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Humble Faith

Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” And the Lord heard this.

(Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)

At once the Lord said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, “Come out to the tent of meeting, all three of you.” So the three of them went out. Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When the two of them stepped forward, he said, “Listen to my words:

“When there is a prophet among you,
I, the Lord, reveal myself to them in visions,
I speak to them in dreams.
But this is not true of my servant Moses;
he is faithful in all my house.
With him I speak face to face,
clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord.
Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”

The anger of the Lord burned against them, and he left them.

When the cloud lifted from above the tent, Miriam’s skin was leprous — it became as white as snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had a defiling skin disease, and he said to Moses, “Please, my lord, I ask you not to hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed. Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother’s womb with its flesh half eaten away.”

So Moses cried out to the Lord, “Please, God, heal her!”

The Lord replied to Moses, “If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back.” So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on till she was brought back.

After that, the people left Hazeroth and encamped in the Desert of Paran.

- Numbers 12:1 - 16

Text in bold pertains to the theme of faith.

Humble Faith

In this passage, we see consequences that come when people don’t react in faith. Instead of trusting God’s work through Moses, Miriam and Aaron grumbled against him.

The result of their faithless grumbles? God chastised them and elevated Moses. This humble prophet spoke to God face to face, like friends talk. Because Miriam did not recognize Moses’ authority and humble faith, God struck her with leprosy, but then healed her.

What can we learn about humble faith from this passage?

God loves the humble.

He speaks to the humble.

He reveals himself to the humble.

He makes his home with the humble.

He defends the humble.

He vindicates the humble.

To be humble is to recognize that we are not the object of faith, but God is. Humility is taking steps of faith, knowing that God’s greatness can work with our weakness. It’s realizing that God deserves the glory for all he has done; it’s living in worship and faithfulness to him.

A Prayer for Today

Lord, I want to have humble faith like Moses. Rescue me from grumbling, and help me to long for times with you, particularly when I’m worried or stressed about what I face. You are God; I am not. Humbly, I put my faith in you. Amen.

A Journaling Prompt

Who is the humblest person you’ve ever known? List a couple traits you have seen in that person. In what ways are you working to become humbler in your life?