Transcript

Podcast Introduction

Our reading today Numbers 9-12. After the reading, I’ll have some comments for you.  I’m calling today’s episode “Move Out.”  

Comments on Numbers 12

I don’t recall ever hearing a message, or a sermon on Numbers 12. So that’s what I’m going to talk about today. It seems like somewhat of an unusual chapter to me. Does it seem that way to you? Let’s dig in.

1Miriam and Aaron began to criticize Moses because he was married to a woman from Sudan.” (GW)

Miriam and Aaron were the brother and sister of Moses. And because of the way the sentence is constructed in Hebrew, and the fact that Miriam is listed first, she is probably the instigator of this confrontation. We’ll talk more about that in a moment.

Out of the 35 translations I checked, this is the only translation that says Moses was married to a woman from Sudan. Most other translations say she was a Cushite woman. Others say she was Ethiopian. The original language says Cushite. The Cushites were descendants of Cush. Cush was the oldest son of Ham. Ham was the son of Noah. So Cush was the grandson of Noah. Interestingly, one of Cush’s sons was Nimrod, who is thought to be the ruler of Babel when the Tower of Babel was built. So the great-grandson of Noah probably built the Tower of Babel. (There’s another reminder that it is imperative to teach faithfully each generation the Word of the Lord. Just because you’re a believer is no guarantee that your children will be, or their children. Be diligent in living in such a way that your children see that God is real.) 

The land of Cush might very well be, and probably is synonymous with Ethiopia. Though the Ethiopia of the Bible is not exactly the same as the Ethiopia of today. However, the Ethiopia of the Bible included an area of what is Sudan today! See how it all comes together?

Given this background, it is probably not going to surprise you when I say that the Cushite people were dark skinned. As a matter of fact, Cush means “black.” 

One last thing about Cush. I found this at gotquestions.org: Significantly, Cush is also a nation that received the gospel and will be involved in the millennial kingdom. The evangelist Philip gave the gospel to an Ethiopian eunuch, who would have been referred to as a Cushite in Hebrew, and the eunuch was one of the first converts of Ethiopia to Christianity (Acts 8:26–39). He undoubtedly took the gospel back to his land, where he had great influence as a royal official to Queen Candace (Acts 8:27). During the millennial reign of Christ, Jesus will receive honor from Cush/Ethiopia: “From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshipers, my scattered people, will bring me offerings” (Zephaniah 3:10).

So the fact that Moses was married to a Cushite woman is the reason Miriam and Aaron gave for their complaint. It was not forbidden for Israelites to marry Cushites, so that is not likely to be the basis for the complaint. It is possible, and maybe even probable that their reason was because of the color of her skin. Something she had no control over. 

But this was not the real problem. As is often the case, there was something deeper. 

Verse 2 says, ” 2They asked, ‘Did the Lord speak only through Moses? Didn’t he also speak through us?’” 

Can’t you just hear Miriam? “Who do you think you are, Moses? You think you’re so special because God speaks through you. He speaks through me! And Aaron, too!”

In a way, she was right. God spoke through Aaron in Exodus 4:30, He spoke to Aaron in Exodus 12:1, and Miriam spoke God-inspired words in Exodus 15:21. But God spoke through Moses in a very unique way, and He selected Moses as *the* leader of Israel. 

Miriam and Aaron were jealous of Moses. They wanted to have some of the authority and attention. And they thought that by bringing Moses down, they would get it.

And verse 2 ends with “The Lord heard their complaint.” Of course He did. And what He heard was them accusing Moses of the sin they themselves were guilty of: pride.

But Moses was not prideful. He didn’t need to be brought down. Verse 3 says, “3(Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on earth.)” Ok, now I have no reason to doubt the truth of this verse, but at the same time I have to chuckle a little. It makes me think of a joke I heard from my brother-in-law, Steve O’Brien. He’s a pastor, and I love him very much. And he can be a kidder. He talks about about a book he wrote, titled “Humility and How I Achieved It”. Cracks me up. The book of Numbers is one of the first five books of the Bible. These are commonly called the Pentateuch. You know who wrote the Pentateuch, right? Moses! So Moses wrote that he was the most humble person on earth! But maybe not. It’s entirely possible that someone added this comment after Moses died. A very likely possibility is that Joshua wrote it. Joshua was the man appointed by God to lead Israel after Moses died. Joshua knew Moses very well.

Verse 4: 4Suddenly, the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “All three of you come to the tent of meeting.” 

Notice the order of the names here. Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. We go from the one who is in the right, to the one who is most in the wrong. God is not happy. And He takes quick action. I think of the parent who has had enough of the child’s bad behavior and says, “Go to your room!”

5Then the Lord came down in the column of smoke and stood at the entrance to the tent. He called to Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward.

Can’t you just see this? By now, they know that they’re in trouble, don’t you think? Heads were probably hung low, shoulders slumping. Timidly they stepped forward. 

And then God speaks to them from the column of smoke: (I’m paraphrasing here) “Listen up. When I have something to say to prophets, I do it through dreams and visions. But with my boy, Moses, I talk directly to him.  I tell him like it is. He even gets to see me as much as his human body can stand. And you have the nerve to criticize him? I can’t even.” So He left.

So the three are left standing there. Talk about an awkward silence!

But when the smoke cleared (literally!), Miriam was covered in an advanced state of leprosy. The skin being white as snow tells us that. 

And Aaron seems a bit weasel-y here. As soon as he sees Miriam, he says to Moses, “Please, sir, don’t punish us for this foolish sin we committed.” Remember, Aaron is the guy who let the people build the golden idol while Moses was on Mt. Sinai receiving the tablets with the ten commandments from God. And he tagged along with his sister today. But as soon as he thinks his goose is cooked, to save himself, he begs his big brother Moses for his help. Maybe he truly saw that the accusations they made against Moses were foolish and sinful. But maybe he just didn’t want to end up covered in leprosy. 

And now, for the first time in the chapter, Moses cried to the Lord, “Please, God, heal her!” He was falsely accused, yet he passionately prayed for her healing. Yes, Moses had a good heart.

The Lord did heal Miriam, but not until she was put out of the camp for seven days, during which the whole nation knew of the shameful thing she had done in bringing petty, and false charges against God’s faithful servant, in the hopes of elevating herself. 

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 9 NLV; Ch. 10 NET; Ch. 11 NKJV; Ch. 12 GWT

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Transcript

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Steve Webb 0:00
Talk about an awkward silence.

Steve Webb 0:10
This is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I am your OG God castors. Steve Webb, welcome. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year. Today we’re going to read Numbers nine through 12. And after the reading, I’ll have some comments for you. I’m calling today’s episode, move out the show notes page for today’s it Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 243. My email address is Steve at Lifespring media.com. Let’s get started.

Steve Webb 0:44
Numbers chapter nine. The Lord spoke to Moses in the Sinai desert in the first month of the second year after they’d come out of the land of Egypt. The Lord said, Let the people of Israel keep the Passover at the time given for it. Keep it at its given time in the evening of the 14th day of this month. Keep it by obeying all its laws. So Moses told the people of Israel to keep the Passover. And they kept the Passover in the evening of the 14th day of the first month in the Sinai desert. The people of Israel did all that the Lord had told Moses, but there were some men who were unclean because they had touched a dead person. So they could not keep the Passover on that day. They came to Moses and Aaron that day and said to Moses, we are unclean because we touched a dead person. But why are we kept from giving the Lord’s gift at its given time among the people of Israel. Moses said to them, wait, and I will listen to what the Lord will tell me to do with you. Then the Lord said to Moses, Say to the People of Israel, if any one of you or your children touch a dead person and become unclean, or if you’re traveling far away, even so, he may still keep the Passover to the Lord. They will keep it in the evening of the 14th day of the second month, they will eat it with bread without yeast and with bitter tasting plants. They must not leave any of it until morning. And they must not break a bone of the Lamb. They must obey all of the law of the Passover. But if a man is clean and is not away, traveling yet does not keep the Passover, he must be cut off from his people. For he did not give the Lord’s gift at the time he was to do so that man will be guilty of his sin. If the stranger staying with you wants to keep the Passover to the Lord and obey the law of the Passover. He may do so you will have one law both for the stranger and for the one who was born in the land. On the day that the meeting tent was set up. The cloud covered the meeting tent the tent of the law. In the evening, it was over the meeting tent. It looked like fire until morning. It was like this always, the cloud would cover it during the day. What looked like fire would cover it during the night. When the cloud was lifted from over the meeting tent, the people of Israel would move on where the cloud rested there the people of Israel would set up their tents. The people of Israel would move on as the Lord told him, and they would set up their tents as the Lord told them, they stayed in one place as long as the cloud rested over the meeting tent. Even when the cloud rested over the meeting tent for many days, the people of Israel would obey the Lord and not leave. Sometimes the clouds stayed a few days over the meeting tent, but they obeyed the Lord and stayed in that place, then they would leave when the Lord told them. Sometimes the clouds stayed from evening until morning. When the cloud lifted in the morning, they would leave. If the clouds stayed during the day and the night when it lifted, they would leave that place. Even when the clouds stayed over the meeting tent for two days or a month or a year, the people of Israel would stay in that place and not leave, they would leave when it was lifted. They set up their tents as the Lord told them and they moved on as the Lord told them. They obeyed what the Lord had told him to do through Moses.

Steve Webb 4:14
Numbers chapter 10. The Lord spoke to Moses, make two trumpets of silver, you’re to make them from a single hammered peace. You will use them for assembling the community and for directing the traveling of the camps. When they blow them both all the community must come to you to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. But if they blow with one trumpet than the leaders, the heads of the 1000s of Israel must come to you. When you blow an alarm, then the camps that are located on the east side must begin to travel. And when you blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that are located on the south side must begin to travel and alarm must be sounded for their journeys. But when you assemble the community you must blow but you must not sound an alarm. The sons of Aaron the pre You must blow the trumpets, and they will be to you for an eternal ordinance throughout your generations. If you go to war on your land against an adversary who opposes you, then you must sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God, and you will be saved from your enemies. Also, in the time when you rejoice, such as on your appointed festivals are at the beginnings of your months, you must blow with your trumpets, over your bird offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings, so that they may become a memorial for you before your God, I am the Lord your God. On the 20th day of the second month, in the second year, the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle of the testimony. So the Israelites set out on their journeys from the wilderness of Sinai, and the cloud settled in the wilderness of Paran. This was the first time they set out on their journey according to the commandment of the Lord, by the authority of Moses, the standard of the camp of the Judah heights set out first according to their companies, and over his company was Nahshon, son of a min ADAP. Over the company of the tribe of Issachar. Rights was Nathanael, son of Zhu R. And over the company of the tribe of sebelah. Knights was the lion son of Heelan. Then the tabernacle was dismantled and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Moray Rai set out carrying the tabernacle, the standard of the camp of Reuben set out according to their companies. Over his company was the lizer son of shadier over the company of the tribe of Simeon knights was show you mio son observa Shaddai, and over the company of the tribe of Gadites was Elias AF, son of dual and the Kohathites set out carrying the articles for the sanctuary. The tabernacle was to be set up before they arrived, and the standard of the camp of the ephra mites set out according to their companies. Over his company was Elysium, son of a mind over the company of the tribe of the Manasa Heights was Gamaliel Sana Pedraza and over the company of the tribe of Benjamin, it was a Biden son of giddy oni. The standard of the camp of the dam I’d set out which was the rear guard of all the camps by their companies. Over his company was a high easer son of ama Shaddai. Over the company of the tribe of the ASHA rights was Pigalle son of operon. And over the company of the tribe of NAFTA lights was a Hira son of Enon. These were the traveling arrangements of the Israelites, according to their companies when they traveled. Moses said to whole Bab, son of rule, the Midianite, Moses father in law, we are journeying to the place about which the Lord said, I will give it to you, come with us, and we will treat you well, for the Lord has promised good things for Israel. But how bad said to him, I will not go but I will go instead to my own land into my kindred. Moses said, do not leave us because you know places for us to camp in the wilderness, and you could be our guide. And if you come with us, it is certain that whatever good things the Lord will favor us with, we will share with you as well. So they traveled from the mountain of the Lord three days journey, and the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord was traveling before them during the three days journey to find a resting place for them. And the cloud of the Lord was over them by day when they traveled from the camp. And when the Ark traveled, Moses would say, rise up, oh, Lord, may your enemies be scattered, and May those who hate you flee before you. And when it came to rest, he would say, return, oh, Lord, to the many 1000s of Israel.

Steve Webb 8:28
Numbers 11. Now, when the people complained, it displeased the Lord, for the Lord heard it and his anger was aroused. So the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp. When the people cried out to Moses, and when Moses prayed to the Lord, the fire was quenched. So he called the name of the place Tabora because the fire of the Lord had burned among them. Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving. So the children of Israel also wept again and said, Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions and the garlic. But now our whole being is dried up. There is nothing at all except this manner before our eyes. Now the man who was like coriander seed and its color, like the color of Deleon, the people went about and gathered it, grounded on millstones, or beat it in the mortar, cooked it in pans and made cakes of it, and its taste was like the taste of pastry prepared with oil. And when the dew fell on the camp, and the night the manna fell on it, then Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, every one at the door of his tent, and the anger of the Lord was greatly aroused. Moses also was displeased. So Moses said to the Lord, why have you afflicted your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight that you have laid the burden of all these people on me? Did I conceive all these people? Did I beget them that you should say to me, carry them in your bosom as A guardian carries a nursing child to the land which use war to their fathers. Where am I to get me to give to all these people, for they weep all over me saying give us meat that we may eat. I am not able to bear all these people alone because the burden is too heavy for me. If you treat me like this, please kill me here. And now if I have found favor in your sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness. So the Lord said to Moses, gathered me 70, men of the elders of Israel, whom you know, to be elders of the people and officers over them, bring them to the tabernacle of meeting, that they may stand there with you, then I will come down and talk with you there. I will take of the spirit that is upon you, and we’ll put the same upon them. And they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone. Then you shall say to the people, consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord saying, who will give us meat to eat, for it was well with us in Egypt. Therefore the Lord will give you meat and you shall eat, you shall eat not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor 10 days, nor 20 days, but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have despised the Lord who was among you, and have wept before him saying, why did we ever come up out of Egypt? And Moses said, the people whom I am among our 600,000 men on foot, yet you have said, I will give them meat that they may eat for a whole month, shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them to provide enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them to provide enough for them? And the Lord said to Moses, has the Lord’s arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not. So Moses went out and told the people, the words of the Lord, and he gathered the 70, men of the elders of the people and place them around the tabernacle. Then the LORD came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and place the same upon the 70 Elders. And it happened when the Spirit rested upon them that they prophesied, though they never did. So again. But two men had remained in the camp, the name of one was L dad, and the name of the other me, dad, and the spirit rested upon them. Now they were among those listed but who had not gone out to the tabernacle, yet they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses and said, l dad and me dad are prophesying in the camp. So Joshua, the son of Nan Moses, Assistant, one of his choice men, answered and said, Moses, my Lord forbid them. Then Moses said to him, I use Ellis for my sake, oh, that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them. And Moses returned to the camp, he and the elders of Israel.

Steve Webb 12:55
Now well, wind went out from the Lord, and it brought quail from the sea, and left them fluttering near the camp, about a day’s journey on this side, and about a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp, and about two cubits above the surface of the ground. And the people stayed up all that day, all night, and all the next day and gathered the quail, he who gathered least gathered 10 homers, and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. But while the meat was still between their teeth before it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was aroused against the people. And the Lord struck the people with a very great plague. So he called the name of that place kibra tehava, because there they buried the people who had yielded to craving from cube brotha tehava The people moved to has her off and kept it has a Roth

Steve Webb 13:44
Numbers chapter 12, Miriam and Aaron began to criticize Moses because he was married to a woman from Sudan. They asked, Did the Lord speak only through Moses? Didn’t he also speak through us? The Lord heard their complaint. Moses was a very humble man more humble than anyone else on Earth. Suddenly, the Lord said to Moses, Aaron and Merriam, all three of you come to the Tent of Meeting. So all three of them came. Then the LORD came down on the column of smoke and stood at the entrance to the tent. He called to Aaron and barium and they both came forward. He said, Listen to my words. When there are prophets of the Lord among you, I make myself known to them in visions or speak to them and dreams. But this is not the way I treat my servant Moses. He is the most faithful person in my household. I speak with him face to face plainly and not in riddles. He even sees the form of the Lord. Why weren’t you afraid to criticize my servant Moses? The Lord was angry with them so he left when the smoke left the tent. Miriam was covered with an infectious skin disease. She was as white as snow. Erin turned to her and saw she was cut Word with the disease. So he said to Moses, please, sir, don’t punish us for this foolish sin we committed. Don’t let her be like a stillborn baby that’s not completely developed. So Moses cried to the Lord, please God heal her. The Lord replied to Moses, if her own father had spit in her face, wouldn’t she be excluded from the community for seven days, she must be put in isolation outside the camp for seven days, then she can be brought back. So Miriam was put in isolation outside the camp for seven days. The people didn’t break camp until she was brought back. After that, the people moved from hazard Roth and set up camp in the desert of patron.

Steve Webb 15:45
You know, I don’t ever recall hearing a message or a sermon on number 12. So that’s what I’m going to talk about today. It seems like somewhat of an unusual chapter to me. Does it seem that way to you? Well, let’s dig in. Verse one said, Marian, and Aaron began to criticize Moses because he was married to a woman from Sudan. Okay, so as a reminder, Miriam and Aaron, were the brother and sister of Moses. And because of the way this sentence is constructed in Hebrew, and the fact that Miriam is listed first, she’s probably the instigator of this confrontation. We’ll talk more about that in a moment. Out of the 35 translations, I checked this translation the God’s word translation is the only one that says that Moses was married to a woman from Sudan. Most other translation says she was a Cushite woman. Others say she was Ethiopian. The original language says Kushite what’s a coup shyt? Well, the coup Shi’ites were descendants of Cush or Cush, as some people might say. Cush was the oldest son of Ham. Ham was the son of Noah. So Koosh was the grandson of Noah, and get this one of Kushi his sons was Nimrod, who was thought to be the ruler of Babel when the Tower of Babel was built. So the great grandson of Noah probably built the Tower of Babel. There’s just another reminder that it’s imperative to teach faithfully each generation, the word of the Lord. Just because you’re a believer is no guarantee that your children will be or their children, be diligent in living in such a way that your children see that God is real. Now the land of Cush might very well be and probably is synonymous with Ethiopia. Though the Ethiopia of the Bible is not exactly the same as the Ethiopia of today. However, the Ethiopia of the Bible included an area of what is Sudan today. So you see how it all just kind of came together. They’re given this background, it’s probably not going to surprise you when I tell you that the Kushite people were dark skinned. As a matter of fact, the word Koosh means black. One last thing about couche I found this at God questions.org. I’m quoting them here. significantly. couche is also a nation that received the gospel and will be involved in the millennial kingdom. The evangelist Philip gave the gospel to an Ethiopian eunuch, who would have been referred to as a Cushite in Hebrew, and the unit was one of the first converts of Ethiopia to Christianity. We learned that in Acts Eight verses 26 through 39. And continuing got questions.org he undoubtedly took the gospel back to his land where he had great influence as a royal official to Queen Candace. We learned that from x 827. And during the millennial reign of Christ, Jesus will receive honor from Kush or Ethiopia. We know that from Zephaniah 310 from beyond the rivers of Cush, my worshipers, my scattered people will bring me offerings. Pretty interesting, huh? So the fact that Moses was married to a Cushite woman is the reason Miriam and Aaron gave for their complaint. So why the complaint? Well, it was not forbidden for Israelites to marry KU shites. So that’s not likely to be the basis for their complaint. It is possible and maybe even probable that the reason was because of the color of her skin, something she had no control over. So it wasn’t really fair to criticize her for that. But that’s not the real problem. We’ll find out as we read what the real problem was. There was a deeper problem as is often the case. Verse two says, they asked, Did the Lord speak only through Moses? Didn’t he also speak through us? Okay, so they come in, they say, Hey, we’re not happy because Moses married this Kushite woman. And by the way, did the Lord speak only through Moses? Didn’t he also speak through us? Can’t you just hear her? What do you think you are Moses, you think you’re so special because God speaks through you. He speaks through me and Aaron too. Well, in a way she was right. God spoke through Aaron in Exodus 430. And he spoke to Aaron and Exodus 12. One, in Miriam spoke God inspired words in Exodus 1521. But the fact is, God spoke through Moses in a very unique way. And he selected Moses as the leader of Israel. Miriam and Aaron, were just plain jealous of Moses. They wanted to have some of that authority and attention. And they thought that by bringing Moses down, they would be elevated. And then verse two ends with this. The Lord heard their complaint. Of course he did. And what he heard was them accusing Moses of the sin Veva himself were guilty of pride. But Moses wasn’t prideful. He didn’t need to be brought down. Verse three says, Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on Earth. Okay, now, I have no reason to doubt the truth of this verse. But at the same time, I have to chuckle a little bit. It makes me think of a joke I heard from my brother in law, Steve O’Brien, he’s a pastor, and I love him very much, and he can be a quitter. He talks about a book he wrote, not really, but he talks about this book he wrote called humility and how I achieved it cracks me up. Listen, the book of Numbers is one of the first five books of the Bible right, commonly called the Pentateuch. You know, who wrote the Pentateuch right, Moses. So Moses wrote that he was the most humble person on earth. You bet, really, maybe not. It’s entirely possible that somebody added this comment after Moses died. A very likely possibility is that Joshua wrote it. You see, Joshua was the man appointed by God to lead Israel after Moses died. And Joshua knew Moses very well. So I can very easily see him taking the scrolls that Moses wrote out, and added that in the margin or something, I get that continuing, verse four says, suddenly, the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, all three of you come to the Tent of Meeting. Notice the order of the names here, Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, we go from the one who is in the right, to the one who is most in the wrong. God is not happy that he takes quick action makes me think of the parent who’s had enough of a child’s bad behavior and says, Go to your room. Suddenly, the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, all three of you come to the Tent of Meeting. So they go to the Tent of Meeting and it says, Then the LORD came down in the column of smoke and stood at the entrance to the tent. He called to Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. Can’t you just see this? By now I think they know they’re in trouble. heads were probably hung low. Shoulders were probably slumping, and they probably very timidly stepped forward. And then God speaks to them from the column of smoke.

Steve Webb 23:43
I’m paraphrasing here, listen up. When I’ve got something to say to prophets, I do it through dreams and visions. But with my boy here, Moses, I talked directly to him, I tell him like it is, he even gets to see me as much as the human body can stand, and you have the nerve to criticize him. We’re told God was angry, so he left and that left the three of them standing there. Talk about an awkward silence. But when the smoke cleared, literally, Miriam was covered with an advanced state of leprosy. The skin being whitest snow tells us that and then Aaron seems a bit Weasley here. As soon as he sees Miriam, he says to Moses, Please, my lord, don’t punish us for this foolish sin we’ve committed. Now remember, Aaron is the guy who let the people build a golden idol, while Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the tablets with the 10 commandments from God, and Aaron tagged along with his sister today. But as soon as he thinks that his goose is cooked, to save himself, he begs his big brother Moses for his help. I don’t know maybe he truly saw that the accusations they made against Moses were foolish and sinful, but maybe he just didn’t want to end up covered in leprosy you think? And then now for the very first time in this chapter, Moses cried to the Lord, please God heal her. He was falsely accused, yet he passionately prayed for her healing. Yeah, Moses had a good heart. The Lord did heal Miriam, but not until she was put out of the camp for seven days, during which the nation became aware of the shameful thing she had done, in bringing petty and false charges against God’s faithful servant in the hopes of elevating herself. What do you think you have a comment? Go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 243. And let me know. Tomorrow our reading will be first Chronicles 15 through 19.

Steve Webb 26:01
Kirsty left a comment on the show notes page a couple of days ago, she said I’m spending the day on the road today. So I’m hoping to get up to date with my missed episodes. Thanks to this show. I’ve read more of the Bible this year than I ever have. I can’t believe we’re two thirds of the way there. I know. Right. Thanks, Kirsty. I’m glad you’re with me. Did you get caught up? Where are there still some missing episodes. And again, for those of you that have been with me, since the beginning of season, 12 Way to go congratulations to you to the finish line is almost in sight can almost see it.

Steve Webb 26:47
On this date in church history, may 2 the year 373 St. Athanasius, the Great, the bishop of Alexandria passed away. He’s known today as the father of Orthodoxy, and he was the first Christian writer to list the 27 books of the New Testament that we have today. That’s pretty cool, huh?

Steve Webb 27:16
Let’s pray. Our heavenly Father. Today’s reading reminds us that though you are a merciful and loving God, you’re also a just God and that you don’t take it lightly when your people are slandered. We know from your word that you hate gossip and a lying tongue. Help us to keep our hearts pure Lord, may your Holy Spirit let us know when we speak wrongly and may we seek your forgiveness quickly when we do. I thank you so much for the Lifespring family and for bringing us this far in our reading. And I pray that you’d give us the will to complete the year together. Teach us every day and show us what you want us to learn. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. If you’ve got a prayer request or a praise, you know what to do prayer dot Lifespring media.com.

Steve Webb 28:11
Comment on the show at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 243. Send me an email at Steve at Lifespring media.com. I always love to hear from you. Support the show it Lifespring media.com/support. You must find some value in the show. If you’re here, convert that value to an amount. Go to Lifespring media.com/support. Take a look at it. Pray about it. Think about it and then follow the Lord’s leading thanks to Kirsty and Shawn of San Pedro for helping me to get the things done that I don’t have the time to do personally. I appreciate you guys. God bless you. Well Until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb. I’ll see you then. Bye

Transcribed by https://otter.ai