Shut Out of The camp

“And Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not, till Miriam was brought in again.” — Numbers 12:15

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Whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth[1]. When Aaron and Miriam murmur against Moses in Numbers 12, God rises to Moses’ defense and singles out Miriam for seven days of leprosy and separation from the people of God. It is interesting what charge they attempt to lay against Moses. They spoke against him verse 1 says, “for he had married an Ethiopian woman.” Throughout scripture we are warned against marrying unbelievers. And indeed there were seven tribes explicitly marked for destruction, but the Ethiopians were not one of them. Miriam and Aaron took their assurance from their ancestry rather than from their God, and were forerunners of the Pharisees in this regard. Salvation is of the Lord, and if the Lord did not rebuke Moses’ choice of spouse it must mean that the woman was indeed a believer, a stranger who took hold of God’s covenant by faith, thus foreshadowing the gospel era.

We may wonder why Aaron was not also stricken with leprosy, seeing as he was guilty of the same sin. God’s reply to Moses’ prayer for Miriam’s restoration may hold the answer. “If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again.”[2] Emphasis mine on “her father.” The statement implies that Miriam does not have a husband to reprove her and that she would have feared her father’s rebuke more than she fears the Lord’s. When Sarah laughs inwardly at the Lord’s promise of a child in old age[3], the Lord chides Abraham rather than Sarah, because God has placed Abraham as Sarah’s head in the marriage covenant. Likewise in the garden, the blame of the fall is placed primarily on Adam, who as the husband was given headship over the wife.[4] Therefore without a male head in her life, the responsibility to walk in the Lord’s ways fell on Miriam herself.

God said to Israel through the prophet Malachi, “A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear?”[5] God detests it when we show more fear of man than of God. So the Lord allows Miriam to be shut out of the camp for seven days, but in all that time the glory cloud never departs from the camp forcing them to abandon her in the wilderness. The Lord may chasten us sore, but he does not leave us to death[6]. He is faithful who promised never to fail nor forsake us.[7]

“For the LORD thy God is a merciful God, he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.”

— Deuteronomy 4:31

Scripture References: [1] Heb 12:6 [2] Num 12:14 [3] Genesis 18:13 [4] 1st Tim 2:13-14 [5] Mal 1:6 [6] Ps 118:18 [7] Deut 31:6

Spare Not

“Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes.”

— Isaiah 54:2

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The Lord is never stingy with his grace. It is without measure. He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.[1] We see this in 2nd Chronicles 20 when the Lord delivers Israel a great victory without them needing to battle in order to display his power, and the spoil of their enemies was “more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering the spoil it was so much.”[2]

We see this in Exodus 36, when God poured out his spirit onto Bezalel and all the congregation in the wilderness to give them the desire and the skills needed to create the tabernacle and the objects consecrated to the priest’s office. The congregation is so abundant in charity that Moses has to tell them to hold back their gifts, “For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.”[3] Too much!

We see this in John 21, when at Jesus’ command the disciples lowered their net into the water and “they were not able to draw for the multitude of fishes.”[4]

It pleases the Lord that the poor in spirit should have the riches of heaven. Run to him, he has seen you coming and prepared a feast. Seek him, and you will find him. Come into his garden and hear him say, "...Eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved."[5]

“They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.”

— Psalm 36:8

Scripture References: [1] Eph 3:20 [2] 2nd Chron 20:25 [3] Ex 36:7 [4] John 21:6

[5] Song 5:1

Direct Our Hearts

“And the Lord direct your hearts unto the patient waiting for Christ.” — 2nd Thessalonians 3:5

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Let us not neglect to pray this prayer for our brethren whenever we can. Though our faith and works may be commendable, we cannot rely on yesterday’s victories. Our inward man must be renewed day by day, hour by hour. All of creation groans alongside us for the revelation of the sons of God. The scriptures tells us that ye have need of patience. We need patience as much as we need diligence and zeal for good works. We shall reap in due season if we faint not. A day can seem like a thousand years or a thousand years as but a day, if our hearts are directed unto patient waiting for our Lord. Grant us, O Lord, the patience of the saints.

“But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever. I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.” — Psalm 52:8-9