment for the firstborn child. Perhaps, they want to apply this preferential treatment in their leadership over Israel. They probably thought they could do a better job than Moses, the family's youngest.
Both Miriam and Aaron play significant spiritual roles – Miriam was recognized as a prophetess (Ex.15:20), while Aaron was ordained as the high priest for the nation of Israel. Since they were also spiritual leaders, so they thought they could be on the same level as Moses.
However, these presumptions were unacceptable before God and should not have led them to criticize Moses. Is it possible that we also may have some presumptions causing us to be critical of others? An ancient writer once made this comment about a critic:
"He who criticizes another needs himself to be outstanding."
Often, that prideful feeling that we're much better than others tends to produce this attitude of being critical of others. But watch out once you have developed this bad attitude because this does not sit well with God. So let's move to our second point:
II THE RISK OF CRITICISM (v. 2c)
When we go back to the last phrase of verse 2, you would realize that it is pretty dangerous to be critical of others. Why? It is because verse 2 says, "And the LORD heard it."
Another presumption that Miriam and Aaron made when they criticized Moses was that the three of them were having a private conversation. It was a big mistake. God was present and hearing every word both of them said against Moses. Many times, we make the same mistake. We are by ourselves, and we assume that we can be careless and would begin criticizing others. Watch out because God can hear every word that we are saying. If you don't believe me, listen to these words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 12:36 (ESV)
36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,
This verse should be a potent reminder that we need to be more careful in our conversations because God will hold us accountable for our spoken words. For sure, this truth is the reason that the Bible has so much to say about how we use our mouths. Listen to at least two significant passages:
Matthew 12:34 (ESV)
34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
This verse is within the context of the careless word referred to in Matthew 12:36. The point in verse 34, saying, "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks," is that our words are the best indication of who we are. If the person possesses genuine faith in God, listen to their words, and you will know who they are. So then, you have James 3:5-6 (ESV):
5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!
6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.
Notice that James compares the tongue to a fire that could destroy the entire course of our lives. Is this possible? Yes, you see, our speech can destroy our reputation. Once you have been known as a liar or a gossiper, it can stay with you for the rest of your life.
So, whenever you are tempted to criticize others, remember that God can hear every word you say and will hold you accountable for your words. So, always be careful in how you are using your mouth!
III THE RETRIBUTION OF CRITICISM (vv. 3-15)
The following extensive section in the passage will show us how the Lord dealt with the critics, Miriam and Aaron. But before we talk about it, let's first read verse 3 and see how Moses handled his critics – "Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth."
This verse that describes Moses as very meek compared to anyone in the world shows us how Moses responded to Miriam and Aaron. For most of us, when we are arbitrarily criticized, we will also lash out and will be angry. That's our human nature reacting. But for Moses, he remained meek and said nothing. He controlled his temper and left everything to the Lord. Of course, that's more effective than us reacting. This truth reminds me of how Jesus reacted to His critics as well:
1 Peter 2:22-23 (ESV)
22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.
23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
Moses demonstrated the life of Christ in his response to his critics. You and I can respond this way because we know God will come to our defense.
When you read the following verses beginning verse 4 until 15, you will find how the Lord handled Miriam and Aaron. There are two things the Lord did:
A. God Confronts Miriam and Aaron (vs. 4-9).
Reading these verses, we find the Lord coming down to the Tabernacle (Tent of Meeting) in the form of the pillar of cloud and calling out to the critics to come forward. Once they did, God would explain to them that Moses was not an ordinary prophet because he spoke to him not with visions and dreams but “mouth to mouth” or face to face (v.8). In other words, they should have been careful to speak against him because of his calling.
There is also another reason why they should not have criticized Moses. It is found in verse 7, saying, "Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house." In other words, Moses had been serving faithfully in God's calling. However, the truth is that even faithful servants of God are not exempted from criticism. Someone has said these words about critical people:
A faultfinder is a person with a bad memory who never remembers the good or a person with a good memory who always remembers the bad.
Perhaps, if we magnify the good things other people are doing, we would have difficulty criticizing them. But again going back to Moses, we have to be careful in being critical of people who are living closely with God and are faithfully serving Him. Why? It is because God will surely come to their defense.
B. God Chastises Miriam (vv. 10-15)
Numbers 12:10-15 (ESV)
10 When the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, like snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous.
11 And Aaron said to Moses, "Oh, my Lord, do not punish us because we have done foolishly and have sinned.
12 Let her not be as one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother's womb."
13 And Moses cried to the LORD, "O God, please heal her—please."
14 But the LORD said to Moses, "If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut outside the camp seven days, and after that she may be brought in again."
15 So Miriam was shut outside the camp seven days, and the people did not set out on the march till Miriam was brought in again.
As soon as the Lord departed from them, Miriam was struck with leprosy. During ancient times, leprosy is equal to a death sentence. Now, you might wonder, "Why is it that only Miriam was struck with leprosy?" Well, many Bible scholars agree that it was Miriam who was leading the criticism against Moses. It is seen when you return to the word "spoke" in verse 1. If you analyze the verb, it is rendered in the feminine, singular form. Meaning, it was only Miriam who was speaking. Aaron simply agreed with her. So, she was the only one punished.
Then, Aaron will plead to Moses to intercede for Miriam. Listen to verse 11, "And Aaron said to Moses, "Oh, my lord, do not punish us because we have done foolishly and have sinned." Being critical is not only a character flaw, defect, or weakness; it is a sin. So, God punished it by giving her a fatal disease.
Moses would again be gracious and pray for her, but verse 15 will help you see that her healing did not happen immediately. She still suffered for at least seven days.
As we close this study this morning, I trust that we will do our best to seek change if ever we find ourselves having this critical attitude. Let's not think that God would let us keep going with it without being punished.
On the other hand, if we are the victims of other people's criticisms, let's not get alarmed. We don't always have to defend ourselves. Let's wait on the Lord because He will indeed fight for us. He said:
Exodus 14:14 (ESV)
14 The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."
Often, it is so hard for us to stay silent when we are being criticized. But that's what we need to do if we want God to fight for us and defend us. So may we learn to trust the Lord more and be silent amid criticisms.
-Bishop Jeremiah Lepasana