There have been many times that leaders have faced criticism from those that are closest to them. Just when things seem to be going right a left hook, out of nowhere puts things out of whack. There are many times that the leader looks to stop and give up. Others put on determination and grit and keep going. Then there are still others that do not give up and do not move forward but freeze asking the question why them. For many of us the latter is the action that we take.
The problem now that is occurring is not the murmuring of the inner circle, but that the people that we are leading are not moving forward. When a leader is stuck this is cripples to the people and the movement. When it happens to a visionary leader it is fatal.
It is fatal to the people and the movement because the visionary leader is no longer looking to the Lord for the vision. Instead he is looking to the Lord for an answer to the problem. That is why the writer of Proverbs wrote:
Where there is no vision, the people perishf:
No one knows where to go without a vision. There is no direction for one’s life without a vision. There is no hope in dark times without a vision. Life looses meaning without a vision. Therefore vision is essential in order for a people and a movement to grow, thrive and advance.
In today’s Word this is what happened to Moses. It is not like that this has not happened before. In the Book of Exodus there recorded many times where the Children of Israel complained about what was going on. They complained about slavery and then complained about the deliverer that God sent. On the journey out of Egypt, they complained about the harshness of not having a homeland, the type of food that they ate, and the thirst that they had.
The complaints of the people came from not fully understanding the purpose that God for them. The results of these complaints were that God on many occasions wanted to consume them in the wilderness. However it was the Moses standing in the gap for Children of Israel that stayed the hand of God. Moses did this because he knew what God wanted for them. That is why that every time the complaints happened Moses was able to deal with them and keep moving. What makes this time different is that complaints are coming from members of his family.
We can deal with most complaints when they come from outsiders. This is because we expect complaints to come from those that do not know us. However complaints that come from family are not so easily understood. Our kinfolk are the ones that know us the best. They have been with us to celebrate our shining achievements, and have supported us during the darkest of low points. Through it all we look to our families to be right by our side. Therefore we expect the members of our family to catch the vision that God gave, and depend on them to be our inner circle. When they don’t or they complain, it freezes us and makes us question “Why?”.
Miriam and Aaron not only spoke against Moses but also questioned the Lord.
And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us?
The question is more about the choice that the Lord made in revealing the His vision to Moses. There are some family members that question why the Lord gave you the vision instead of them. The questions that run in their mind are: “Why would the Lord give him a vision and not us? Aren’t we from the same family? Didn’t we have the same upbringing? I remember what he was before this ‘vision’ thing. Always in trouble, and did not have it together. Since that is the case I can do the same thing that he is doing.” What Miriam and Aaron asked spoke to a problem that they had in themselves.
The problem that Miriam and Aaron had was of insecurity. The problem of insecurity has caused problems in the lives of people. Both Miriam and Aaron had the problem of insecurity because of their history. Being born and raised as slaves there is the insecurity in their place in society. When one is born a slave you are lowest in the land. The only value that one has to the people at large is what you can do physically. Intellect and knowledge of a slave means nothing to his master. Healthy, enduring relationships are obstacles to a slave’s production that must be removed. The very life of a slave was of no real value. If a slave became ill, handicapped, or even died, he was replaceable. In the master’s mind a slave could be replaced as easy as a part on a car.
When one is raised in this type of environment one does not see themselves as secure. How could one, when at the whim of another your life could be snuffed out. Your right as a person was not guaranteed, or even granted under the law. Miriam and Aaron had this history playing in their mind, the constant drumbeat that they were going to be replaced. They had constant need for validation, they had the constant need to feel that they were of value and that they were needed. This was not first time for Aaron, it was this need to be of value that he made the Golden Calf.
And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. 2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. 3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. 4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf:
When Moses was on the Mount of God for forty days and nights, the Children of Israel came to Aaron. They came to Aaron because was one that was closest to Moses and thought that he could give them direction. Aaron now felt that because of this he was no longer the mouthpiece for Moses (something that God called him to be [Exodus 4:10-16]), but now he is valued as a leader. He can now step out of the shadow of his brother and step into the spotlight. This made Aaron secure in himself, because others validated him.
Problems always come when we allow others to validate us. When we allow others to validate us we are giving mortal man the power to dictate who we are. People become man pleasers in order to hold on to their sense of value. Relying on the opinions of others they never have the courage to stand against or for something, it always seems that they wave in the wind, always siding with the position that is the most popular. This prompts those that are looking for a leader to believe that one is talking out of both sides of their mouth.
A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
This person is unstable in his position on things. A person that is unstable in his support. A person that is unstable on how to handle things. A person that is unstable in his relationships. This is a person that is unstable in every area if his life, all because he is looking in the wrong place for validation.
For validation we need to look to the Lord. In order to remove the feeling of insecurity we need to look and trust in the Lord. It is the Lord who is the one that gives the ultimate validation. This validation comes in a number of ways.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
We are validated because God thought it important to make man in his image and in His own likeness. In was important that the pinnacle of all His creation reflected Him. We are validated because the Lord took His time and physically involved Himself in making man.
What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? 5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. 6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
This is additional validation, because it tells us that God did not only make man, but he is also concerned about man. God is mindful of what goes on in the lives of men, in spite of man’s position in relation to the heavenly beings. Mankind is valuable in the Lord’s eyes because he gave man stewardship over the rest of creation.
What was it that triggered the feelings of insecurity in Miriam and Aaron? Everything was going so well between them and Moses since Egypt. They had been through all the hard times and murmuring of the people. It was Miriam that help sing the song of triumph at the Red Sea (Exodus 15:20). Both Miriam and Aaron were called to their positions by God. They should be secure in who they are, but something still triggered this problem. To be exact it was not something, it was someone.
Moses’ wife was the bone of contention with Miriam and Aaron. The Word states that it was because of his wife they spoke against Moses. The wife of Moses was an outsider to Miriam and Aaron and the Israel people. She did not have the same background as the others. In their mind she was a wedge between the family.
Notice that Miriam and Aaron did not complain about how Moses was leading, but they complained about his position in leadership. Everything was fine with them until this point. They were the ones that were close to Moses. They were the ones that had Moses ear. Now there was this strange person that showed up. This new woman was now close to Moses. This new person now had twenty four hour access to Moses. Who was she? She was not part of the family. This new person did not go through what they had been through. The presence of this wife pulled the trigger of insecurity of Miriam and Aaron.
There are those that go through the same feelings that they went through. Feeling good about where the Lord has brought them. Everything is going alright, things are moving in the right direction. Then something happens to change the equation. The change happens because the movement is changing the lives of those around it. New people start coming to get involved, looking for a change. But there are those, who where there from the beginning, starting to get uncomfortable. They feel that they are going to be replaced.
However with a true the move of God, that is something that is not going to happen. This is because the God wants people to be involved. The Lord wants people to come and feel the change that He can be produced in their lives. A true move of God validates everybody, values all people, the young and the old. The ones that where there when no one else was there, to newcomer. A true move of God reflects the mind of God in the movement.
For there is no respect of persons with God.
The people show that others are loved and accepted. The people prove that there is a place for everyone that comes, from oldest to the youngest.
Miriam and Aaron showed that this was not in their heart. Miriam and Aaron were judged for what was in their heart. However it was not Moses who complained, it was not Moses who judged. In fact Moses did not open his mouth; it was the Lord who judged them.
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
There is nothing that you can hide from God. Whatever you do God knows about it. Whatever you say God knows about it. Whatever you think God knows about it. God knows the secret things that we think are hidden. It is God that knows the hearts of men. God heard what they said, and called Miriam, Aaron and Moses out. God told them that it was His choice on how He speaks to those that He calls. The Lord then leaves them and His judgment is left on Miriam’s face.
Miriam’s leprous skin revels on the outside the sin on the inside. Where Moses had to cover his face because God’s glory shone on it; Miriam had to cover her face because of the shame of her sin. By the law of God Miriam had to be cast out of the camp. A leader, a member of Moses’ inner circle was now an outcast. A sin of the heart can cause you to lose you place and your anointing. Now fearful and scared for his sister Aaron begged Moses for forgiveness and mercy. Moses then cried to the Lord for the healing of Miriam. The key is that in order to be restored you must confess your sin and reconcile with the one that you sinned against. It is only then can healing begin.
Moses could have stood there and not prayed. Moses could have the stood there and not shown mercy. Moses could have the stood there and not forgiven, but he didn’t. For Moses was touched by the love of God. This Love is what changes a person.
This love can make you love those that talk about you.
This love can make you show mercy to those that hate you.
This love can make you pray for those that hurt you.
This love can make you extend a hand to those that want to hold you down.
It is this love that God wants to show man.
The love of God was shown by being born of a virgin.
For this love is Jesus, and Jesus still had people complain about Him.
Jesus has 12 in his inner circle and one of them betrayed Him.
Jesus was crucified because someone complained.
Jesus died on the cross because someone complained.
Jesus was the buried in the grave because someone complained.
Crucified, dead and buried, people thought that Jesus was not a leader; they thought that Jesus did not have a vision. They thought that God had left Him. But God did not leave Him. God did not forget about Him. For God raised him from the dead. God gave Jesus the keys to hell, death and the grave. God gave Jesus all power in heaven and earth in His hand. God gave Jesus a name above all names:
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
