"Sin & Consequences"
So Miriam was kept outside the camp for seven days, and the people waited until she was brought back before they traveled again. (Numbers 12:15 NLT)
Miriam & Aaron challenge Moses' leadership & in realty challenge God. Moses responds in great humility & dependence on God. God strikes Miriam with leprosy as punishment for her lack of reverence. Aaron is completely distraught & asks the lord not to hold her sin against her. The Lord is indeed gracious & she only has the skin disease for 7 days. In most cases, leprosy was a slow death sentence.
This passage reveals what happens often in our lives & especially in our culture. We enjoy the fact that we can choose our sin but we often forget that we cannot choose the consequences. Miriam wanted to challenge Moses' leadership but she did not want to get leprosy.
I see this at work all the time in professional sports. Someone commits a violation of the law, the team, or the league & they are reprimanded. Almost without fail they complain & appeal. Why? Because they did not commit the wrong?! No! Because they do not like the consequences.
This great truth for us shows the importance of considering the consequences of our sin before we get to the point of committing them. We know that the wages of sin is always death. Sin can only produce death & it is the purpose of the enemy to steal, kill, & destroy! We are given the freedom to choose our sin but the consequences are always out of our reach. Of course, ultimately our sin caused the death of the Son of God, a consequence that is unimaginable.
Whatever the sin or constant temptation in our lives, let's remember that sin always results in death, not only toward us but also toward others & ultimately toward God! We may not be willing to pay what our sin costs! Thanks be to God that Jesus paid the ultimate cost for sin in our place!
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