By Ezekiel Kimosop
Miriam is first introduced to the Bible reader in Exodus 15:20. She is described as "Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron." Miriam led the Hebrew women in celebrating the great hand of God that saw the Egyptians drown in the Red Sea. The defeat and destruction of the Pharaoh and his mighty army is recorded in Exodus 14.
Who was Miriam? This article seeks to examine Miriam's character and her influence as a leader in Israel in her time.
Miriam was the sister of Aaron and Moses. Given that she is the only sister among the three siblings of Amram son of Levi, she was possibly the girl mentioned in Exodus 2 who ingeniously suggested to Pharaoh's daughter that she identifies a Hebrew maid for Moses who had just been salvaged from the River Nile. This would place Miriam as the eldest of the children of Amram. However Exodus 2 makes no mention of Aaron who is listed as Moses' elder brother in Exodus 7:7.
Little is known about Miriam beyond the few references [twelve in number] mentioned in a number of Pentateuch Scriptures, majorly in the book of Numbers (cf. Numbers 12:1, 4 5, 10,15; 20:1; 26:59; Deut. 24:9).
In 1 Chronicles 6:3-4, Miriam's father is mentioned as Amram, a son of Levi. This scripture conveys God's confirmation of Miriam's prophetic ministry. God declares that He sent before the children of Israel Moses Aaron, and Miriam. The order of names in this context signifies their prophetic authority.
Moses was the last born among the Amram siblings yet he was God's chosen leader over Israel. Aaron was the first High Priest of Israel while Miriam was a minor prophet. Again this is a lesson to us that God is not a respecter of persons. The Bible is replete with illustrations that demonstrate that God can elevate a person of insignificance from social obscurity to stardom!
Miriam is perhaps most remembered for her conspiracy with Aaron in Numbers 12:1-16 where she scolded Moses for taking an Ethiopian woman. She crossed the Rubicon when she questioned his prophetic authority over Israel. God's wrath was kindled against her and she was struck with leprosy. Her leprous condition held back Israel's wilderness journey by seven days as the people waited for her to recover.
The death of Miriam in Kadesh is recorded in Numbers 20:1. No mourning was mentioned perhaps because of the disgrace that she had invited upon herself.
Despite her sibling seniority and prophetic stature, Miriam ranked third in leadership authority after Moses and Aaron. Little is also known of her prophetic works in Scripture. This does not however suggest or imply that her prophetic ministry was insignificant. God may have spoken through her on some occasions that are not recorded in Scripture.
Was Miriam probably serving among the women?
Some consider the incident described in Exodus 15:20-21 as evidence of this fact. This is however difficult to tell from Scripture. The fact that she is listed alongside her brothers in 1 Chronicles 6:3-4 suggests that she was a prominent spiritual leader who served among God's people. If this ministry was restricted to women leadership then the Bible is silent about it.
Going back to Exodus 2, and assuming that Miriam was indeed the girl mentioned here, we can make a few observations on her character and skills.
Miriam was undoubtedly a sharp and decisive person. She was passionate and courageous. The fact that God used her to convince the Egyptian princess to give a soft landing to her kid brother Moses was perhaps evidence that she was a creative person who thought on her feet. Her creativity was again evident in her act of leading the Hebrew women in praising God in Exodus 15:20. She picked up her timbrel and all the women followed her in extolling the greatness of God and His awesome power that He had demonstrated in rescuing of Israel from their enemies.
As a prophetess, Miriam undoubtedly spoke the mind of God. She was used of God to declare His divine will for His people on some occasions. That is what prophets do. However, Miriam, like us, made her share of mistakes. She allowed pride to get the better of her and by this imprudence, she brought God's judgement upon her and caused Israel an extra seven days in the wilderness.
I believe Miriam possibly learnt from her transgression. Her story of biblical leadership has left for us a great lesson that our setbacks are opportunities for self reflection and growth. We should pick up ourselves from the ashes and journey on in faith.
Unlike Rahab, no mention is made of Miriam in the New Testament Scriptures. This phenomenon is however not exclusive to her. Several other heroines of old such as Deborah, Jael, and Huldah do not feature in the hall of fame in Hebrews 11 yet their contributions to the redemption of Israel cannot are indelibly engraved in Scripture. These women served God with outstanding faithfulness and courage in their time.
When Miriam died of age she had accomplished God's purposes for her life. She, like Deborah, was a mother in Israel, a great icon of inspiration among God's covenant people.
Miriam could have been over one hundred years of age at the time of her death given her age difference with her brothers. She served God faithfully and finished the race.
MIRIAM'S LEGACY
Miriam is a great inspiration among God's people and we can draw a number of moral lessons from her life and ministry.
1) We learn from her life and ministry that God can use insignificant and obscure people for His glory, notwithstanding their shortcomings. Someone said that God does not call the qualified but qualifies the called.
2) None of us who serve God is perfect before God yet God graciously chose to use us for His glory. We should honour and glorify for the opportunity of service in our generation.
3) We also learn about God's immeasurable grace and mercy. Miriam could have died under God's judgement for crossing the red line when she defiantly questioned the authority of Moses and belittled his high calling but God mercifully preserved her. My view is that leprosy was a minor judgement which was perhaps meant to warn her to watch her steps!
Aaron probably escaped God's judgement because he expressed remorse for his part in the rebellion. Some suppose that Aaron had no direct role in questioning the authority of Moses. It is however difficult to tell from the passage because both Aaron and Miriam are named as having jointly conspired. Others say that Aaron was already serving as high priest and God could not permit leprosy upon him. Again it is difficult to corroborate this claim from Scripture. We cannot conclusively establish if Aaron had assumed the office of high priest at this point in time.
4) We learn from Miriam's life and ministry that God is not a respecter of persons. God uses people who are willing to serve Him irrespective of their social backgrounds. He used several women in the Bible to fulfill His divine purposes at diverse times in the history of God's people. He used Miriam to minister to His people during the wilderness journey.
He later raised Deborah as Prophetess and Judge in Israel. God also used Deborah to proclaim the liberation of Israel and to lead the battle alongside Barak. This battle saw Israel break from the twenty years of Canaanite oppression under Jabin and Sisera (Judges 4-5).
6) We learn that God has ordained His divine leadership order in the church and that we should submit to our leaders in the fear of God. We should do things God's way and not our way. Where we are convinced that a church leader has erred, we should approach the issue with decorum and wisdom using the regulations established in the Scriptures (1 Timothy 3:1-13; 5:19).
7) Finally, we learn that God rebukes and punishes those He has appointed to serve Him no matter how high they rank in the pecking order. All leaders are therefore ultimately accountable to God for the discharge of their responsibilities. Leaders should be careful lest they invite reproach into their leadership mandates or bring disrepute to God's people. This would ruin the reputation of the church and hinder their witness for Christ.
A Christian leader should watch their moral integrity at all times (1 Corinthians 11:1).
Marrying from among the heathen was forbidden among God's covenant people. Moses' decision to marry an Ethiopian woman was therefore a violation of God's moral standards that He had prescribed for His people. To this extent, Aaron and Miriam were justified in questioning Moses' conduct. They however had no authority to question his spiritual mandate.
Going back to Exodus 2, and assuming that Miriam was indeed the girl mentioned here, we can make a few observations on her character and skills.
Miriam was undoubtedly a sharp and decisive person. She was passionate and courageous. The fact that God used her to convince the Egyptian princess to give a soft landing to her kid brother Moses was perhaps evidence that she was a creative person who thought on her feet. Her creativity was again evident in her act of leading the Hebrew women in praising God in Exodus 15:20. She picked up her timbrel and all the women followed her in extolling the greatness of God and His awesome power that He had demonstrated in rescuing of Israel from their enemies.
As a prophetess, Miriam undoubtedly spoke the mind of God. She was used of God to declare His divine will for His people on some occasions. That is what prophets do. However, Miriam, like us, made her share of mistakes. She allowed pride to get the better of her and by this imprudence, she brought God's judgement upon her and caused Israel an extra seven days in the wilderness.
I believe Miriam possibly learnt from her transgression. Her story of biblical leadership has left for us a great lesson that our setbacks are opportunities for self reflection and growth. We should pick up ourselves from the ashes and journey on in faith.
Unlike Rahab, no mention is made of Miriam in the New Testament Scriptures. This phenomenon is however not exclusive to her. Several other heroines of old such as Deborah, Jael, and Huldah do not feature in the hall of fame in Hebrews 11 yet their contributions to the redemption of Israel cannot are indelibly engraved in Scripture. These women served God with outstanding faithfulness and courage in their time.
When Miriam died of age she had accomplished God's purposes for her life. She, like Deborah, was a mother in Israel, a great icon of inspiration among God's covenant people.
Miriam could have been over one hundred years of age at the time of her death given her age difference with her brothers. She served God faithfully and finished the race.
MIRIAM'S LEGACY
Miriam is a great inspiration among God's people and we can draw a number of moral lessons from her life and ministry.
1) We learn from her life and ministry that God can use insignificant and obscure people for His glory, notwithstanding their shortcomings. Someone said that God does not call the qualified but qualifies the called.
2) None of us who serve God is perfect before God yet God graciously chose to use us for His glory. We should honour and glorify for the opportunity of service in our generation.
3) We also learn about God's immeasurable grace and mercy. Miriam could have died under God's judgement for crossing the red line when she defiantly questioned the authority of Moses and belittled his high calling but God mercifully preserved her. My view is that leprosy was a minor judgement which was perhaps meant to warn her to watch her steps!
Aaron probably escaped God's judgement because he expressed remorse for his part in the rebellion. Some suppose that Aaron had no direct role in questioning the authority of Moses. It is however difficult to tell from the passage because both Aaron and Miriam are named as having jointly conspired. Others say that Aaron was already serving as high priest and God could not permit leprosy upon him. Again it is difficult to corroborate this claim from Scripture. We cannot conclusively establish if Aaron had assumed the office of high priest at this point in time.
4) We learn from Miriam's life and ministry that God is not a respecter of persons. God uses people who are willing to serve Him irrespective of their social backgrounds. He used several women in the Bible to fulfill His divine purposes at diverse times in the history of God's people. He used Miriam to minister to His people during the wilderness journey.
He later raised Deborah as Prophetess and Judge in Israel. God also used Deborah to proclaim the liberation of Israel and to lead the battle alongside Barak. This battle saw Israel break from the twenty years of Canaanite oppression under Jabin and Sisera (Judges 4-5).
6) We learn that God has ordained His divine leadership order in the church and that we should submit to our leaders in the fear of God. We should do things God's way and not our way. Where we are convinced that a church leader has erred, we should approach the issue with decorum and wisdom using the regulations established in the Scriptures (1 Timothy 3:1-13; 5:19).
7) Finally, we learn that God rebukes and punishes those He has appointed to serve Him no matter how high they rank in the pecking order. All leaders are therefore ultimately accountable to God for the discharge of their responsibilities. Leaders should be careful lest they invite reproach into their leadership mandates or bring disrepute to God's people. This would ruin the reputation of the church and hinder their witness for Christ.
A Christian leader should watch their moral integrity at all times (1 Corinthians 11:1).
Marrying from among the heathen was forbidden among God's covenant people. Moses' decision to marry an Ethiopian woman was therefore a violation of God's moral standards that He had prescribed for His people. To this extent, Aaron and Miriam were justified in questioning Moses' conduct. They however had no authority to question his spiritual mandate.
We should never overstep the lines of authority that God has established.
Shalom.
© Ezekiel Kimosop 2019
© Ezekiel Kimosop 2019
That's great Rev. Kimosop
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing and reminding how we can serve and pay attention in whatever we do.
Blessings