A Broken Nation: Answer 1a

(There is so much that scripture has to say about criticizing leadership that I've had to split this answer into multiple blogs.)

Throughout scripture there are examples about verbally apposing leadership, Godly or ungodly. One of the earliest Biblical recounts that clearly draws the line for us is that of Aaron and Miriam's criticizing of Moses for marrying a Cushite woman. The Lord heard their criticism of Moses and called them out to the tabernacle. At the tabernacle the Lord appeared in a cloud and spoke these words,

"If there were prophets among you, I, the Lord, would reveal myself in visions, I would speak to them in dreams. But not with my servant Moses. Of all my house, he is the one I trust. I speak to him face to face, clearly, and not in riddles! He sees the Lord as He is. So why were you not afraid the criticize my servant Moses?" (Num 12:6-8 NLT)

There are two things I find amazing about this story:

1. The clarity with which God speaks to this matter is uncommon. God leaves no room for misinterpretation or failure to hear His voice. He speaks directly, loudly, and then backs it up by giving Miriam leprosy.

2. The reality is that, to a certain extent, Aaron and Miriam were right about Moses's marriage. Throughout the rest of the Old Testament, God is very clear that He doesn't want his people to intermarry with other nations. Yet, that's not what God gets angry about.

God's anger aims at the heart behind their criticism. They criticize out of a heart of jealousy and judgement. The question then becomes, "How do they criticize Moses without rousing God's anger?" Thankfully, scripture gives us guidelines that we'll discuss in part "B" of this answer.