Examples of Disobedience: Disaffection

Driving home: The word means simply to become alienated in one's feelings, to become estranged, discontent, to experience a spirit of antagonism and ill-will.

One theory for the Cushite woman is that it refers to Zipporah, Moses' Midianite wife, with Cush and Midian being geographically linked. This illustrates the historical context of the marriage.

And some commentators take this position because you will find, in reading a passage such as Habakkuk 3.7, that Cush and Midian are put together as part of the Asiatic divisions of what we would now call Ethiopia. . If this is true, that the Scripture is saying that forty years after his marriage to Zipporah , if the passage is saying that 40 years after that marriage there were certain elements of her relationship to Moses or more likely to her relationship to the STEREN and MIRIAM , as they were related in that family intimacy of being brother and sister, the of being brothers and sisters, s...

13:14 - 14:41 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The word means simply to become alienated in one's feelings, to become estranged, discontent, to experience a spirit of antagonism and ill-will.

The more plausible theory is that Moses married a new, black Cushite (Ethiopian) woman from the mixed multitude, highlighting the interracial aspect that likely fueled Miriam and Aaron's disaffection.

acceptable Hebrew women, and he sets his affection upon one of these women who was part of that mixed multitude who came out of Egypt with the children of Israel. You read of that mixed multitude several times in the Old Testament narrative. And being a Cushite, in all probability, she was an Ethiopian. She is what we would say today, she was a black woman.

14:42 - 15:07 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: This section systematically describes the three main parts of the Numbers 12 narrative: the description of Miriam and Aaron's disaffection (likely rooted in racial pride and…

Moses' marriage to a non-Hebrew convert could have been a deliberate act to demonstrate Israel's purpose as God's light to the nations and to counter racial pride, illustrating a possible spiritual motivation for his choice.

And Moses married her. Now, why did he do it? Well, again, we can conjecture. Could it be that Moses, because of his intimate relationship with the living God, understood that by marrying a woman who was not a Hebrew by birth, but a convert to the Hebrew religion, that he would demonstrate in this way the whole purpose for which the Hebrew nation existed?

15:09 - 15:35 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: This section systematically describes the three main parts of the Numbers 12 narrative: the description of Miriam and Aaron's disaffection (likely rooted in racial pride and…

Pastor Martin humorously deflects a question from his son about the origin of the women's lib movement, linking it to Miriam's instigation in the narrative to highlight her leadership in the rebellion.

of the liberation of the world, of the liberation movement. What male chauvinist pig, need to take all this leadership upon himself? Aaron, come here, stand with your sister. Well, I won't go into that, but it's here.

18:15 - 18:30 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: This section systematically describes the three main parts of the Numbers 12 narrative: the description of Miriam and Aaron's disaffection (likely rooted in racial pride and…

Aaron's plea for Miriam, 'Let her not, I pray, be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed, when he cometh out of his mother's womb,' is explained as a graphic analogy to a stillborn child whose body has begun to decompose, emphasizing the dread nature of leprosy.

And then he prays, Let her not, I pray thee, as one dead of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb. It's a graphic analogy. He says, Let her not be as a stillborn child who died weeks before birth. And the body has already begun to be decomposed when it comes forth from the womb.

30:12 - 30:32 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: This section systematically describes the three main parts of the Numbers 12 narrative: the description of Miriam and Aaron's disaffection (likely rooted in racial pride and…

The act of a father spitting in his daughter's face is explained as a sign of contempt, drawing on Deuteronomy 25:9, to illustrate the shame Miriam would feel from God's chastisement, even if her sin were less severe.

God heard his cry, but he says, Moses, if her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? Suppose she did something that warranted her father's contentious act of spitting in her face. It was a way of showing contempt. We have a record of it in Deuteronomy 25.9 when a man would not fulfill the duty of raising up seed to the deceased husband. And the woman comes to the nearest of kin and says, Look, you're now to take me into the relationship of a wife, and raise up seed to the family name. And if the man wouldn't do it, God had a whole ritual, and the ritual was clim...

30:53 - 31:36 Read in full sermon

Driving home: We must never out of jealousy or pride use the fact of our common privileges and our common spiritual graces to disaffect us towards those who have special gifts and special graces to rule in the body of Jesus Christ.

The gift of 'governments' is likened to a ship's captain, and the danger of every sailor wanting to be captain is used to illustrate the chaos and destruction that results when people usurp leadership roles in the church.

Some have gifts to captain the ship of God's people as they make their way through the waters of this life seeking to be kept from the shoals of false doctrine and the reefs of schism and disruption. And what happens on the ship when every single sailor says, I'm competent to be the captain?

37:43 - 38:07 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second admonition cautions against allowing personal preferences and prejudices (like Miriam and Aaron's dislike of Moses' Cushite wife) to cause disaffection towards…

Examples of people disliking a leader's clothing style or car choice are used to illustrate how personal preferences and prejudices can lead to disaffection in the church over non-moral issues.

I don't like the style clothes the elders or the preachers are wearing. I don't like the kind of cars they drive. I don't like this. I...

42:14 - 42:26 Read in full sermon

The point: Don't you allow personal preferences and prejudices to disaffect you toward your appointed leaders.

A spiritual leader conforming to all the 'winds and whimperings' of his people is likened to becoming a slave, illustrating how yielding to non-moral demands leads to loss of identity and increased pressure.

Has he no mind in that one whom he shall take to be the darling of his bosom? Oh, granted, I must be willing to forego lawful liberties for the sake of the gospel. I am fully aware of that. On the other hand, I'm not to become the slave of the winds of people because it's like a form of blackmail and the spiritual leader who begins to conform to all the winds and whimperings of his people finds that the demand becomes higher and higher until he's a wreck, a bondage, and he's lost his own identity as a man.

42:51 - 43:31 Read in full sermon

The point: Don't you allow personal preferences and prejudices to disaffect you toward your appointed leaders.

Pastor Martin shares his personal preference for button-down shirts due to his physical build, using it as a lighthearted example of a non-moral personal preference that should not cause disaffection.

I happen to like button-down shirts because I've got no neck and straight shoulders and any other kind of collars turned up.

43:34 - 43:41 Read in full sermon

The point: Beware of thinking that conclaves of disaffection go unnoticed by God.

Pastor Martin vividly imagines Miriam and Aaron's private conversation, dripping with 'super spirituality' as they subtly grumble and question Moses' leadership, illustrating how conclaves of disaffection often begin under a guise of piety.

Perhaps being his blood brother and sister, it never entered Moses' mind that those who ate bread with him would lift up their hands against him. And I can just picture Miriam dripping with super spirituality, sitting around a cup of tea one day with Aaron saying, Brother, I've been thinking recently and in my own devotions it's come to my mind that I'm not going to Hasn't the Lord spoken by us? I mean, we're definitely humbled at the thought that we should have such a place, but hasn't the Lord spoken? And Aaron says, Why, of course.

45:41 - 46:18 Read in full sermon

Driving home: All things are naked and orphaned before the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

Examples of church members subtly questioning a pastor's preaching clarity or perceived harshness are used to illustrate how disaffection can manifest under a spiritual veneer, leading to rebellion.

Someone who's disaffected to a leader starts putting out feelers to see if he can find a kindred spirit of discontent and disaffection. And so the question is asked to say, haven't you noticed recently a pastor really seems so tired? Well, what do you mean? Well, there just hasn't been quite the same clarity in his preaching.

47:29 - 47:53 Read in full sermon

The point: If there are real sins, there is a biblical way to deal with those sins in your leaders. If you are not prepared to bring explicit accusation based upon facts supported by witnesses, then keep your mouth shut and don't y…

The recent disruptions in sister churches due to repeated conclaves of disaffection are cited as a sobering example of the destructive consequences of such rebellion, leading to broken hearts and church shambles.

And in some of the disruptions through which our sister churches have passed recently, my heart has been made to tremble as I mentioned several weeks ago because people have dared to have repeated conclaves of disaffection and add one and another and another until they become a mutinous element within the church and break the heart of the under shepherds and bring reproach to Christ and leave a working shambles and our flesh is no different my brethren.

49:58 - 50:31 Read in full sermon