My biblical female of focus for June is Miriam, the sister of Moses. I found this to be an absolutely fascinating study with so much to learn from the Prophetess known as Miriam.
I've had to cut this video into two sections. Part one contains the Scriptures and the poem itself, part two will be the Points for Reflection and Insight section.
I pray you can take the time to listen to or read this study as the life of Miriam and the lessons within really offer us so much depth.
Women Of The Bible- Miriam
Exodus 2:1-10
“And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi. So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months. But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank. And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.
Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it. And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”
Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?”
And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the maiden went and called the child’s mother. Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, “Because I drew him out of the water.”
Exodus 15:20-21
“Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.
And Miriam answered them:
“Sing to the Lord,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!””
Numbers 12:1-16
“Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. So they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it. (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.)
Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting!” So the three came out. Then the Lord came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both went forward. Then He said,
“Hear now My words:
If there is a prophet among you,
I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision;
I speak to him in a dream.
Not so with My servant Moses;
He is faithful in all My house.
I speak with him face to face,
Even plainly, and not in dark sayings;
And he sees the form of the Lord.
Why then were you not afraid
To speak against My servant Moses?”
So the anger of the Lord was aroused against them, and He departed. And when the cloud departed from above the tabernacle, suddenly Miriam became leprous, as white as snow. Then Aaron turned toward Miriam, and there she was, a leper. So Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord! Please do not lay this sin on us, in which we have done foolishly and in which we have sinned. Please do not let her be as one dead, whose flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother’s womb!”
So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “Please heal her, O God, I pray!”
Then the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, would she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut out of the camp seven days, and afterward she may be received again.” So Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days, and the people did not journey till Miriam was brought in again. And afterward the people moved from Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran.”
Women of the Bible, so many to address.I've had to cut this video into two sections. Part one contains the Scriptures and the poem itself, part two will be the Points for Reflection and Insight section.
I pray you can take the time to listen to or read this study as the life of Miriam and the lessons within really offer us so much depth.
Women Of The Bible- Miriam
Exodus 2:1-10
“And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi. So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months. But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank. And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.
Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it. And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”
Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?”
And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the maiden went and called the child’s mother. Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, “Because I drew him out of the water.”
Exodus 15:20-21
“Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.
And Miriam answered them:
“Sing to the Lord,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!””
Numbers 12:1-16
“Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. So they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it. (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.)
Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting!” So the three came out. Then the Lord came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both went forward. Then He said,
“Hear now My words:
If there is a prophet among you,
I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision;
I speak to him in a dream.
Not so with My servant Moses;
He is faithful in all My house.
I speak with him face to face,
Even plainly, and not in dark sayings;
And he sees the form of the Lord.
Why then were you not afraid
To speak against My servant Moses?”
So the anger of the Lord was aroused against them, and He departed. And when the cloud departed from above the tabernacle, suddenly Miriam became leprous, as white as snow. Then Aaron turned toward Miriam, and there she was, a leper. So Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord! Please do not lay this sin on us, in which we have done foolishly and in which we have sinned. Please do not let her be as one dead, whose flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother’s womb!”
So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “Please heal her, O God, I pray!”
Then the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, would she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut out of the camp seven days, and afterward she may be received again.” So Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days, and the people did not journey till Miriam was brought in again. And afterward the people moved from Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran.”
Let’s take a look at Miriam, a well-known Prophetess.
Insightful and perceptive, quick-thinking like no other,
Her cleverness was used by God to save her infant brother.
This baby boy, who God would use to set His people free
Was helped by sister Miriam, to end their slavery.
The Hebrew’s liberation from the hands of the Egyptians
Was thanks to Moses’ mother and his sister’s brave convictions.
A daughter of God’s people, she endured the darkest time
But then went on to witness a great miracle, Divine!
Embarking on a journey like none who’d gone before,
She fled with all of Israel across the ocean floor!
Filled with exaltation at this thrilling circumstance,
She gathered all the women and led the way in dance!
Yet though she played a crucial role in helping free the Nation,
Her pride would lead her down the road of insubordination.
Though God had been the one to give her brother his position,
Miriam resented him and stood in opposition.
Her words of negativity eroded her defences
And soon she learned her sin would lead to dire consequences.
The Prophetess who praised the Lord and used her gifts for Him
Became the leper, sent away- the outcome of her sin.
Yes Miriam’s complaining saw her face God’s chastening hand.
Her grumbling heart would mean she never saw the Promised Land.
Though sorrowful, her story doesn’t end in desolation
For Miriam repented and received her restoration.
Oh may we learn the lesson and apply it from the start,
Let us give no place to pride and keep a humble heart.
We mustn’t take for granted successes from the past
But keep our focus Heavenward so that our joy may last.
May we seek to finish well, giving God our best.
Let us learn from Miriam, the Bible’s Prophetess.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”
Hebrews 12:1-2
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
1 John 1:9
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Points For Reflection And Insight
The study of Miriam is certainly a challenging one, full of incredible highs and heartbreaking lows. As I mentioned in the poem, her story doesn’t end on a completely tragic note but it certainly serves as a sober reminder for us all to keep a check on our thought-life and attitude of heart. One possible meaning of the name, “Miriam” is “bitterness” and it certainly seems like she had a season of living up to that name!
Miriam’s story begins with a much more upbeat tone however when we first meet her as a young girl in Exodus 2. It’s here where we read about the incredible and very well-known story of how Moses was saved by the faith of his mother and the quick-thinking of his sister.
As we know, Pharaoh had ordered that all male, Hebrew babies should be put into the River Nile at birth in order to try and slow the increase and power of the Israelites. Technically speaking, Moses’ mother did exactly as she was commanded to do by placing her baby boy into the river! The difference was, she took care to provide him with a waterproof basket which would strategically allow him to float on top of the water. This really shows us that Jochebed, the mother of Moses, feared God far more than she feared Pharaoh and his wicked decree.
Jochebed, whose name means, “The Lord Is Glory,” is a great example of a God-fearing mother who trusted her child’s welfare to God alone. It’s hard to imagine what she was feeling as she let go of that basket with part of her own heart floating away with it. It must have taken incredible faith to give up something so precious and walk away as her baby drifted off into the mercy of the River Nile. Such was the trust this woman had in God, however. Trust that He would not only take care of her offspring but also even return him to her one day.
It’s this point when we meet the baby’s sister, Miriam for the first time. She’s not actually mentioned by name in these verses but if we take a look at Numbers 26:59, we can see that this verse indicates that Moses only had one sister. The verse reads,
“The name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and to Amram she bore Aaron and Moses and their sister Miriam.”
It’s reasonable to conclude therefore that Miriam is the sister who oversaw the launching of Moses into the river and sought her mother afterwards as a nurse for him. This is probably the event that Miriam is best known for in her life and it’s certainly one of incredible importance and joyful success!
Miriam then grew to become a woman of great substance and depth, who was known as a Prophetess and a leader for her people. Having been raised in a time of harrowing slavery for the Hebrews, she went on to witness the plagues of Egypt and then the utterly nail-biting and miraculous event of the parting of the Red Sea!
I often wonder if it’s even possible to picture what it must have been like, crossing the seabed to freedom with her belovéd nation of Israel. Imagine, if you can, just some of the emotions she must have been feeling as she and the Children of Israel were delivered from the tyrannical Pharaoh by the mighty hand of God! It really does blow my mind to try and grasp such a dramatic scene!
Although we’re not told anything about Miriam’s life between her childhood years and this moment at the Red Sea, it’s reasonable to surmise that she would have been a woman of fortitude and godliness. To have been given the title of Prophetess, she must have been used mightily by God and was no doubt a source of great strength and encouragement as a leader of her people.
After the crossing of the Red Sea, we read about Miriam again in Exodus 15 when she and Moses are singing songs of praise to God for their deliverance. It’s assumed that these songs were spontaneous and came from the gratitude of their hearts as the good news of their salvation caused them to burst forth in song! It’s the first song of salvation recorded in Scripture and serves as a wonderful example of the link between salvation and singing.
There are times in our lives when our joy and gratitude only seem to be able to be expressed through the gift of music and song! Rejoicing in our salvation is certainly one of those times and I know I can relate to this beautiful moment. I love singing praise to my Saviour and sometimes I even get so overwhelmed with gratitude that I can barely sing for the lump in my throat! Then I remind my soul that Jesus loves to hear us worship so I take a moment to gather myself and then carry on singing!
Going back to the text in Exodus 15, this moment of song is certainly another high point in the life of Miriam. Not only is it the first Psalm ever recorded in the Bible but it’s also the first mention of dance.
Dancing, in Scripture is often linked to joy and happiness. In Biblical times, dance was regularly used to celebrate happy events and to praise God. In contrast, we often see an absence of dancing in times of mourning.
Do you ever use song or dance to praise God and give Him thanks? Can you think of a time when God did something so wonderful in your life that you just had to break into a smile, lift up your hands in worship or dance for joy?
It’s a fabulous thing when our movement and music are presented in a pure way to draw attention to the praise of God and not ourselves. The God who created our bodies must find such delight in seeing those instruments used in honour of Him.
Focusing again on Exodus 15, we see that these verses give us yet another wonderful picture to imagine as Miriam led the Israelite women in praise and worship. I can practically hear the timbrel and shouts of rejoicing as the women celebrated God’s miraculous defeat of the Egyptians at the Red Sea! It’s such a glorious scene to imagine and fills my own heart with praise for God’s mighty strength and deliverance for His people.
Sadly, the next time we read about Miriam, the situation is very different. As strong and as influential as she was during a crucial time in Hebrew history, we see how Miriam went on to use her leadership position in an unwise and ungodly way. It becomes apparent in Numbers 12 that Miriam has developed a grumbling attitude. We read in verse 1,
“Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman.”
Miriam is mentioned first in order here, before her brother Aaron and so it’s been suggested that this might imply that she was the ringleader in the rebellion. This is perhaps why Miriam was later struck with leprosy but Aaron wasn’t.
Either way, both sister and brother grumbled against Moses and also about the fact that he had an Ethiopian wife. Scholars have debated as to whether this wife was Zipporah or perhaps a second wife of Moses but regardless of who this woman was, Miriam and Aaron disapproved of his choice. Perhaps Miriam felt this woman, a foreigner, couldn’t understand the suffering that she and her people had gone through at the hands of the Egyptians and so had no place in the promise.
It may even be the case that the Cushite wife of Moses wasn’t really the issue at all. What we often see when people are complaining, is that what they’re grumbling about isn’t actually what’s bothering them. The real issue is that things aren’t going the way they would like or perhaps it’s the fact that the situation is just out of their control.
Whatever Miriam’s issue or reasoning was, it led her to challenge Moses and the God-given authority he had amongst the Israelites. Reading her questions of criticism that follow, it’s clear to see that Miriam’s pride had been roused and her jealousy stirred. It’s a stark contrast from the worship-filled Miriam we read about at the Red Sea and highlights powerfully that just as praise elevates our spirit, pride brings us low. It brings to mind the words of James 4:6 which tells us,
“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”
Are there times in your life when you know you allowed a grumbling spirit or prideful heart to develop? How did these feelings impact your day? Did you feel it affected your connection or relationship with God?
We can read in the verses that follow in Numbers 12 that Miriam got into hot water when she stopped focusing on the good God had done and instead turned her attentions to the perceived faults of others. It’s amazing how ingratitude and a negative spirit rob us of our blessings.
Here we see in Miriam, a woman who loves God and was used mightily by Him yet wasn’t immune to sin and was far from perfect. She had watched her enemies drown in the Red Sea only to be confronted with the enemies buried within her own heart. If only her pride could have been put to death in the Red Sea along with the Egyptians.
This woman, who is considered to be one of the great heroes of the faith, sinned against God and found herself in a place of discipline and chastening. I’m sure we all know those times of correction from the Lord in our own lives. As upsetting as it is to see these seasons in ourselves and also in Miriam, it’s also comforting in an odd way. Not only does it show us that the heroes of the Bible were flawed and only human like us but also that God cares for His children. The fact that He takes the time to discipline and correct us actually shows His heart of love towards His people. As Hebrews 12:5-7 says,
“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
For whom the Lord loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.”
If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?”
Any child left to their own devices will self destruct and become far less than what they were created to be. As painful as it is, there are lessons we often only seem to learn in this life through the rod of correction. As with Miriam, all of God’s discipline is designed to bring us to a place of repentance and restoration. It may be an unpleasant season to endure but ultimately, it’s a comforting and encouraging truth to remember when we face times of rebuke from God.
Thankfully in the case of Miriam, it seems she was repentant and was restored back into the camp of the Israelites after seven days of banishment. Her leprosy meant she had a week of separation from everyone else. Perhaps this shocking consequence of her sin was the sharp reminder she and the rest of the nation of Israel needed. The unity of God’s people is an important and precious thing. Backbiting and stirring up strife has no place amongst God’s people and Miriam’s punishment shows how seriously God takes the unity of His people.
Thankfully, Miriam’s leprosy was lifted and she was restored to health. Unfortunately her prideful actions did cost Miriam dearly in other ways. Although she would travel with the Israelites for forty years through the wilderness, her rebellion meant she would never see the Promised Land.
As sobering as this message is, Miriam’s restoration also shows us in equal measure, the grace and mercy of God. His heart is always for us and He desires that no sin should ever get in the way or act as a block and stumbling point in our walk with Him. Miriam’s story highlights the truth that sin may have devastating earthly consequences that may have the potential to stay with us for the rest of our earthly lives but when we are repentant, God is always ready and willing to forgive. Our spiritual slate is “wiped clean” and our close fellowship with our Creator is once again restored.
Do any of the key elements of Miriam’s story resonate with you today? Do you feel arrogance, pride or grumbling have crept into your heart? Have you forgotten the joy of God’s miracles in the past and feel you’ve been stumbled by the daily grind of life? Do you hold resentment in your heart towards someone else who you feel God has blessed more than you? Is there anything you feel you need to confess before God and repent of today? Do you think of God’s discipline as an expression of His love?
These are hard and challenging questions for us today and the answers are between us and the Lord. May we be open and honest in our hearts, knowing that we come before a gentle, forgiving God whose favour lasts forever.
While my study of Mary Magdalene revealed a beautiful truth that a messy past doesn’t cancel out a repentant life from being used by God, my study of Miriam seems to offer a flip side to that coin in a way.
I pray that the spirit-fuelled successes of our past never allow us to become prideful and arrogant in our hearts, disqualifying us from further Kingdom use. We know our salvation is safe, we can never lose our promise of Heaven as Christians but we can lose an effective witness and powerful ministry if we get off-track in our hearts.
We can learn a valuable lesson from this incredible woman who’s listed as one of the seven major female Prophets of the Bible. May Miriam inspire us to reflect honestly on her eventful story and bring everything in our heart before God’s Throne, good and bad. May we pray like the Psalmist in Psalm 139:23-24,
“Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.”
