And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of
the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.
And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken
also by us? And the LORD heard it. (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all
the men which were upon the face of the earth.) And the LORD spake suddenly
unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the
tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out. – Numbers 12.1-4
If you had asked me before I studied this passage who
the meek men of the Bible were I am not sure who I might have listed. Moses
seems brash and easily stirred to anger and frustratable and dynamic.
But at the same time we do know that Moses was meek.
When we think back to his call he did not think he could do it. When I read
that passage my thoughts are that he is being fearful and not willing, but
perhaps, in the light of this passage it really was his meekness and humility
that led him to respond the way he did.
Moses’ meekness here is mentioned because Miriam and
Aaron are complaining that Moses as too much power. He had the gall to marry
and Ethiopian woman and his brother and sister felt like he overstepped his
bounds.
God’s answer is that there was no one alive more meek than
Moses. It was not his pride that led him to marry this woman. Aaron and Miriam
were guilty of judging Moses’ motives.
Moses makes it clear that meekness is not weakness and
that meekness does not make one a Caspar Milquetoast. It is not the guy who
speaks softly and gets hit with a big stick. Meekness is power that is under
control. Moses was not weak. He talked to God and led the people for forty
years, but he did not make a show of his power. He simply did what God told him
to do.
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