Upheld

 "Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. And they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it.“

‭‭Numbers‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

There are times in life when we disapprove of others. We disapprove of something they’ve said. Or we disapprove of something they’ve done.

This is especially true when they are our leaders. It’s especially true, in that case, because everything they say and do is before us. Our leaders, as we often say it, live in a fishbowl.

It doesn’t have to be a moral issue that leads us to disapprove of them. Nor is it always a matter of right and wrong, for which they must be held accountable. It may, in fact, be the sin of our own heart leading us to do so.

But our disapproval leads us to speak against them. It causes us to be critical of them. And it may motivate us to challenge them.

This is what was happening in the passage above. Miriam and Aaron, we find, spoke against Moses. They did so, asking if the Lord spoke only through him. They did so, asking if the Lord hadn’t also spoken through them.

In this way, they were putting themselves on equal footing with Moses. They were claiming for themselves an authority equal to that of Moses. And the reason they did so was because of the Cushite woman Moses had married. 

There is some debate as to whether this refers to Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro, the priest of Midian, whom Moses married after fleeing Egypt, or if he had married another. The Jewish historian, Josephus, tells us that this woman was a Cushite princess, named Tharbis or Adoniah.

We also do not know why Miriam and Aaron disapproved of this woman. Was it because Moses was already married? Or was it, as some suggest, because she was black?

Although there are several unanswered questions, none of them ultimately matter. What is clear is that Miriam and Aaron disapproved of Moses’ wife. And, for this reason, they spoke against him.

The Lord, however, heard. He heard what was said by Moses’ siblings. And he upheld Moses before them. 

Moses, after all, was chosen by God. He was appointed by God for a purpose. He was called and appointed by God to bring his people out of Egypt, the land of slavery, and into Canaan, the land of promise.

As we consider the actions of Miriam and Aaron, we must realize that, whatever reason we have to disapprove of others, it’s known to God. Whatever we speak against others, God hears. And whenever we seek to bring others down, God is not unaware.

We must not, like Moses’ siblings, seek to bring others down. Nor should we bad-mouth or malign them. We should seek, rather, uplift them.

We must do so realizing that it’s God who has placed them where they are. We must do so realizing they’ve been chosen and appointed by him. And we must do so realizing that God himself will uphold them.