For He Had Married an Ethiopian Woman

2012-08-11

“And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.” (Numbers 12:1)

Numbers 12 gives us an interesting account of Moses, Aaron and Miriam. Moses’ siblings seem to complain over his choice of marriage partners. The likes of these still exist today; they are critical of what is called “interracial” marriage. This passage refutes those who find fault in “interracial” marriage.

In verse 2, we see Aaron and Miriam ask, “Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us?” They are questioning Moses’ ability to be God’s spokesman because of his marriage. But “the LORD heard it.”

We learn a bit about Moses here. First, in verse 3, we learn that he is meek. He was not a weakling, but he was a humble person who did not try to contest their cause. We also know that Moses is different from the prophets to whom God speaks with dreams and the like, but Moses and God speak with each other normally, “mouth to mouth” or face to face (Numbers 12:6-8).

But God’s anger was kindled, and he made Miriam “leprous, white as snow” (Numbers 12:10). There is an irony here; Aaron and Miriam had looked down upon Moses for marrying an Ethiopian woman, who would have been dark-skinned. So God gave Miriam her desire: to be more white. In verse 13, Moses prays to the LORD on her behalf, and she is healed, and set out of the camp for a week.

We can learn a lot from this. First, there is nothing wrong with being any particular ethnic group. Second, marriage from one ethnic group to another is not wrong, though we know that we ought to marry only other people who are saved.

We also want to think about not using absurd terms such as “race” or “interracial,” because there is only one “race” of people: God “hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation” (Acts 17:26). If people are telling you otherwise, they are either unfamiliar with the Bible, or blatantly disregard this teaching.