20250410 [새벽묵상] 당신의 종을 대변하시는 하나님 | Divine Defense: How God Advocates for His Servants (민/Num 12:1~8)

12:1 모세가 구스 여자를 취하였더니 그 구스 여자를 취하였으므로 미리암과 아론이 모세를 비방하니라

12:2 그들이 이르되 여호와께서 모세와만 말씀하셨느냐 우리와도 말씀하지 아니하셨느냐 하매 여호와께서 이 말을 들으셨더라

1 Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. 2 “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” And the Lord heard this.

12:3 이 사람 모세는 온유함이 지면의 모든 사람보다 더하더라

3 (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)

12:4 여호와께서 갑자기 모세와 아론과 미리암에게 이르시되 너희 세 사람은 회막으로 나아오라 하시니 그 세 사람이 나아가매

12:5 여호와께서 구름 기둥 가운데로부터 강림하사 장막 문에 서시고 아론과 미리암을 부르시는지라 그 두 사람이 나아가매

4 At once the Lord said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, “Come out to the tent of meeting, all three of you.” So the three of them went out. 5 Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When the two of them stepped forward, 6 he said, “Listen to my words:

12:6 이르시되 내 말을 들으라 너희 중에 선지자가 있으면 나 여호와가 환상으로 나를 그에게 알리기도 하고 꿈으로 그와 말하기도 하거니와

12:7 내 종 모세와는 그렇지 아니하니 그는 내 온 집에 충성함이라

12:8 그와는 내가 대면하여 명백히 말하고 은밀한 말로 하지 아니하며 그는 또 여호와의 형상을 보거늘 너희가 어찌하여 내 종 모세 비방하기를 두려워하지 아니하느냐

“When there is a prophet among you,

    I, the Lord, reveal myself to them in visions,

    I speak to them in dreams.

7 But this is not true of my servant Moses;

    he is faithful in all my house.

8 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?”

                  오늘 말씀은 이스라엘 백성들이 얼마나 목이 곧은 백성들인지를 여실히 보여주는 본문입니다. 가나안 땅을 향하여 출정한 뒤로 이들이 모세의 리더쉽을 따르지 않는 모습이 벌써 이번이 세번째 이지요. 이번주 내내 이 이야기들을 다루고 있는 것 같습니다. 자 첫번째는 무엇이었습니까? 11:1 “백성이 악한 말로 원망하매.” 이 일로 진영 바깥이 불타고 모세가 하나님께 기도한 후에야 그 불이 꺼졌지요. 두번째는 무엇이었습니까? 11:4 “다른 인종들이 탐욕을 품으매” 이 작은 탐욕의 씨앗이 백성의 온 종족들에게 번져서 고기를 달라고 다 울어요. 결국 욕심을 품었던 사람들은 어제 말씀처럼 고기를 받기는 하는데 씹어보지도 못하고 다 죽지요. 게다가 장로로 뽑혔던 엘랏과 메랏은 모세의 말을 듣지 않고 자기 장막에 있다가 거기서 예언을 하고 아주 난리도 아닙니다. 가만히 보시면 백성, 다른 인종과 온 종족, 그리고 장로들까지 밑바닥에서부터 지도층까지 온 이스라엘 백성들이 모세의 리더쉽에 대해 의문을 갖습니다. 그 정점이 바로 오늘 말씀인 것이죠. 이제는 모세의 형제인 미리암과 아론마저 모세를 비방하기 시작한 것입니다. 그래서일까요? 오늘은 하나님이 직접 개입하십니다. 오늘의 말씀 중 절반 이상이 하나님의 직접적인 개입과 말씀을 보여주고 있습니다. 당신의 종을 위하시는 하나님의 마음이 그대로 드러나 있는 것이지요. 하나님께서는 이렇게 당신의 종을 대변하여 주시는 것입니다.

Today's passage clearly shows how stiff-necked the people of Israel were. This is the third time they've failed to follow Moses' leadership since setting out for the Promised Land. We seem to be covering these stories all week. So what was the first incident? Chapter 11, verse 1: "The people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD." Because of this, the outskirts of the camp burned, and the fire only stopped after Moses prayed to God.

What was the second incident? Chapter 11, verse 4: "The rabble with them began to crave other food." This small seed of craving spread to all the families of the people, and everyone wept for meat. As we saw yesterday, those who gave in to their cravings received meat, but died before they could even chew it. On top of that, Eldad and Medad, who were selected as elders, didn't listen to Moses and remained in their tents, where they prophesied, causing quite a commotion.

If you look carefully, you'll see the people, the foreigners among them, all the families, and even the elders—from the bottom of society to the leadership—all questioned Moses' leadership. The climax of this is today's passage. Now even Moses' siblings, Miriam and Aaron, have begun to speak against him.

Is that why God directly intervenes today? More than half of today's passage shows God's direct intervention and words. It clearly reveals God's heart to defend His servant. This is how God advocates for His servant.

                  말씀을 보겠습니다. 자 1절에 모세가 구스 여자를 취하였기 때문에 미리암과 아론이 모세를 비방합니다. 자 그러면 미리암과 아론 중에 누가 좀 더 주도적으로 비난을 하고 있는 것일까요? 한 번 맞추어 보시겠습니까? 네, 미리암입니다. 미리암의 이름이 먼저 나와있기도 하고 “비방하다”라고 하는 동사가 원문에 3인칭 단수여성형이여서 미리암이 주도적으로 비방하였던 것이라 볼 수 있지요. 결과적으로 우리 유지나 전도사님이 전해주실 내일 말씀에서 미리암 만이 문둥병에 걸리지 않습니까?

                  자 그런데 구스여자를 취하였다고 모세를 비방하는 것은 표면적인 이유일 뿐, 진짜 이유가 아닙니다. 이들이 모세를 비난하는 진짜 이유는 바로 질투와 시기입니다. 2절 보시겠습니다. “그들이 이르되 여호와께서 모세와만 말씀하셨느냐 우리와도 말씀하지 아니하셨느냐 하매.” 자 이것이 진짜 이유이지요. 어째서 모세만이 최고의 권위를 가지고 있는가? 여러분 아론은 대제사장인건 아시잖아요. 미리암은 선지자거든요. 미리암이 그냥 어중이 떠중이가 아니에요. 하나님께서 홍해에서 이스라엘 백성들을 구출하셨을 때에 미리암이 나아와 노래합니다. 출애굽기 15:20 “아론의 누이 선지자 미리암이 손에 소고를 잡으매 모든 여인도 그를 따라 나오며” 미리암도 모세나 아론 못지 않은 백성들이 우러러보는 리더쉽 중 한 명이었던 것이에요. 이스라엘 최고 지도자들이면서 모세의 형제 자매인 이들이 지금 모세에게 하나님이 너하고만 말씀하셨냐? 우리와도 말씀하신다. 너하고 우리하고 다를게 뭐냐? 라고 들고 일어난 거에요.

Let's look at the passage. In verse 1, Miriam and Aaron speak against Moses because he married a Cushite woman. Between Miriam and Aaron, who do you think was taking the lead in this criticism? Can you guess? Yes, it's Miriam. Not only is her name mentioned first, but the verb "to speak against" in the original text is in the feminine singular form, indicating Miriam was the primary critic. As a result, in tomorrow's passage that our ministry leader will share, only Miriam is struck with leprosy.

But speaking against Moses because he married a Cushite woman is just a surface reason, not the real one. Their real reason for criticizing Moses is jealousy and envy. Look at verse 2: "They said, 'Has the LORD spoken only through Moses? Hasn't he also spoken through us?'" This is the real reason. Why should Moses alone have the highest authority?

You know that Aaron was the high priest, right? And Miriam was a prophetess. Miriam wasn't just anyone. When God rescued the Israelites at the Red Sea, Miriam came forward and sang. Exodus 15:20 says, "Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron's sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her." Miriam was a leader whom the people looked up to, no less than Moses or Aaron. These top leaders of Israel, who were Moses' siblings, are now rising up against Moses saying, "Has God only spoken to you? He speaks to us too. What makes you any different from us?"

                  여러분 만약에 제가 어느날 새벽기도 설교를 하다가 갑자기 아 임은석 목사님도 목사고 저도 목사인데 다른게 무엇입니까? 그렇지 않나요, 박미라 목사님? 목사님, 저랑 같이 쳐들어가시지요. 그러면 교회가 어떻게 되겠습니까? 난리가 나지요. 지금 딱 그 상황인겁니다.

                  자 그런데 3절을 보니 모세는 온유해요. 지면의 모든 사람보다 온유하답니다. 그렇다면 모세는 자신에 대한 미리암과 아론의 도전에 대답하거나 응했을까요? 저는 아니었다고 생각합니다. 왜냐하면 저는 이 말씀에서 온유하다, 겸손하다라는 표현이 단순히 모세의 성격을 이야기 하는 것이 아니라고 생각합니다. 모세도 화를 내거든요. 저는 이것이 모세의 시선은 사람이 아니라 오직 하나님께 향했기 때문에 이런 말을 들었다고 생각해요. 미리암과 아론은 모세에 대한 질투와 시기로 가득차 있었어요. 그러나 모세는 하나님께서 자신에게 주신 영과 같은 영을 심지어 불순종한 엘랏과 메랏에게 주실 때에도 전혀 질투하거나 시기하지 않아요. 어제 말씀에서 여호수아가 이들의 예언을 말리소서 라고 얘기하는데 그때 모세가 11:29에서 이렇게 얘기하지요. “네가 나를 두고 시기하느냐?” 네가 나를 위해서 질투하느냐? 라는 말이지요. “여호와께서 그의 영을 그의 모든 백성에게 주사 다 선지자가 되게 하시기를 원하노라” 자 여러분 모세의 시선은 자신에게 있지 않아요. 하나님의 계획과 뜻에 고정되어 있습니다. 자신에 대한 도전 같은 것은 신경쓰지 않는 것이에요. 그들에게 하나님의 영이 임해? 오히려 좋아. 자신이 지도자임에도 그는 자신의 안위가 아니라 하나님의 뜻이 백성들 가운데 이루어지는 것만이 중요했던 것이에요. 그것이 하나님 보시기에 겸손하다 온유하다 라는 것입니다. 그래서 하나님께서 오늘 말씀 7절에 “내 종 모세는 그렇지 아니하니 그는 내 온 집에 충성함이라”라고 말씀하시는 것이지요.

Imagine if one day while preaching at early morning service, I suddenly said, "Pastor Lim is a pastor and I'm a pastor too—what's the difference between us, right, Pastor Park? Pastor, let's team up against him." What would happen to our church? It would be chaos. That's exactly the situation here.

But verse 3 tells us Moses was humble, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth. Did Moses respond to Miriam and Aaron's challenge? I don't think he did. I believe this description of Moses as "humble" isn't merely talking about his personality. Moses got angry sometimes too. I think this description means Moses' focus was not on people but solely on God. Miriam and Aaron were full of jealousy and envy toward Moses. But Moses didn't feel any jealousy or envy even when God gave the same spirit to Eldad and Medad, who had disobeyed.

In yesterday's passage, when Joshua asked Moses to stop them from prophesying, Moses replied in 11:29, "Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORD's people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!" You see, Moses' focus wasn't on himself. It was fixed on God's plan and will. He didn't care about challenges to his authority. The Spirit of God came upon others? That's great! Despite being the leader, he cared not about his own security but only that God's will be fulfilled among the people. That's what God considers humility and meekness. That's why God says in verse 7 of today's passage, "But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house."

                   자 이제 하나님께서 움직이십니다. 2절에서 “여호와께서 이 말을 들으셨더라”라고 하십니다. 모세는 이들의 도전에 응하지 않았을 것이에요. 그런데 4절을 보니 하나님께서 모세 대신 움직이십니다. 그것도 갑자기 움직이세요. 여호와께서 갑자기 이르시되 “너희 세 사람은 회막으로 나아오라” 여러분 이게 무엇입니까? 법정 소환이에요. 하나님께서 이들 세사람 사이에서 누가 합법적인 여호와의 대리인인지 하나님게서 직접 판결을 내려 주시겠다는 것이에요. 모세가 소송을 걸지 않았어요. 하나님께서 직접 움직이십니다. 자신의 종을 대변해주시는 것이에요. 법정에서는 나 대신 변호사가 싸워주는데 지금 여기서는 변호사가 아니라 판사가 직접 법정을 열고 나 대신 싸워 주는 것이에요. 이것이 하나님께서 자신의 종을 대변해 주시는 방식인 것입니다.

Now God takes action. Verse 2 says, "And the LORD heard this." Moses probably didn't respond to their challenge. But in verse 4, God moves on Moses' behalf, and He moves suddenly: "At once the LORD said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, 'Come out to the tent of meeting, all three of you.'" What is this? It's a legal summons. God Himself will decide who is the legitimate representative of the LORD among these three people. Moses didn't file a lawsuit; God moved directly. He's defending His servant. In court, a lawyer fights for you, but here, the judge Himself opens court and fights on your behalf. This is how God defends His servant.

5절을 보니 하나님이 구름기둥에서 강림하십니다. 그리고는 아론과 미리암을 부르세요. 그 두사람이 나아갑니다. 변론을 듣지도 않으세요. 바로 판결을 내리십니다. 6절 “이르시되 내 말을 들으라.” 그 뒤의 판결이 무엇입니까? 모세는 특별하고도 유일한 하나님의 대행자로 선택된 지도자요 또한 하나님을 대언하는 선지자라는 것입니다. 즉 모세를 대적하는 것은 하나님을 대적하는 것이라는 것이지요. 그래서 8절에 “너희가 어찌하여 내 종 모세 비방하기를 두려워하지 아니하느냐” 라며 진노하십니다. 이것이 바로 하나님의 온 집에 충성한 당신의 종 모세에 대한 하나님의 마음인 것입니다. 하나님은 당신의 종을 대변하여주시는 하나님이신 것입니다.

In verse 5, God comes down in a pillar of cloud and calls Aaron and Miriam forward. They step forward. He doesn't even hear arguments. He pronounces judgment immediately. Verse 6: "Listen to my words." And what is His verdict? That Moses is the special and unique leader chosen as God's representative and prophet. In other words, opposing Moses is opposing God. That's why in verse 8, He says in anger, "Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?" This is God's heart for Moses, His servant who is faithful in all God's house. God is a God who defends His servants.

말씀을 맺습니다. 우리는 이 한 주동안 끊임없이 모세의 리더쉽을, 아니 하나님의 리더쉽에 반역하는 목이 곧은 이스라엘 백성들의 모습을 보았습니다. 그러나 하나님께서 오늘의 말씀을 통하여 우리에게 분명히 알려주시는 것은 하나님께서는 당신의 종을 대변하신다는 것입니다. 이번 주 내내 우리가 보아온 모든 불평과 욕심과 질투들은 결국 하나님의 경고와 심판을 벗어날 수 없었습니다. 우리가 우리의 시선을 하나님께 고정할 때에 하나님께서는 우리를 책임져주시는 것입니다. 기도하시겠습니다.

To conclude: This week, we've continuously seen the stiff-necked Israelites rebelling against Moses' leadership—or rather, God's leadership. But through today's passage, God clearly tells us that He defends His servants. All the complaints, cravings, and jealousy we've seen throughout this week ultimately could not escape God's warning and judgment. When we fix our eyes on God, He takes responsibility for us. Let us pray.