"And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had
married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken
only by Moses? hath He not spoken also by us? And the Lord heard it. (Now the man Moses was
very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) And the Lord spake
suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle
of the congregation. And they three came out. And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud,
and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam; and they both came forth.
And He said, Hear now My words:If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make Myself
known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who
is faithful in all Mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in
dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold; wherefore then were ye not afraid
to speak against My servant Moses? And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them; and He
departed. And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous,
white as snow; and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous" (Numbers 12:1-
10).

It is a most serious thing for any one to speak against the Lord’s servant. We may rest assured that
God will deal with it, sooner or later. In the case of Miriam, the divine judgment came down
suddenly and solemnly. It was a grievous wrong_it was positive rebellion_to speak against the
one whom God had so markedly raised up and clothed with a divine commission; and who,
moreover, in the very matter of which they complained, had acted in full consonance with the
counsels of God, and furnished a type of that glorious mystery which was hidden in His eternal
mind, even the union of Christ and the Church.

But in any case, it is a fatal mistake to speak against the very feeblest and humblest of God’s
servants. If the servant does wrong, if he is in error, if he has failed in any thing, the Lord
Himself will deal with him; but let the fellow servants beware how they attempt to take the matter
into their hands, lest they be found like Miriam, meddling to their own hurt.

It is very awful to hear, at times, the way in which people allow themselves to speak and write
about Christ’s servants. True, these latter may give occasion; they may have made mistakes, and
manifested a wrong spirit and temper; but we must confess we feel it to be a very dreadful sin
against Christ to speak evil of His dear servants. Surely, we ought to feel the weight and solemnity
of these words:"Wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against My servant?"

May God give us grace to watch against this sore evil Let us see to it that we be not found doing
that which is so offensive to Him, speaking against those who are dear to His heart. There is not
a single one of God’s people in whom we cannot find some good thing, provided only we look
for it in the right way. Let us be occupied only with the good; let us dwell upon that, and seek to
strengthen and develop it in every possible way. And on the other hand, if we have not been able
to discover the good thing in our brother and fellow servant, if our eye has only detected the
crooked thing, if we have not succeeded in finding the vital spark amid the ashes, the precious
gem among the surrounding rubbish, if we have only seen what was of mere nature, then let us,

with a loving and delicate hand, draw the curtain of silence around our brother, or speak of him
only at the throne of grace.

So also when we happen to be in company with those who indulge in the wicked practice of
speaking against the Lord’s people, if we cannot succeed in changing the current of the
conversation, let us rise and leave the place, thus bearing testimony against that which is so hateful
to Christ. Let us never sit by and listen to a backbiter. We may rest assured he is doing the work
of the devil, and inflicting positive injury upon three distinct parties, namely, himself, his hearer,
and the subject of his censorious remarks.

There is something perfectly beautiful in the way in which Moses carries himself in the scene
before us. Truly, he proved himself a meek man, not only in the matter of El-dad and Medad
(Num. 11), but also in the more trying matter of Miriam and Aaron. As to the former, instead of
being jealous of those who were called to share his dignity and responsibility, he rejoiced in their
work, and prayed that all the Lord’s people might taste the same holy privilege; and as to the
latter, instead of cherishing any feeling of resentment against his brother and sister, he was ready
at once to take the place of intercession:"And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech
thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned. Let
her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother’s
womb. And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech Thee" (12:11-
13).

Here Moses breathes the spirit of his Master, and prays for those who had spoken so bitterly
against him. This was victory, the victory of a meek man, the victory of grace. A man who knows
his right place in the presence of God is able to rise above all evil-speaking. He is not troubled
by it, save for those who practice it; he can afford to forgive it; he is not touchy, tenacious, or
self-occupied. He knows that no one can put him lower than he deserves to be; and hence if any
speak against him, he can meekly bow his head and pass on, leaving himself and his cause in the
hands of Him who judgeth righteously, and who will assuredly reward every man according to
his works.

This is true dignity. May we understand it somewhat better, and then we shall not be so ready to
take fire if any one thinks proper to speak disparagingly of us or of our work; in fact, we shall
then be able to lift up our hearts in earnest prayer for them, and thus draw down blessing on them
and on our own souls.

(From Notes on the Book of Numbers. )