“With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” (Numbers 12:8).
TEXT — Numbers 12:1-8
Message
Men of God are often targets of gossip, backbiting and character assassination but those who are called of God have His eyes fixed on them for guidance and protection. This is why it is a dangerous gamble to subject a true man of God to unjust criticism.
Unfortunately, Moses’ siblings, Miriam and Aaron, fell into that dangerous snare. They spoke against Moses because he married an Ethiopian woman. Aside, they complained that God did not speak through Moses alone, but also through them. The duo compared themselves with Moses whom God anointed to lead Israel out of bondage. God heard their complaints and summoned Moses, Miriam and Aaron before the tabernacle of the congregation. While He defended Moses the prophet as a faithful servant, He chastised Miriam and Aaron for speaking against him and for their failure to honour the divine call upon him.
Clearly, Miriam and Aaron went beyond their boundaries. Their action must have resulted from familiarity with Moses who happens to be a younger brother to them. “Familiarity,” they say, “breeds contempt”. Even though God had elevated Moses and used him mightily for the nation of Israel, they still despised him.
Like the time of Moses, God still detests criticism against His servants. He will not tolerate any individual, however eminent and great, who thinks ill of His anointed or speaks openly against them for any reason. As Christians, it is incumbent on us to treat God’s appointed servants with utmost respect. They need all the encouragement, support, prayer and understanding we can minister. They sometimes make mistakes but it is not our duty to amplify the mistakes to ridicule them or bring them down. There is always divine punishment for such misdeed.
Thought for the day
Anyone who works against God’s servant invariably works for the devil.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
2 comments
He’s my father in the Lord! As God got me converted under Deeperlife in my Teen age @ Sapele Delta State in d early 1980s but, marriage issues punched me to rccg!
Glory be to God for the ministry of the Daily Manna, quite a lot have been blessed with this rich material. May the Lord sustain this great work in Jesus name amen.
He’s my father in the Lord! As God got me converted under Deeperlife in my Teen age @ Sapele Delta State in d early 1980s but, marriage issues punched me to rccg!
Glory be to God for the ministry of the Daily Manna, quite a lot have been blessed with this rich material. May the Lord sustain this great work in Jesus name amen.