“’When there is an outbreak of tzara‘at, be careful to observe and do just what the cohanim, who are L’vi’im, teach you. Take care to do as I ordered them. Remember what Adonai your God did to Miryam on the road after you left Egypt.’“–Deuteronomy 24:8-9
We are following on the heels of yesterday’s discussion concerning TZARA’AT.
Verse 9 of Deuteronomy 24 brings up Miriam (Moses’ sister) as a perfect case in point of why people are inflicted with this skin condition.
Recall way back during the Wilderness journey when Miriam spoke out against Moses.
What was the result of her rebellion?
She was immediately stricken with TZARA’AT.
Now there’s a lot of debate among both gentile and Jewish scholars concerning what exactly Miriam did that was so offensive.
However, one common point of agreement that consistently comes up is that she committed the crime of slanderous gossip.
In Hebrew, to speak ill against someone is called LASHON HARA.
But Miriam didn’t just commit LASHON HARA.
She also spoke out against God’s chosen mediator Moses.
And the result of this sin was she was forced to wear her defilement on her body for all to see.
While a lot of the wickedness we harbor in our hearts towards others remains a hidden inner condition, God decided to “externalize” her internal wickedness so that not only others could see it but so that Miriam herself would recognize her true status in the Lord’s eyes.
The Lord had to make it clear to Miriam in an undeniable physical way that she had broken peace with Him.
Otherwise, her sinful condition could very well have been ignored.
This story represents something that affects our relationship with the God of Israel to this very day.
Understand that Moses was the Lord’s covenant mediator on earth for a time.
And then later, when Messiah Yeshua came, not only was he God’s greater covenant mediator on earth for a time, but he remains so in heaven to this very day.
At Sinai, just as Moses’ every word should have been joyfully accepted and never spoken against, so it is with Messiah today.
What was the result when Miriam spoke out against God’s chosen mediator in her time?
The result was defilement as evidenced by the TZARA’AT she was stricken with.
What was the result when Korah and those rebels who sided with him spoke out against God’s chosen mediator?
The result was not only defilement but total destruction when the ground opened up and swallowed them whole.
And now…
…what is the result of speaking out against God’s chosen mediator Messiah Yeshua in our day and age?
The result is the same: defilement.
Why?
Because whatever God’s chosen mediator speaks is as if God Himself spoke it.
That is how much authority a chosen mediator of God carries.
Hence, the person who speaks against or rebels against Messiah is by definition in a state of spiritual defilement just as Miriam was.
And what happens to the defiled person?
He or she is thrown OUTSIDE THE CAMP of Israel and removed from fellowship with the Lord and His followers who worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.
Unlike an Israelite, all gentiles are born into a state of inner defilement or “spiritual TZARA’AT” for lack of a better expression.
In order to be brought from their state of inner defilement to a state of cleanliness, their uncleanness must be removed by the blood of Messiah.
Until that happens, they remain outside the camp of Israel.
One final point about Miriam before I close for today.
Miriam was a full-blooded sister to Moses.
That meant NOTHING when she rebelled against God’s chosen mediator.
Miriam was also a native-born ethnic Hebrew.
That meant NOTHING when she rebelled against God’s chosen mediator
She was also one of only five women in the entire TANACH given the status of “prophetess”.
That meant NOTHING when she rebelled against God’s chosen mediator.
She didn’t receive any special treatment just because of her family ties or status or blood.
When she denied God’s chosen mediator in her day and age, she was rendered unclean and unfit to be inside the camp of Israel…
….just like what will happen to anyone else brazen enough to deny God’s chosen mediator in our day and age…
…whether Hebrew or gentile.
God doesn’t play favorites.
That should be pretty clear by now.
So let’s get this straight homies.
It ain’t your blood that matters.
It’s only the blood of Messiah that was shed for you that matters AND…
…how you respond to him (the son) who He (the Father) sent.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“But if we walk in the light,
as he is in the light,
we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Yeshua,
his son, purifies us from all sin.”
-1 John 1:7
“For he has set a day
when he will judge the world
with justice by the man he has appointed.
He has given proof of this to everyone
by raising him from the dead.”
“Yeshua replied to them,
‘If God were your Father,
you would love me;
because I came out from God;
and now I have arrived here.
I did not come on my own;
he sent me‘.”
-John 8:24
“And do not think you can say to yourselves,
‘We have Abraham as our father.’
I tell you that out of these stones
God can raise up children for Abraham.”
-Matthew 3:9
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