Numbers 11-13

It's so exciting to feel like I actually have something to contribute!  No major family trees, measurements, etc...  Whew!
I've always known of Moses, but I can't say that I really knew the importance of his role in God's kingdom.  I didn't realize that he had such an impact on the happenings we've encountered lately.  I also find it interesting to see the small amount of rebellion he has against the Lord and to see how the Lord reacts.  Moses really calls God out on a lot of things, and God adjusts, reacts, or explains things to Moses in such a different way than He does with others.  Moses never gives up on God, but does question Him when he doesn't agree or understand some of His ways.  For example, Moses heard of the people crying out at the entrance to his tent.  The Lord became really angry with all the people for not being patient and trusting in Him.  Moses questioned the Lord, asking Him why He has brought all of this trouble upon him.  Why did he deserve all the consequences that the Lord commanded.  So, God basically took pity on Moses and helped him out.  When Moses continued to question the intentions of God, he was told to continue with what he was commanded to do and wait and see.  The faith, trust, and patience that Moses had always has a thought-provoking outcome.  God follows through every time!
In Ch. 12, we get another great lesson.  Aaron and Miriam start to become extremely jealous of Moses and the jobs he is assigned to do by God.  The Lord calls the three in to the Tent of Meeting and tells them this:
"When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams.  But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house.  With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord.  Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?"  (Numbers 12:6-8)  This made the Lord very angry, which in turn led to punishment to Miriam (which also affected Aaron).  Still, Moses begged for God to heal Miriam.  I'm becoming a big fan of Moses the more I read about him. 
Today's devotional reading shed some light on this story, as well.  It deals a lot with jealousy.  Sometimes it can be extremely difficult to praise others, recognize others achievements, congratulate them, etc...without feeling a tinge of jealousy.  The devotion points out that a lot of times the root of jealousy is insecurity.  We even sometimes wonder why God didn't use us in "that way."  In regards to Miriam and Aaron's jealousy, it talks about how they had just as important of a role as Moses - a role that Moses couldn't fill.  Miriam was a prophetess - a female prophet - almost unheard of in that day.  Aaron was the priest above all priests.  Pretty important! 
I loved this part: "God has made a place for you in his kingdom that only you can fill.  You may be a Moses, out front leading the way.  Or you may be serving in more behind-the-scenes ways like Miriam and Aaron.  Your job is not to compare your work to another's and attach value based on what you can see.  Your job is to turn down the heat of jealousy and quietly go about the work God has given you to do." 
I thought that was a great thing to remember!