“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 it” (Exodus 12:1-2).

Miriam and Aaron were Moses’ siblings. They had all been born Jews under Egyptian bondage and had been delivered by God’s mighty hand. But the story says the reason they challenged Moses’ authority was that he had previously married a foreigner, a Cushite. Some have implied that she was black, thus their persecution. But Cushites were simply descendants of Cush, not Abraham. Moses’ wife was an outsider who had been adopted into the family through marriage. Aaron and Moses used this element of Moses’ past against him. Perhaps this is a common error in the church today.

God calls and appoints whom He chooses. He doesn’t interview His candidates, he drafts them. And God chose to speak through Moses, not Aaron or Miriam. And God is not interested in our past, but in our future.

The interesting part of the story, however, is that the Bible notes that God was listening in on their conversation and took immediate action. The rest of chapter 12 is the account of how God dealt with that rebellion. Your words spoken behind someone’s back are heard by God. And He always takes appropriate action. The words you speak are a declaration of your faith. May the Lord help us to guard our tongues because He is always listening in to our heart’s attitude.