The Confrontation Caused by a Cushite Wife

Marvin A. McMickle

Numbers 12

One of the most universally celebrated events in human life occurs when two people decide to get married. It is almost a miracle that out of the millions of people who live in this country, and the billions of people who live on the planet Earth that two people can find one another, fall in love and get married. There are ceremonies that surround most weddings. Special vows are taken, symbols of love and loyalty are exchanged, the blessings of God are sought and the best wishes of friends are expressed on the day that two people get married. Weddings are a time for photographs, receptions, toasts, honeymoons and the hope that the newlyweds will live "happily ever after." In almost every case, the marriage of two people sparks joy and celebration.

Notice that I said joy and celebration occur in almost every instance; there are some marriages that generate a very different feeling when people hear the news that two people have gotten married. Not everybody has been rejoicing over the fact that last week in San Francisco more than 500 same-sex couples got married. It is against the law in the state of California for two people of the same sex to get married, but the Mayor of San Francisco ignored the state law and ordered marriage licenses be issued to any same-sex couples requesting one. In the state of Massachusetts, the legislature is deadlocked over whether or not to allow same-sex marriages in that state.

The Ohio legislature recently passed a law that limits marriage in this state to a man and a woman. I was surprised to discover that all of the State Senators from the Cleveland area voted in favor of same-sex marriage, and all of the members of our congressional delegation are at least in favor of Domestic Unions, and perhaps they are in favor of same-sex marriage as well. While marriage is a universally celebrated event, there are some instances when the decision by two people to get married can cause more conflict and confusion than it causes celebration. If one of your children were to suddenly announce to you that they were planning on marrying someone of the same sex, how would you respond? Would that news fill your heart with joy and delight, or would it result in a mixture of shock and disapproval?

This sense of not being pleased with someone's choice of a marriage partner stand

s at the center of our text from Numbers 12. It seems that Aaron and Miriam; the brother and sister of Moses, were not pleased with their brother's decision to marry a certain person. The text says it rather plainly; "Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married." Moses was their brother, but they did not want his chosen wife to be their sister-in-law. The Bible does not tell us her name, nor does it tell us about anything that she had done to merit their dislike of her; it only describes who she was. She was a Cushite, an Ethiopian woman.