To Hear God Speak

So immediately the LORD called to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam and said, “Go out to the Tabernacle, all three of you!” So the three of them went to the Tabernacle. Then the LORD descended in the pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the Tabernacle. “Aaron and Miriam!” he called, and they stepped forward. [Numbers 12.4-5]

If the LORD "called" to (or "summoned") Moses, Aaron and Miriam outside the Tabernacle, why did they have to go to the Tabernacle for Him to "speak" to them?

This is good... I am going to break from the actual context of the story here to explore something that is revealed in what actually took place here.

If God called these three where they were, why did He not just speak to them there where they were? 

The difference between God's "calling" and Him "speaking" to us is understood in the purpose of the Tabernacle (where God sent Moses, Aaron and Miriam). The Tabernacle, then and now, represents the place of forgiveness (see Getting And Giving Forgiveness (Priest and King)). 

God calls one and all - all the time - to the place of forgiveness. It is only in the place of forgiveness however that God speaks!

Unforgiveness does not prevent us from understanding God's calling. But unforgiveness does prevent us from hearing God speak. 

"Oh, to hear God speak!" Or, maybe we should say, "Oh to forgive and be forgiven!"

We should make a priority of seeking first God's Kingdom (Matthew 6.33) which, according to Jesus' teaching, is inaccessible except through forgiveness. It was in the same setting Jesus directed us to seek first the Kingdom of God that He also said:

“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. [Matthew 6.14-15]

As the Apostle Paul made clear, ours is the ministry of reconciliation - reconciling God and man. This is only done through forgiveness of sins. It was Jesus Who earlier said it even more pointedly:

If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” [John 20.23]

So the point is this: if we wish to move beyond the "summoning" of God (or "calling"), we must do so in the place where God meets with man - the place of forgiveness (forgiving and being forgiven)!

Father, I am in awe of Your Word as I see more and more depth of meaning every time I read it. I want to have You "speak" to me more as opposed to just having You "call" me to the place where You speak...