📖 Main Text: Numbers 12:1–3

Introduction

How many of us have suffered because of murmuring?
At home, at work, in the street—and yes, even within the church. Wherever there are people, there is the potential for murmuring.
We can be victims, participants, or even initiators of it. From a business owner to a family member or even a pastor, no one is exempt.

What Is Murmuring?

Murmuring is a conversation about someone who is not present, with or without prejudice, where that person cannot defend or clarify what is being said.
It often carries a negative tone, fed by rumors or assumptions.
Some synonyms are gossip, slander, whispering, or defamation.
Its opposites are to praise, honor, celebrate, or bless.

---

Can There Be “Positive Murmuring”?

We can speak about someone who is absent with good intentions, but the key difference is not what we say, but how we say it.

📖 Personal example:
When I first came to this country to study English, my teacher was from England and didn’t speak Spanish in class. One day during break, I was talking with another Cuban student about how enjoyable the classes were even though he didn’t speak Spanish.
Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder and heard:

“Sergio, I have a master’s degree in Spanish from the Royal Academy of Spain.”

What a surprise! That day I learned that speaking about someone in their absence can also be good, as long as it’s meant to bless, not to harm.

How many times have we said afterward, “Thank God I wasn’t saying anything bad about that person”?

---

Biblical Examples of Murmuring

📖 Exodus 15:24 – “And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?”
📖 Exodus 16:2–3 – “And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness…”
📖 Numbers 14:27 – “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me?”
📖 Numbers 16:41 – “But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron…”

There is a clear pattern here: murmuring always brings consequences.
Every time the people murmured, God’s judgment followed.
And because the Lord shows no favoritism, it doesn’t matter your political, social, or spiritual position—murmuring reaps its fruit.

📖 1 Corinthians 10:10 reminds us:

“Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed by the destroyer.”

---

The Spiritual Consequences

When we murmur, we step into dangerous territory—judging others without understanding their process.
We risk falling into the same error as Job’s friends, who assumed his suffering was punishment, when it was actually a test.
Later, God asked Job to pray for them (Job 42), teaching us that murmuring requires intercession and forgiveness to be healed.

📖 Luke 9:52–56 also shows this truth:
When the disciples wanted to call down fire on the Samaritans, Jesus rebuked them, saying:

“You do not know what manner of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”

---

Murmuring with Judgment

📖 James 4:11 says:

“Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law.”

When we murmur, we don’t just talk about someone—we take the place of God, the only true Judge.
And while we may think no one hears us, we forget that the God we serve knows every thought before it is spoken.

📖 Psalm 139:1–4 reminds us:

“O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off…
For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.”

If we truly live with the God of the Word in our hearts, we would think twice before speaking against anyone.
Because He not only hears our words—He weighs our motives.