-Moses: Meek? Yes! Weak? No!
Humility in a leader of God’s people is vitally important. God is not to be trifled with.
Moses: Meek? Yes! Weak? No!
Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.” So reads Numbers 12:3 (KJV), a rather curious verse, enclosed in parenthesis in most Bible versions. Whether we believe it to be a commentary by an unknown editor, or written by Moses, the author himself, it is clear that the Holy Spirit wanted it recorded for our instruction. This declaration of Moses’ meekness is in itself a strong argument for the divine inspiration of Scripture, because it would be most unusual for Moses to boast of his own humility, unless the Holy Spirit was the prime author of the statement.
The word “meek” has sometimes been misunderstood as implying “weak,” but it is far from it. To be meek involves being humble, not having too great an idea of your own importance, not having an exalted opinion of your own abilities. It may rhyme with “weak” but it is very different in character, meekness being a Christian virtue, not a personality defect.
Hasty Activism
Moses was not always meek. Far from it! The first act recorded of him once he came of age (would you believe 40 years?) was anything but meek (Ex. 2:11-12). He displayed all the impetuosity sometimes characteristic of young men in a hurry. An impatient streak is very evident.
He observed an Egyptian mistreating a fellow Israelite slave. After seeing that no one was looking, in a burst of rage he killed him and buried his body in the sand. But news of his hasty and hot-tempered (though well-intentioned) action leaked out, and Moses had to escape into Midian from the anger of Pharaoh and the Egyptian system of justice. Here he spent his next 40 years learning the more perfect ways of the Lord, learning that a good and praiseworthy goal must be reached through a good and praiseworthy method. The saying “the ends justify the means” is not found in God’s Book. This enforced period of learning in the school of God must have demanded immense patience on Moses’ part, and may have been a painful time for him. He needed to come to the end of self, learning meekness, and waiting God’s proper time for him to act. God was painstakingly preparing him for the immense responsibility ahead.
He learned his lessons well. As he subsequently led the Israelites through the desert, Moses showed tremendous resilience. Times almost without number the people must have grizzled and grumbled, complaining about the quality of the food and water (or lack of it). On no fewer than five occasions it is recorded that Moses, showing remarkable coolness and humility, refused to get angry with his people, and pleaded with the Lord to provide for their needs. And time after time the Lord did exactly that.
Just once, right towards the end, the people he was seeking to lead riled him so much that he lost his cool. Meekness deserted him for a second, and he struck the rock with his rod in impatient anger, seeking to provide water for the thirsty people again. On this occasion, the Lord had simply asked him to speak to the rock, and graciously provided the water anyway. But sadly this one failure, one small act of disobedience, was enough to keep Moses from entering the Promised Land. He would see it from the top of Mount Pisgah, but would not live to cross its borders. Humility in a leader of God’s people is vitally important. God is not to be trifled with.
Strong Humility
But perhaps the most remarkable instance of Moses’ meekness was his reaction to the challenge of his older sister Miriam and brother Aaron, recorded in Numbers 12:1-15. Their complaint, another in the growing list of petty discontents, was ostensibly over the fact that Moses had married a Cushite woman. Whether this referred to his earlier marriage to Zipporah, a Midianite woman, or to a subsequent marriage to someone from Ethiopia, is not entirely clear. Certainly God’s law, as it existed at the time, forbad intermarriage with any of the Canaanite peoples (notorious for their immoral living), but it said nothing specific about other nations. Although Cushites may not have been forbidden as marriage partners, might we not see here the beginnings of racism on the part of Miriam and Aaron, prejudice based on the color of another’s skin?
Whatever else there may have been, they certainly envied Moses’ position as the leader of God’s people. Jealousy of their younger brother was at the bottom of it. Petty family squabbles are not new! Sibling rivalry was alive and well, even in the 13th century B.C. Miriam (the eldest, a prophetess, and probably the ringleader) along with Aaron, seemed determined to pull Moses down from his God-given position. “Has the Lord only spoken through Moses … Hasn’t He also spoken through us?” Significantly, we read that “the Lord heard this.” He always does. No failure on our part, however small, goes unnoticed by Him. Nothing is overlooked or escapes His attention. “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth” (2 Chr. 16:9).
Amazingly, Moses made no attempt to defend himself. He did not say a word to justify his actions. This is true greatness, meekness at its highest. How easily we fly to defend ourselves from unfair and unjust criticisms of others. How quickly we take offense. Moses simply cried to the Lord, and allowed Him to take whatever judicial action He saw fit. Would that we could take such a humble position.
Moses, the one Miriam had criticized so unfairly, in a surprising attitude of mercy became the one to plead for her restoration from the leprosy which was her judgment from the Lord. He breathed the very spirit of the Lord Jesus, who prayed for His persecutors: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Lk. 23:34 NIV). Our Lord, above all, was the one who was “meek and lowly in heart” (Mt. 11:29 KJV), never attacking His persecutors, never answering back, never even going on the defensive: “When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly” (1 Pet. 2:23 NIV). He is the perfect role model for us today. Impossible? Perhaps, but surely something to aim for.
In his attitude of meekness, Stephen, the first Christian martyr, followed precisely the example traced out by his Lord. He was able to pray for his murderers as they hurled the stones at his defenseless body, with these words: “Lord, do not lay this sin against them” (Acts 7:60). This is true greatness. Meek? Indeed! Weak? Never!
By Ian Livingstone
With permission to publish by: Sam Hadley, Grace & Truth, 210 Chestnut St., Danville, IL., USA.
Website: www.gtpress.org
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