Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. (Jude 1:9)
We do not know many of the names of the angels, but the ones we do know are significant. One archangel named in Scripture is Michael. As an archangel, he stands as one of the leading characters of Heaven: the chief of the angels, and a ruling force among them.
One of Michael’s jobs is to hold back darkness and evil. Here we see the fallen angel, the devil, who once was called Lucifer, fighting over the body of Moses.
Yet, even in this moment, Michael, in wisdom, decided not to speak in slander, even at the devil himself. The Greek term used for railing is blasphemia, encompassing not just spoken accusations but any debasing or shameful behavior aimed at harming someone. This mighty archangel held himself back from crossing into the line of verbal ugliness. Now, we will not unravel the details of the dispute over Moses' body here, but I want you to notice the wisdom that Michael used. He refused to engage in a war of words with the adversary.
Recently, someone came up to see me about an issue they were having with someone and I told them what Paul wrote to a young pastor named Timothy who said to not get involved in disputes with people. It’s fruitless. You wind up casting your pearls before swine. I don’t argue with people. The Bible says what it says. I am a Bible teacher and where the Bible clearly states something, I’m not about to argue with someone who thinks the contrary. You and I don’t have time to argue with people or lose love by arguing about their opinion versus the Bible. Michael basically said, “Well, the Lord will take care of this.” His trust was that God would do what needed to be done.
Practical Application
Refuse to speak in slander against another person. If you feel like speaking to someone about the wrong, pray. Bring it before the Lord, not others. Let God deal with the situation.