Only the Meek Have the Authority to Speak

Do the words sibling rivalry mean anything to you? There is a natural competition between siblings that hopefully matures into a love and loyalty for those brothers and sisters. Maybe you have a younger brother or sister who is an adult now and has their own gifts and accomplishments. You tend to think of them as a little child. You remembered when your mom had you babysit this sibling. It is hard to realize they are not a baby anymore. So, no matter what they accomplish or how God uses them, you tend to think, “What right do they have to think they are anything? They are just a little kid that is grown up.”

That is essentially what you have in Numbers 12. It is a story about siblings, Miriam, Aaron, and Moses. Numbers 12:1 says, “And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married.” Now, was this really the problem? I don’t think so. I think their problem with the wife was simply a pretext. The words, “spake against” are actually a verb in the feminine singular, so it seems as if Miriam probably led this charge.

We know that Moses was not a man given to envy. In the previous chapter, there were several men who were prophesying. Joshua told Moses to stop these men because he envied for Moses’ sake. But Moses said, “Would God that all the LORD’s people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!” I don’t think Moses was trying to be “the man” and make a name for himself. When God commissioned him, he didn’t want anything to do with these people. He was fine where he was, but God called him. If he was to obey, he was to speak for God and lead as God wanted him to.

So, Miriam and Aaron had a problem with Moses. The real problem is revealed in verse 2 where they said, “Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us?” The Bible says the Lord heard that and was angry. Why were Miriam and Aaron upset? If Moses was serving by speaking, is that what they wanted? Did they really want to hear God or did they just want to boss others? In Numbers 11:28 Joshua calls Moses, “My lord.” In Numbers 12:7 God calls Moses, “My servant.” Did they want to be servants like Moses? No, they wanted to be the lords of all the children of Israel.

Did they even know why they were provoked at Moses? I don’t think they did. Was God speaking or Moses? They thought it was Moses who led them out of Egypt and through the wilderness and who was speaking all these grand things. No, Moses was a servant, a steward. God led, provided, and spoke. Moses was simply a vessel of God.

Notice who is speaking here. First, you have that which was spoken by Moses. Miriam and Aaron said in verse 2, “Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses?” It is interesting that later in Numbers 16 Korah begrudged the authority that Aaron had. He felt Moses and Aaron had taken too much upon themselves by leading the people. Moses responded, “For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the LORD: and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him?” How interesting that Moses took up the defense of Aaron in a similar situation to the one in which Aaron went up against Moses. Aaron had this trouble coming. He got the same kind of pushback from other rebels that he had given to Moses.

Notice the speaking by Moses, from God through Moses. In verse 8 God says, “With him I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches.” He was saying, “I speak to Moses more directly than anyone else. Why were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” So, there was speaking by Moses from God and the speaking to Moses from God.

Then, there was the speaking against God by Miriam and Aaron. When they spoke against Moses, God said, “Why were you so brash to speak against my servant Moses?” This was foolish and sinful and caused Miriam to be shut out.

In contrast, Moses was a meek man, which doesn’t mean he was mousy, withdrawn, or timid. He was bold, but it was because he was speaking for God. He didn’t come up with the idea to leave Egypt and head for Canaan. Moses was acting under the Lord’s orders. It was God’s Spirit upon him. God was angry when Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses. They were really speaking against God and the order He had established. The only time in this chapter Moses spoke for himself was an appeal for Miriam. God struck her with leprosy and Aaron asked Moses to ask God to heal her. Moses cried to God, “Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.”

The point is only the meek have the authority to speak. It is not people who want to make a name for themselves or tell everyone what they think. It is those who are listening to what God has to say. Moses was the guy speaking because he was listening and he was a steward. So many people are so intent on saying something, on a podcast, YouTube channel, or whatever, but we all need to be listeners. A good leader is someone who is a good follower, who follows the right master. All of us are simply what God has made us, and the best you can do is listen to God and pass that on. Are you a listener? If you speak, it needs to be what God has spoken.

You also need to be a steward. I Peter is talking to believers going through a rough time and tells them how they should be as His children and one to another. I Peter 4:11 talks about the gifts God has given to everyone, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Christ Jesus.” Someone says, “What do I say?” Look at what God has already said. Simply steward what God has given. Preaching and writing are not the art of great words, but the art of clear thinking. It is not being creative, but passing on what God has given. II Corinthians 5:20 says, “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us.” It is as if God is speaking through you and me. So, how can I change the world and people? I can’t by myself. Only the meek have the authority to speak because they listen and they steward.

There are a lot of rivalries, siblings and otherwise in this world, but peace and purpose come from knowing there is a God who has spoken and passing that on to others for the glory of God and the good of the people He has created.