Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. So they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it. (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.) Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting!” So the three came out. Numbers 12:1-4 NKJV
Sometimes the arrows of the enemy come within our inner circle, from people you didn't expect. It was Aaron that made the golden calf (Exodus 32:4). Aaron stood up against his brother Moses. And it is not just Aaron, Mirjam also stood up against her brother. Family that stands up against you, friends. It is painful but the path of the Lord is, when it comes to men, lonely. Moses loved God and followed His path, even though it meant that he would be lonely. He was separated from his wife and children. He gave up everything and stood up against Pharaoh.
Moses was threatened to be stoned multiple times (Numbers 14:10). There were 2 spies that trusted on the Lord, and 10 did not. Moses was facing a massive crowd. But God took it up for Moses just as He did for Moses against Aaron and Miriam. We don’t read anything about 2 sides of the story, as it usually goes with conflicts within the church. God is very clear and punishes Miriam with leprosy.
If you want to follow the way of the Lord, if you want to follow the Lamb of God wherever He goes, you will always encounter resistance. I’ve seen it multiple times how shepherds were attacked by mercenary shepherds, they were not real shepherds. The mercenaries deceive the sheep and create division and so they humiliate the real shepherds, and even worse they remove the real shepherds within the body of Christ. They wanted to do the same with Moses. The golden calf came instead of Moses because they didn’t know what happened to him. But Moses returned from the mountain.
The great thing is, God does know what happens to us when we follow Him. Sometimes He will share His plans for us, and sometimes He won’t. We get to know His plans by searching and making decisions. Resistance, envy and hatred, it can all happen to us. And it can happen within the church, most times it happens within. Aaron knew God, Miriam too. They’ve seen the miracles of God. But Miriam and Aaron wanted to make a name for themselves outside Gods’ order. Miriam and Aaron had their opinion about the Ethiopian wife that Moses married. They judged Moses. False shepherds will always create division. With shepherds that follow the Lord you will not see division, you will see rifts due to the people that create them.
You have to distinguish the spiritual forces that people represent. Not everyone within the community of Christ does what he says. They will tell you that they follow the Lord Jesus Christ but their deeds show differently. People want to make a name for themselves and they use the Name of the Lord idle. People should not be more important than the name of the Lord, just as this was the case with Moses. We love Him with the Love He poured out in us (Romans 5:5). That love for Him is above everything else. Ask yourself this question: Do you want to see miracles and honour of men just to find out that the Lord will say to you, who are you? I don’t know you. Or do you want to follow the path of loneliness and hear the following words from Him: Well done you faithful servant (Matthew 25:23), Then you can answer: I’ve only done what You called me to do. That is real humility and then you glorify His Name. Always choose Jesus, how hard it may be. You might be lonely but the Lord is on your side. Be prepared to follow Him, listen to His voice through the Holy Spirit. He is worth it, the Son of God is worth it all.
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