To speak evil about God’s servants is also doing a disservice to God Himself. This is telling God that whom He chose to do His will on earth was wrong. Many people do this and try to find fault in people who are really trying their best to live for God. Miriam and Aaron did this against Moses because of his Ethiopian wife. These two people were called out by God in His wrath. It is written, “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) Imagine doing something wrong and then being called out by God in all His wrath. It would be terrifying.
God then came down in the pillar of a cloud and stood in the tabernacle with Miriam, Aaron, and Moses. It was there that God said and did the following. “Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them; and he departed. 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.” (Numbers 12:6-10) Diseases and sicknesses can come down upon people from God. Satan doesn’t always do this. This side of God is not well known or spoken about, but still, His wrath upon the wicked is very real. Amen.
Let us pray:
Oh Lord, I pray that people will desire to do Your will and not simply the things they believe are right. Many people have a false notion of what You are to them and then make up a God that fits their beliefs. And so many people believe that You are a God of love and would never condemn anyone to hell. They believe that only Satan is causing people to be punished in this life, where they disregard the other side of Your nature. Lord, I want people to understand that You are love, but that there is also anger. As much I believe that You are so good to me, I also know that Your wrath is upon every worker of iniquity. This is displayed in the Bible all over the place. It is evident that You are so merciful to those who believe in You, but are also just at the same time. People can disbelieve in You, Lord, and live out their own lives, but this does not mean that You won’t be fair and just when they die. Surely, people go where they should go when they die, paradise and then heaven, or hell and then the lake of fire. Lead me to Your heavenly home. I believe in You, God. Have Your way in my life. I trust in You, God. Amen.
Amen! Maybe we should try to obey God and try to keep Him happy rather than cause Him to be angry with us.
“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.”
Somehow you omit the rest of Miriam’s story. How she was healed by the Lord through her repentance and how the entire nation of Israel waited in the desert for her to complete her cleansing process before they continued on their way together.
I also think we too quickly pass over the words, “If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.”
Let us pray: Lord, we are grateful for your mercy, even when we stray. It is not that we may ever sin without consequence but that through the atoning sacrifice of the Savior, Jesus Christ, even as foreseen by the ancient prophets, we may repent and be healed and cleansed from all iniquity. We are grateful that you have and will make yourself known to prophets, even through visions and dreams, until we come to unity of faith as disciples of Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.