Numbers 12:1-2 “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.”

The issue driving Aaron and Miriam’s power play looks particularly ugly from our vantage point thousands of years later. They were critical of his “mixed marriage.” He had married a non-Israelite. They were indulging their racist prejudices.

We see that racism and ethnic prejudice is not a recent invention. The evil thought processes behind it don’t even have to run along racial lines. We are not certain whether “Cushite” refers to people from Ethiopia or to a tribe much more like the Jews in physical appearance. But it is the same sinful way of judging others that turned so many European peoples against their own neighbors for centuries, or led the Hutus to commit genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda, or created the killing fields of Cambodia. Aaron and Miriam suffered from the same moral disease in their day, and we must constantly guard against our own tendency to judge others because they look, sound, or think differently than we do. You can’t embrace racism or prejudice of any kind and love your neighbor at the same time.

The end game for the brother and sister seem to have been Moses’ position as leader of the nation. “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” “Yes he had,” was the simple answer. It was a privilege that the Lord had used Aaron and Miriam as his mouthpieces at times. That in no way invalidated the ministry he had given to Moses. Moses was clearly the one the Lord called at the burning bush.

Their questions were meant to imply more than they really proved. Their arguments did not lead to the conclusion they were implying: “We have just as much reason to be recognized as the leaders of this people as Moses does.” Again, political attack ads are not something we have invented in our time, only refined. This was bad politics, bad church politics, if you will. It stunk as much then as it would now.

And it still stinks pretty bad. Few things drive people away from the churches more than the pathetic way Christians will wrestle for control. Young people become disgusted by their own parents when they see them act this way. It’s not the only reason so many have given up the faith of their fathers, but it is a major one. New members are appalled when they run into it. For non-Christians, it is all the reason they need to avoid churches altogether. It is truly a political game no one can ever win.

Jesus’ own disciples played these kinds of political games during his earthly ministry, arguing about which one of them was “the greatest.” Jesus confronted their sinful ambition by revealing what God is really looking for in a Christian leader: “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all” (Mark 10:43-44). “Will you love and serve my people, your fellow believers?” is God’s great concern, not seeing his leaders scratch and claw their way to the top of some kind of pecking order. Jesus’ own life is the great example: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10: 45).            

Jesus’ service and sacrifice is more than an example to follow. It is the salvation of his people. It redeems us from our sins. It is the price that sets us free. He sets us free not only from guilt and death. He even releases us from the selfish ambition that tries to assert our own interests over the people we are here to serve.