The Attack on Moses (Num

Home , Miriam

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 leadership and had chosen to speak through him.

28 The Plan The Attack On Moses ______Personally (v.1). They criticized Moses because 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 personal attacks by his family. We can pattern our response to criticism after his example. ______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.

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, follow the three steps to humility and see your leadership grow!

REFLECTION

Read John 13:1-17 silently to yourself. Confess any pride and selfishness in your heart to God. Ask God to help you humble yourself.

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, humility 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 criticized 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 responded to these personal attacks by his family. We can pattern 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. 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 spoke in an audible voice so all three could hear.

Sometimes when we are criticized, we don’t wait for God to act before we react. Why do you think we do that? (We don’t feel God will work, He takes too long, I want the satisfaction of revenge, We are very emotional and can’t control our tempers). We need to be willing to let God act. Even if it seems He never does!

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. The last phrase is a chilling indicator of what was to come, “Wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?” After hearing these words, Miriam’s and Aaron’s mouths must have dropped open because they realized what they had done.

He Executed Swift Judgment

God’s anger blazed against them and specifically against Miriam who apparently was the ringleader. God struck her with leprosy. Most people in Moses’ position would have gladly pointed the finger at her and said, “See, that’s what you get for rebelling against God’s chosen leader!” But not Moses. At the bidding of Aaron, he prayed to God for her healing. You may ask, “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). It’s something we do to ourselves.

34 Divide the class into three small groups. Give each group a “Search and Discover” sheet and assign the verses for each group. Each group is to discover one of the three steps to humility by studying verses from the same passages. Select a spokesman from each group to share their findings. · Group 1—Step one in humbling yourself Read Exodus 3:1-6; Isaiah 6:1-4; Acts 9:1-6 · Group 2—Step two in humbling yourself Read Exodus 3:11; Isaiah 6:5; 1 Corinthians 15:9; Ephesians 3:8; 1 Timothy 1:15 · Group 3—Step three in humbling yourself Read Exodus 3:12; Isaiah 6:6-8; Philippians 4:13

Begin with Group 1. Have the spokesman share the common truth in the passages his/her group was assigned. The following are the three steps to humility. The groups may word their answers differently but they should be close. 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

Application: Ask your teens, “How can a teenager show humility?” Give them a few minutes to discuss this and then proceed with the lesson. Humility is not demonstrated by the following: 1. A long, solemn face 2. Answering a compliment by saying that it isn’t true (e.g., “Joe, you did a great job!” “Aww, no I didn’t!”) 3. Letting people take advantage of you (e.g., “Linda, I know I owe you $100 but can you loan me $20 more for lunch?” “Sure, and don’t worry about paying me back. I’ll just work overtime to make it up.”) Humility is demonstrated by a servant’s attitude. This is vital to a leader. If you are going to be a leader in your youth group, you must be a servant to the teens who follow you. Being a servant means you are there when they need someone to talk to. It means you are not above setting up chairs or taking down decorations. It means loving those teens who are outwardly unlovely. It means smiling and laughing and being yourself. Have you humbled yourself before God? If not, follow the three steps to humility and see your leadership grow!

35 REFLECTION Before class ends ask each student to read John 13:1-17 silently. Have them pray about their pride and selfishness, confessing these things to God and asking for help in humbling themselves. If possible, have some soft hymns playing while they read. Once they are done reading they should quietly stand and leave the room.

Quiz Answers

1. (1)She was Moses’ older sister and a prophetess. (2)He was the founder of a perpetual priesthood. 2. He married a Cushite (Ethiopian). 3. (1)He did not strike back. (2)He left it in God’s hands. 4. Servant’s attitude 5. (1)Immediate action (2)Clear explanation (3)Swift judgment 6. (1)Seeing God as He really is. (2)Seeing yourself as you really are (a helpless sinner). (3)Trusting God to accomplish His work through you. 7. Leprosy LESSON 3 QUIZ — EATING HUMBLE PIE

NAME ______ISC # ______DATE ______

CHURCH/CITY ______

LEVEL ______SCORE ______(6 points Level One; 13 points Level Two)

Level One And Level Two

(2) 1. What were the reasons that Miriam and Aaron were jealous of Moses?

(1) Miriam’s reason: ______

(2) Aaron’s reason: ______

(1) 2. What was their personal criticism of Moses? ______

(2) 3. What were the two ways that Moses answered their attacks?

(1) ______

(2) ______

(1) 4. Humility is demonstrated by a ______.

Level Two Only

(3) 5. Finish the three responses of God to the criticism of Moses

(1) He took ______

(2) He gave a ______

(3) He executed ______

(3) 6. What are the three steps to humbling yourself?

(1) ______

(2) ______

(3) ______

(1) 7. What was God’s judgment against Miriam? ______SEARCH AND DISCOVER

STEP ______IN HUMILITY

PASSAGES ASSIGNED: ______

WHAT IS THE COMMON ACTIVITY OR ATTITUDE THESE PEOPLE SHARED IN THESE PASSAGES? ______. X

MOSES 3