Who Was Miriam in the Bible?

　　There are so many incredible women mentioned in the Bible. According to the Infographic Bible by Karen Sawrey, there are over 30 women of influence in the New Testament alone!

　　Many women are called by name, and some are left nameless. But I am sure, no matter how much of the Bible we know, we will have all heard names like Mary, the mother of Jesus, Sarah, the wife of Abraham, or stories of unnamed women; for example, the woman with the hemorrhage, or the widow of Zarephath who Elijah ministered to. They all hold profound places in the story of Scripture.

　　Today we will focus on one woman: Miriam. Before we jump in, I would like to clarify. There are two women in Scripture called Miriam; one we will find is the sister of Moses, and the other is in the lineage of Judah.

Miriam’s Significance in the Bible

　　Exodus unfolds telling us the genealogy of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt. Then revealing that these men had all died. In that time frame, the Israelites grew into a fruitful nation.

　　The last Pharoah had also died, and the new Pharaoh, who knew nothing of Joseph, decided the nation of Israel was too large and a threat. He made the decision they would become slaves in Egypt. Despite the oppression and the harsh labor, the Israelites grew in number.

　　To combat this, Pharoah decides he will kill the Israelite boys. He sets midwives, Puah and Shiphrah, the task of killing the baby boys, which they refuse to be a part of.

　　Eventually, a lady called Jochebed, from the tribe of Levites, and her husband, Amram, find she is pregnant again. The time comes for her baby to be born, and she does what all great mothers do; she protects him.

　　For three months, she hid this little boy until she couldn’t any longer. She makes a little boat of sorts out of bullrushes and tar and places him into the Nile. His sister Miriam was asked to watch over him.

　　Scholars believe that Miriam was at least seven years older than Moses, but some would estimate much more. We do not read lots about her in Scripture, but we see her intervene in these moments to rescue her brother.

　　As Pharaoh’s daughter finds this little boy in the river, she knows he is an Israelite. Miriam sneaks out of hiding and offers to get a woman to look after him until he is weaned, and then he can be given to the daughter as her own.

　　Of course, Miriam goes straight home to Jochebed. We can only imagine the cries of joy that resounded knowing her boy would survive.

　　We will never know the intentions of Jochebed here, but we can assume she would have been filled with joy. Maybe this is where Miriam learned to thank God when He acted on their behalf.

　　Thanks to Miriam being present, Jochebed’s son is saved, and she can spend more time with him, teaching him the ways of his people before his adoption into the home of Pharoah.

　　We read nothing else about Miriam’s life for 80 years. When we pick up her story again, we find that Moses has had a strange life. He killed an Egyptian, ran off in fear, and became a Nomad of sorts.

　　He marries Zipporah, daughter of Jethro, and is living as a Shepherd when one day God speaks to him out of a burning bush. He sends him back to Egypt to partner with God in seeing the Israelites freed from oppression.

　　Moses partners with Aaron, but Miriam is not mentioned again until Exodus 15. By this point, all of the 10 plagues have happened and now Pharoah has let the people go.

　　He then realizes the error of this decision and goes after them; eventually, when Moses and the Israelites have no place to go, God opens the Red Sea, saving the Israelites and drowning the Egyptians who were chasing them.

　　Here we read Miriam and Moses’ song. Then Miriam, the first woman named as a Prophetess in Scripture, took a timbrel and began leading the women in worship to God, singing and dancing in the wilderness, they sang a song exalting God for saving them.

　　You would believe from what we have just read that Miriam had it all together, but like all humanity, she was also flawed.

　　We see in Numbers 12 that Miriam opposes Moses due to his marriage to a Cushite and encourages Aaron to speak against him to the Israelites, leading them away from the plan God had for them.

　　But she also challenges Moses’ authority and asks the question, “Did God really only speak through Moses?” The tone behind this question reminds me of the words in Genesis spoken by the Serpent (Genesis 3).

　　Due to this behavior, she was punished by God, who inflicted her with a disease called Leprosy. As all good brothers do, he prayed on her behalf. God agreed to heal her but commanded that she be outside of the camp for seven days.

　　So many incredible provisions and acts of God happen in the wilderness as the Israelites are walking around after escaping from Egypt for 40 years, but they are a topic for another day.

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　　9 Ways the Bible Defines True Manliness

　　We read in Numbers 20:1 that Miriam dies in the desert of Zin. Like the rest of the Israelites who came lacking faith, she died before seeing the land promised to them by the Lord.

　　But there is no point in looking at life from Scripture without asking or posing the question, what can we learn here?

1. God Can Use Even the Youngest of Us

　　We see that Miriam is a young girl, around seven years of age, when her mother sets her the task of looking out for her brother in the bullrushes of the Nile.

　　And yet, with bravery and courage, she stands and watches over him. We have no idea how long she waited, but for a small child to hold that level of focus and not run off finding a buzzing bee or a feather blowing in the wind is worth noting.

　　God used Miriam here to ensure the safety of Moses. Moses was to be a man of mission and purpose, and these moments standing by the Nile may seem insignificant to some, but they mattered enough to God that He placed her name and the purpose into Scripture for a reason.

　　God can use you no matter what age you are. But sometimes, your purpose is to protect God’s anointed.

2. Miriam Recognized God’s Hand in Her Life

　　It is a surprising turn of events in the narrative of the Israelite story, and yet we see Miriam instantly thanking God for saving them, going as far as to lead the women of the group in praise and adoration to God thanking Him.

　　I wonder, do we see God’s hand in our lives and recognize his active involvement? But more importantly, do we return with praise and thanksgiving?

　　Friend, it is not just the life-saving moments that we need to be thankful for but for the seemingly small things like food on our plates, families who love us, churches that champion us, nature that shows the Glory of God, and salvation that enables us to know God!

　　All of these are important things to thank God for.

3. Critical and Judgmental Hearts Are Deadly Diseases for the Soul

　　Of course, Scripture tells the Israelites that they are not to marry outside of the fold of the Israelite clan, but, friend, it is not Miriam’s place to level blame or judgment on the feet of Moses.

　　But this level of judgment led to them trying to bring Moses down and elevate themselves, and so God inflicted her with Leprosy. Eventually, we read in Numbers 20 that she died.

　　Oh, friend, I never want to be someone who lets criticism and judgment take root in my heart, and I urge you to do as I do, investigate your soul, and uproot anything of similar nature that lies there; dare we end up with spiritual death as a result.

　　I hope by reading about Miriam’s life, we have learned something of interest and some challenges to edify ourselves.

　　For further reading:

　　Who Are All the Marys of the Bible?

　　Who Was Aaron in the Bible?

　　Who Was Moses in the Bible?

　　How the Women in the Bible Were Revered, Respected, and Diverse