Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? – Numbers 12.8
Like most families, and especially in the Bible, sooner or later there’s a family mash-up. Moses’ brother and sister have a little gripe against him, and they expand that to, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses?” If they leave it at that, you might be able to dismiss it, but they give themselves away with, “Has he not spoken through us also?”
Moses is the meekest man there is and would never say anything like that – he even tried to avoid letting God speak thru him. He also won’t take up for himself.
But God hears it and he’ll do the taking up. He calls the three together and he’s angry and has his way of making the point that oh yes I have indeed spoken only thru Moses. And a little leprosy should help them remember.
Moses was one-of-a-kind but the idea of God deciding who’s in charge is all over the Bible. And finding a fault is not evidence that God hasn’t put them there. He says he gives authority to even the lowliest. He does it on purpose. They’re not there because they’re better (although they might be).
It’s so common it seems normal -- the idea that finding faults and weaknesses releases you from respecting a boss, parent, pastor, husband, teacher, president…you know the ones. Yes, you can have disrespect for a person and still respect their position. But once there it’s a very short foggy step to rejecting their authority over you. And an even shorter step to the unspoken attitude: I could do better – it should be me.
David knew the difference and stayed far this side. He even had the added motivation of knowing he was the chosen new authority once Saul was gone. But when presented several times with the chance to fix the problem of an unrespectable overseer (with friends telling him these opportunities were signs it was God’s will to take Saul out), David will not touch what he calls ‘God’s anointed.’ When someone else does, David asks the same question God did – How is it you were not afraid to destroy him? Then David takes him out.
The insecure, persecuting, rebel Saul chased David for 10 years with the seeming intent to kill him (protecting yourself is not the same as disrespecting). Is your authority worse? If not, speak against them and you may be speaking against God.
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