The Attack on Moses (Num
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Nothing gives a leader more influence than when his followers know that he admits his wrongs and takes advice. In short, humility is the most powerful tool a leader can have. Humbling Ourselves For Leadership Nobody likes to be criticized. The children’s saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is completely untrue. Words do hurt us... sometimes very deeply. Of course those closest to us are the ones that can hurt us the most through what they say. Moses experienced what you will experience as well. There will always be some people who don’t like what you’re doing and will criticize you for it. Learn how to respond with a humble attitude from the example of Moses. The Attack On Moses (Num. 12:1-2) The Motive In light of the previous chapter, Miriam and Aaron were obviously driven by ________________.jealousy l Miriam could have been jealous because ______________________________she was Moses’ older sister and a ________________.prophetess Without her, Moses would never have been raised by his mother. She was the one who offered to find a nurse for baby Moses. l Aaron was ____________________________________________the founder of a perpetual priesthood that was to continue until the Messiah came! Moses’ brother and sister forgot that God had put Moses in the place of lead- ership and had chosen to speak through him. 13 28 The Plan The Attack On Moses _________________Personally (v.1). They criticized Moses be- cause his new wife was a Cushite (Ethiopian). The Attack On Moses’ _________________Authority (v. 2). God chose Moses to be His spokesman. Aaron and Miriam were attacking Moses because of God’s choice. They were challenging Moses’ authority to be the only receiver of God’s direction. Moses’ Answer (Num. 12:3) Moses’ humble attitude is shown especially in how he responded to these per- sonal attacks by his family. We can pattern our response to criticism after his ex- ample. _______________________________He Did Not Strike Back _______________________________He Left It In God’s Hands The Bible records no action on the part of Moses at this point. It does comment on Moses’ character and reveal why he did not strike back at Miriam and Aaron. Verse 3 says Moses was meek. This word means “humble, lowly, gentle.” Because Moses was guided by his character, he let God handle the situation. Wrong Responses To Criticism ____________________________ _____________________________ ____________________________ _____________________________ ____________________________ _____________________________ ____________________________ _____________________________ God’s Response (Num. 12:4-15) He Took _________________________Immediate Action Moses was able to let God deal with Aaron and Miriam because he knew God knew about it. God immediately dealt with the situation by summoning Aaron and Miriam. He Gave A _________________________Clear Explanation God made it very clear that He dealt with Moses in a special way, a way that was completely unique. 14 29 He Executed _________________________Swift Judgment God’s anger blazed against them and specifically against Miriam who apparently was the ringleader. God struck her with leprosy. You may be thinking, “How could Moses possibly forgive Miriam and ask God to heal her?” The truth is that Moses was humble. Humility is a vital character trait of leaders. The Bible does not tell us to pray for humility but to humble ourselves (James 4:10; 1 Peter 5:6). Steps To Being Humble Step 1: _________________________________________Seeing God As He Really Is Step 2: _________________________________________Seeing Yourself As You Really Are (A Helpless ________________________Sinner) Step 3: ___________________________________________Trusting God To Accomplish His Work ______________________Through You Humility is demonstrated by a servant’s attitude. This is vital to a leader. If you are going to be a leader, you must be a servant to the people who follow you. Being a servant means you are there when they need someone to talk to. It means loving those people who are outwardly unlovely. Have you humbled yourself before God? If not, fol- low the three steps to humility and see your leadership grow! REFLECTION Read John 13:1-17 silently to yourself. Confess any pride and selfish- ness in your heart to God. Ask God to help you humble yourself. 15 30 Teacher’s Lesson Nothing gives a leader more influence than when his followers know that he admits his wrongs and takes advice. In short, hu- mility is the most powerful tool a leader can have. 3 Eating Humble Pie Humbling Ourselves For Leadership Nobody likes to be criticized. The children’s saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is completely untrue. Words do hurt us… sometimes very deeply. Of course those closest to us are the ones that can hurt us the most through what they say. Moses experienced what you will experience as well. There will always be some people who don’t like what you’re doing and will criticize you for it. Learn how to respond with a humble attitude from the example of Moses. Text: Numbers 12 Proposition: Leadership requires true humility. Objectives: · To help teens see the power of humility · To help teens develop true humility in their lives Hook: Divide your male teens into two groups and have them line up in two lines. Give each person a balloon to blow up and tie. When you blow the whistle, the first person in line will turn around and hug the next person with the balloon between them. They keep hugging until the balloon pops. Then the second person in line hugs the third, etc. The first line done is the winner. Bridge: Say, “It takes a certain amount of humility to allow yourself to participate in a game like that. A godly leader needs to be a humble person. Let’s examine a situation in the life of Moses that illustrates his humility.” 31 THE ATTACK ON MOSES (vv. 1-2) The Antagonists In the previous chapter (Num. 11), disgruntled people spread discontent throughout the camp about their continuous diet of manna. God told Moses to gather seventy respected men to help spread the news that God would provide quail for them to eat. Apparently Aaron and Miriam were not part of these seventy elders upon whom the Spirit of the Lord came. Because of their high positions among the people, Miriam and Aaron took this as an indication that Moses was hogging the spotlight and taking some of the glory they deserved. The Motive In light of the previous chapter, Miriam and Aaron were obviously driven by jealousy. Why would they have been jealous? Miriam was Moses’ older sister and a prophetess. Without her, Moses would never have been raised by his mother. She was the one who offered to find a nurse for baby Moses. Aaron was the founder of a perpetual priesthood that was to continue until the Messiah came! Moses was just a temporary leader who seemed to be standing in the way of the respect and authority Aaron deserved. Moses’ brother and sister forgot that God had put Moses in the place of leadership and had chosen to speak through him. The Plan The Attack On Moses Personally (v. 1). They criti- cized Moses because his new wife was a Cushite (Ethio- pian). It appears Zipporah, his first wife and a Midianite, died; and Moses remarried. It might appear by Miriam and Aaron’s actions that Moses had sinned in marrying this Cushite, but in fact, he did not. God forbade the Hebrews to marry Canaanites but not other nationalities. In effect, the two were attacking Moses himself as a way to express their jealousy. As a leader, people will attack you out of jealousy, rebellion, or other reasons. Instead of dealing with their 32 sin, they will attack you for not being perfect, dressing wrong, saying something different than what they want to hear, etc. People rarely talk to their leaders about what is really bothering them. The Attack On Moses’ Authority (v. 2). In the previous chapter Moses did not decide who did and didn’t prophesy. He couldn’t say to Aaron or Miriam, “I don’t feel like receiving the message from God today, why don’t you do it.” God chose His spokesman. Aaron and Miriam were attacking Moses because of God’s choice. They were challenging Moses’ authority to be the only receiver of God’s direction. As a leader you will be challenged by others about your position of leadership. If God is the one who has exalted you to leadership, then God will take care of you when your leadership is assaulted. MOSES’ ANSWER (v. 3) Moses’ humble attitude is shown especially in how he re- sponded to these personal attacks by his family. We can pat- tern our response to criticism after his example. He Did Not Strike Back Moses could have struck back at his brother and sister by boasting about how the Lord had used him in so many ways and had chosen him—not them—to lead the nation. He could have gotten angry, shouted, and called down judgment from God. He Left It In God’s Hands The Bible records no action on the part of Moses at this point. It does comment on Moses’ character and reveal why he did not strike back at Miriam and Aaron. Verse 3 says Moses was meek. This word means “humble, lowly, gentle.” Because Moses was guided by his character, he let God handle the situation. The last phrase in verse 2 tells us that God was well aware of the situation, “And the Lord heard it.” What are some normal responses to criticism? (Have your students right these responses in their books.) 33 GOD’S RESPONSE (vv.