NUMBERS 12:1-2 : Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman
whom he had married…. And they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He
not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it.
Irish novelist and playwright Samuel Beckett received great recognition for his work, but not every
one appreciated his success. Beckett’s marriage, in fact, was soured by his wife’s jealousy of his
growing fame as a writer.
One day in 1969 his wife answered the telephone, listened for a moment, spoke briefly and hung up.
She then turned to Beckett, and with a stricken look whispered, “What a catastrophe!” It turned out
that she had just learned that her husband had been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature!
Aaron and Miriam, Moses’ brother and sister, were guilty of the same kind of jealousy. When Moses
took a new wife, these two began to voice their objections. Perhaps they were afraid this woman
would have too much influence; perhaps they were fearful she would steal Moses’ affections away
from them.
Whatever the excuse, their hearts were filled with jealousy and they began to speak against their
brother. In response, God called the three of them to a meeting at the tabernacle. At the end of this
divine confrontation, Miriam was afflicted with leprosy (v. 10). The jealousy eating her up on the inside
became a disease that consumed her on the outside. Only Moses’ intercessory prayer spared her a
horrible death.
Jealousy can still be found in the hearts of Christians today, and the consequences are just as
terrible. Jealousy over who gets to sing the solo in the church Christmas cantata has torn choirs
apart. Envy over a sister who is more popular or a brother with a better job has driven wedges
between siblings. Sometimes even parents have been jealous of their own children.
If you are aware of jealousy in your heart, root it out at once. Confess it as sin. Seek to do good
toward those you envy. The longer you let jealousy linger, the more damage it will do—to you, and
everyone else.
AS RUST DESTROYS METAL, SO JEALOUSY DESTROYS PEOPLE,