Anyone who has read the story of the Exodus in the Bible is awed by the person of Moses. Armed with his simple humility and pragmatic obedience to God, he brought a proud nation with an even prouder ruler to their knees. He also helped establish the constitution of the new nation of Israel.
Moses had a big sister, Miriam. Like all big sisters, she was always trying to boss her kid brother around. There was no exception for Moses and Miriam. One time she accused her kid brother of thinking too much of himself; of having an inflated ego; of not being a team-player. The Bible tells us that this action displeased God who afflicted Miriam with leprosy as a punishment . To me, bringing down plagues, bringing Pharaoh to his knees and dividing the Red Sea are not the only marks of Moses’ greatness. The reaction that he had toward his sister tells us of a kind of greatness that only comes from God. A greatness that is the proof of God’s presence in a man or a woman; a greatness that would immediately create Heaven on earth if it were owned by every person who claims to believe in the God of the Bible. The Bible tells us that after he saw what happened to his sister because of her criticism, Mose cried to the LORD, "O God, please heal her—please. (Num 12:13). Our natural response when people do us wrong is to return the attack in some form, even sometimes with extreme subtlety. We do not take it lying down. For example, if you were to maybe lose your job because of someone’s vicious verbal attacks against you, how would feel towards that person? Would you pray for their welfare and against God’s punishment for their evil deeds? This reminds me of a story I once heard. There was a private who constantly criticised his commanding officer, even sometimes publicly. One day that very same commanding officer was asked what he thought of that private’s soldiering. The officer gave the most glowing report. Another officer thought to inform the first and said, “Don’t you know that this is the private who openly criticises you?” to which the officer answered, “I was asked for my opinion of him, not for his opinion of me!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
If you appreciate these articles, support their upcoming publication in a book called, "REFLECTIONS OF A FIRE CHAPLAIN"
|