Numbers 12:9

"And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against them; and he departed. And the cloud removed from over the Tent; and behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. And Aaron said unto Moses, Oh, my lord, lay not, I pray thee, sin upon us, for that we have done foolishly, and for that we have sinned. Let her not, I pray, be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb. And Moses cried unto Jehovah, saying, Heal her, O God, I beseech thee. And Jehovah said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut up without the camp seven days, and after that she shall be brought in again. And Miriam was shut up without the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not until Miriam was brought in again. And afterward the people journeyed from Hazeroth, and encamped in the wilderness of Paran."

This sudden affliction of Miriam with leprosy was indeed a dreadful and shocking penalty, little short of death itself in the shame and wretchedness inflicted by it. Aaron and Moses understood the lesson at once, and Aaron immediately appealed to Moses. Moses having been appealed to, could appeal only to God; and that he promptly did.

"Heal her, O God, I beseech thee ..." (Numbers 12:13). Older versions add the word now. Heal her now! Scholars agree that the now should be omitted. Nevertheless, Gray stated that the narrative "implies that Miriam was healed immediately."[16] Despite this, the quarantine of lepers, even though healed, for a period of seven days was not lifted. God had a law for the cleansing of lepers, and it involved the leper's being thrust without the camp. In this instance, God would not change his law, even for the benefit of Miriam. Healed or not, she would be excluded for a full week.

"If her father had but spit in her face ..." (Numbers 12:14). Such an inelegant statement as this is thought to be undignified on God's part by some; and the Jewish interpreters render it, "If her father had corrected her."[17] God, however, always used language that men could understand, and no Jew of that generation could have misunderstood this. It referred to a public disgrace inflicted upon a child by a father, who had a right so to do, and who felt that the conduct of his offspring had been sufficiently reprehensible that such a public repudiation of it was required. "In patriarchal times, this was a most severe penalty and entailed a period of seclusion and mourning on the part of the offender."[18] In the light of this, how much more severe penalty was to be expected for Miriam who had insulted God Himself by thus opposing and speaking against God's chosen Servant, and even daring to claim a share of his authority for herself! Even though God, in mercy, healed her upon the intercession of Moses, she was required to be excluded as unacceptable to the congregation for a full seven days, during which time the people could not travel.

REALITIES OF THE NEW COVENANT TYPIFIED HERE

We are indebted to Adam Clarke for the following summary of the typical importance of this chapter:[19]

1. Zipporah, a Cushite married by Moses, shows the choice which Jesus Christ made in his calling the Gentiles to become his Bride the Church.

2. The jealous opposition of Miriam and Aaron to Moses shows the envious hatred of the Jews against Christ and his apostles, when they saw that the Gentiles also were invited to share the heavenly banquet.

3. The leprosy that came to Miriam foreshadows the wretched state of the Jews as a consequence of their opposing God's will, ever afterward being: (a) without temple; (b) without sacrifice; (c) without state; (d) and without head.

4. Moses in this place is said to be: (a) the meekest of all men; (b) the faithful servant in all God's house; (c) that he had an intimate face to face relation to God; and (d) that God revealed all truth to him clearly. Of Jesus Christ alone could all these be said without reservation, leaving the certainty that God gave these words, though applied to the type, as eloquent witnesses of the Greater Prophet "like unto Moses."