Tragedy at the Tabernacle: Miriam’s Punishment
Introduction: The Tabernacle was also known as the “tent of meeting” and the place of worship for Israel during the Old Testament era. The Israelites also came there to present their various offerings to the LORD. Yet there was another side to the Tabernacle: there were a number of times when judgments took place resulting in tragedy for one or more of the people. The incident in this passage shows how a relatively minor issue led to something very tragic indeed.
1 The Accusation from Miriam and Aaron
Text, Numbers 12:1-3, KJV: 1 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. 2 And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it. 3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)
Miriam was probably the oldest of Amram and Jochebed’s children—at least we don’t have any written records of any others. Some believe she was three years older than Aaron and thus six when Moses was born. Many first-grade children (average age: 6) do have a good amount of charm and/or winsomeness so it was easy for Pharaoh’s daughter to see Miriam as just a little girl rather than a threat or anything else when Moses took his first river cruise! Other than that, there isn’t much said about Miriam until this passage.
We do know more about Aaron, how that he (somehow) survived the infanticide decreed by Pharaoh, and that he followed the LORD’s command to find Moses. Aaron was 83 and Moses 80 when they stood together to represent the True God in front of Pharaoh and the various idols or false gods of Egypt.
Aaron had also been selected and consecrated to be Israel’s first high priest. He had the promise from the Lord that there would be no other legitimate high priest, or any priest, who could not trace his ancestry back to Aaron. Hundreds of years after this,. Ezra was able to prove he was a direct descendant from Aaron (Ezra 7:1-5) but a group of others, claiming to be priests, were excluded because they could not prove that ancestry (Nehemiah 7).
Both of them were believers in the LORD, both had experienced the crossing of the Red Sea on dry ground, and how the LORD had taken care of everything: up to this point. As incredible as it sounds, these two chose this time to criticize Moses for, of all things, his wife!
Without losing a lot of time here, we know Zipporah was Moses’ first wife. She was the daughter of Jethro;/Reuel, who was the priest of Midian, and she was the mother of Moses’ two sons. She’s only mentioned a few times, and not always in a pleasant light (e,g,. calling Moses a “bloody husband (Exodus 4)” and seemingly aloof when Jethro/Reuel brought her along to visit Moses (see Exodus 18).
Verse 1, though, says that Moses had married an “Ethiopian” woman. There’s some debate over this among the commentators but to me it seems either “Ethiopia” meant more territory than the present day country by that name (of note, Josephus mentions that Moses was a powerful general over Egypt’s army and one of the conquered territories was Ethiopia; available online at https://ccel.org/ccel/josephus/complete/complete.ii.iii.x.html or Antiquities, 2, x). One could make a four-point sermon on Moses as a leader of, by turn, soldiers, sheep, slaves, and settlers!
Others believe Zipporah had died and Moses had remarried. At any rate, this seems to me to be a very small thing. My wife and I were raised in different parts of the USA but we’ve never gone to throwing mud about where she’s from versus where I’m from. Hey, she’s kept me for almost 30 years so I’m not gonna complain!
But it was a big deal for Aaron and Miriam and, for whatever reason, they “spoke against” Moses because of his wife. To be honest, I’ve checked a few commentaries and there doesn’t seem to be a clear definition as to what “spoke against” means. Whatever they said to Moses, it wasn’t kind and it wasn’t necessary. Miriam, especially, would find this out soon.
Now the sister and brother drop the mask, to use a turn of phrase, by shifting their concern for Moses’ (new?) wife and his position. Classic bait and switch, perhaps?
Next, Miriam and Aaron reveal the real issue. They asked, “Has the LORD really only spoken by you? Hasn’t He also spoken by us?” Well, for Miriam, the answer would have to be No! True, she did act like a guard when Moses was floating in that basket, and she did grab a tambourine or similar instrument and added her voice to the “Song of Deliverance” when Israel crossed the Red Sea (Exodus 15). But as far as new information, new revelation, the new system of centralized worship at the Tabernacle? Not a word.
Aaron had received a number of messages from the LORD as recorded in the last half of Exodus and parts of Leviticus. He was indeed the first high priest, chosen by the LORD Himself, but if Aaron communicated much of anything, there isn’t much recorded. So, again, the LORD had not communicated by Aaron or Miriam. The spokesman, the prophet, was Moses.
To say the least, the LORD was not pleased. The last part of verse 2 says the LORD “heard”. That meant more than just content—words—reaching the eardrum; it meant the LORD had taken it to heart (“carefully considered” is one alternate translation; available online at https://biblehub.com/hebrew/8085.htm). The next question was, “what’s next?”
2 The Answer from the LORD
Text, Numbers 12:4-8, KJV: 4 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. 5 And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth. 6 And he said, 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. 7 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. 8 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?
The answer to the question, “what’s next”, came directly from the LORD! He appeared “suddenly (https://biblehub.com/hebrew/6597.htm)” and demanded that the three of them (Miriam, Aaron, and Moses) to come to the tabernacle. Wherever this discussion (!) had begun, the LORD stepped in and soon He was going to have the last word.
To their credit, all three of them went to the Tabernacle. At least they agreed on that much. It’s not recorded what they were thinking but my guess is that with every step they walked toward the Tabernacle, they were walking towards the LORD’s judgment. After all, they weren’t bringing any sacrifice or offering, and I can’t help but feel that Aaron sensed some dread. It hadn’t been that long ago when his two oldest sons had died before the LORD at the same place.
After they arrived, the LORD made His presence known. He came in the “pillar of the cloud” and stood by the door of the tabernacle. Aaron would have known something was up as this was the first step in any offering or sacrifice. And when the LORD called Aaron and Miriam, they stepped forward. Things like this had not happened very often to very many besides Moses.
And I can’t help but think, Miriam and Aaron probably began to wish they weren’t about to hear what the LORD had to say. Oh, the LORD certainly did have something to say, and He didn’t soften anything when He called these two nearby. Note how He spoke directly to their first complaint, namely, “Has the LORD only spoken to you, Moses?”
The LORD promptly settled that issue with these solemn words: “If there’s a prophet among you, I will give him a vision and I will speak to him in a dream (paraphrased)”. Moses had seen this and more, what with the numerous trips from the foot of Mt Sinai to the top and back down again, plus the sometimes extended stays at the top. The LORD had given Moses the two tables of stone and had shown Moses the pattern for all the items of the Tabernacle. Thus, their first point of contention with Moses—gone.
The LORD wasn’t done yet. He then explained that Moses was faithful in all the LORD’s house or business and that He spoke to Moses face to face. That too was true: besides all the conversations on Sinai, think of how many times the LORD spoke from the Tabernacle itself. Leviticus is full of these direct quotes from the LORD. Even more important, the LORD said Moses did not communicate in “dark speeches”. That phrase is also translated as “riddle”, “parable”, and similar concepts (https://biblehub.com/hebrew/2420.htm). In a word, the LORD is saying He used plain language when He and Moses spoke.
Finally the LORD gave them one simple question: “Why were you not afraid to speak against My servant, Moses?”
Their answer, if any, isn’t recorded but the LORD was not done with those two. No, He had another way to show how much He didn’t approve of what they had done.
3 The Anger of the LORD
Text, Numbers 12:9-15, KJV: 9 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed. 10 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. 11 And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned. 12 Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb. 13 And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee. 14 And the LORD said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again. 15 And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.
It’s a good thing—nothing facetious or sacrilegious intended—that the LORD is slow to anger, full of compassion, and so on. There’s not a single one of us who deserves anything except His wrath because of our sins and rebellion against Him. Fortunately, His anger was only rarely displayed—but when it was, you better believe people took notice. And His anger was truly focused on Aaron, especially on Miriam.
Verse 9 relates how the LORD departed after He had spoken to Aaron and Miriam. The cloud, which seemed to accompany these visits, departed as well. That could have meant something serious was about to happen: when the LORD stops speaking, we’d do well to listen and watch.
But if there was any doubt as to what He thought of Aaron’s and Miriam’s outburst against Moses, they were about to get His response quickly. There is no time interval mentioned, but it seems shortly after the LORD departed, something else appeared. Something nobody wanted to have happen to them, and nearly impossible to live otherwise.
Leprosy.
Miriam became a complete leper, her skin “white as snow”. Compare this to the time the LORD spoke to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3) before Moses returned to Egypt. There, the LORD told Moses to put his hand into his bosom, and his hand was leprous! Then the LORD told Moses to put his hand back into his “bosom (think, lap or that part of the body)” and when he did, his hand was restored!
Going back to leprosy for a moment, there seem to be different types of that disease. Leviticus 13 describes various skin diseases and chapter 14 has other information about it. Only a few seem to have been completely leprous like Miriam here but no matter what, practically speaking, Miriam’s life was over unless and until she was cleansed of that disease.
Miriam didn’t say a word—maybe she couldn’t, out of shock, dismay, despair, or any other number of things. Aaron, though, found his voice and immediately apologized to Moses, making a sincere plea for forgiveness and, maybe, Miriam’s restoration.
Moses agreed, and prayed to the LORD for Miriam’s healing. The LORD said, in so many words, “I’ll do it, but she has to face the consequences for what she did.” Miriam was indeed shut out of the camp for a week. The people didn’t move, by the way, until Miriam “was brought in again”. And that’s where the story ends: going nowhere, achieving nothing, suffering discipline and punishment for a severe sin. To be honest, isn’t that the case when any of us choose to do our own thing in spite of what the LORD has clearly stated?
And that brings us to the point of a tragedy. It was tragic that Miriam and Aaron had such strong feelings against their own sister-in-law that their opinion of Moses changed—for the worse, as it turned out. It was also a tragedy that these two appointed themselves as judge and jury, demanding to know why they didn’t have all that Moses had (paraphrasing). The worst tragedy of all was that Miriam suffered as a leper for seven full days because of her attitude and speech towards Moses. What, if anything, she learned from this isn’t stated.
But the key truth remained: none of those tragedies had to happen! I could go on and on about how seeds of distrust, misinformation, or anything else can wriggle down into our souls, growing into roots of bitterness that sap our joy and make us rather unpleasant to be around.
Someone once remarked that the worst tragedies are those that could have been avoided. If anyone could ask Miriam and Aaron, either or both would tend to agree! All in all, we saw what happened to them—and we don’t have to let it happen to us. My prayer for us all is that the LORD will give us wisdom and clarity to never make the same mistakes they did!
Scripture quotation taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV)
