We come to a humbling Chapter. Do you ever wonder what God would show you if He put a mirror to your face so you could see what offends Him that we can’t see but is ever before Him? I can’t help but see pride, arrogance and self glory in myself as I look into the mirror of Numbers 12.

Aaron, the High Priest and Miriam a Prophet and the siblings of Moses began to speak against Moses about his Cushite wife. “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” And the Lord heard this. v. 2. They thought they were special and so inflated their importance. God did not delay in correcting them. At once the Lord said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, “Come out to the tent of meeting, all three of you.” So the three of them went out. Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When the two of them stepped forward, he said, “Listen to my words: “When there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, reveal myself to them in visions, I speak to them in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”

We may think we know more than others but we do not know more than God. Can we start there?

God struck Miriam and her skin was leprous. And Moses? He prayed for her. Miriam and Aaron had spoken against Moses; and Moses prayed for Miriam. So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on till she was brought back. v. 15.

In great love God corrects us. Why? Because He knows how hurtful our sins are and not just as poison to others but as poison to our own hearts. We hurt ourselves when we speak against others with malice in our hearts. If our sins were like dark ink staining us what would any of us look like? Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” James 4:5-6.

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Proverbs 3:3-8.

It’s so easy to be wise in our own eyes, to trust in ourselves just like Aaron and Miriam. But when we trust in God and not in ourselves, we open the way in our hearts to realize what we are without Him. It’s kind of empty there.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100.

Our Creator God knows more than we do. Can we start there?