Tan: Quietness and quarantine

Tan: Quietness and quarantine

“So Miriam was kept outside the camp for seven days, and the people waited until she was brought back before they travelled again” Numbers 12:15

MIRIAM the elder sister of Moses became a leper because she rebelled against the authority of Moses. It was the LORD Himself who struck her with leprosy. She was brought outside the camp for seven-day quarantine, then she was brought back and they resumed the journey. This event of Miriam’s defiance is too major to ignore. Minus the singling out of personalities there is a great need to focus on the lesson. A lot of details are not clearly recorded in the scripture regarding this event. Such as what happened to Miriam in that seven days of isolation. Though details are not thorough some insights are just too important and too relevant to neglect.

Miriam’s rebellion is getting too toxic, she has somehow convinced the weakling Aaron to join her cause. Basically, they are envious of Moses’ God given authority. “Has the Lord spoken only to Moses? Hasn’t He spoken to us too?”

These questions are the sentiments of an envious heart. Aaron and Miriam were very bold with their criticism. Be aware that this particular text is not to be taken that it’s wrong to criticize God’s leader, the context must be complete before the text is carried into the extreme of blind submission. This is not favoring Moses right or wrong, the real issue here is the heart of Miriam overwhelmed with addiction to power to the point that her venom is infecting other leaders. Remember Moses and Aaron are not flawless themselves, the Lord disciplined them too.

God made her a leper! Immediately she is to be quarantined or isolated for seven days. Those seven days even without much details given on what transpired were days of grace, days of redemption. Quarantined to be quiet, not just quietness of the mouth, it is especially a chance to encounter God through the quietness of the heart. Leprosy is contagious, what seems to be a cruel process is actually doing good for the whole camp, her isolation saved others from infection and ultimately allowed her a chance to recover not only from leprosy of the skin, but also from the growing leprosy in her attitude. Those days of being quarantined were days of being quiet also. While the quarantine has its own medical significance, quietness is also a timely grace for the healing of the heart.

Like Miriam, many are unaware or simply stubborn to admit that there’s a growing infection in the heart. God now must step in, he heard her ranting, and God heard everybody else’s complaints. God defended Moses so God can redeem Miriam from herself, God allowed a leprosy but that’s nothing compared to the unseen virus in Miriam’s heart. As a result, quarantine is necessary! Quietness moved in too, and in those seven days only God and Miriam know what redemption took place. By the time she was brought back to the camp and travelled with the people of God, it’s not really impossible that Miriam came back tamed by quietness.

In these days of fighting Covid-19 virus, it’s not really remote that the quarantine today is also an opportunity to be redeemed from the spiritual virus of the heart. Lockdown is a timely opportunity to look inside, look around and in humility look up! After all of this Covid-19 virus is gone, may it powerfully remain that the life enjoyed now is absolute grace.

Submit to quarantine, shake hands with quietness, who knows a spiritual breakthrough is on the way.

To be quarantined because of the Covid-19 must not be stereotyped as being guilty of something, it’s actually an opportunity to discover what’s inside and an invitation to bow down to God.

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