Family Feud
Today’s Verse:
And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. ~Numbers 12:1
A sweet little girl had a violent tussle with her older sister. Her mother reprimanded her and concluded by saying, “It was Satan who suggested to you the pulling of Jenny's hair.” “I shouldn't be surprised,” the child replied musingly. “But,” she added proudly, “Kicking her in the shins was entirely my own idea.” If you have a sibling, you probably have had one or more times when there was a competition or rivalry among yourselves. At the time the rivalry occurred, both of you believed that you were right and the other one was wrong. If you grew up with an older sister, it could be that she was a very strong and controlling influence over you. Miriam was the older sister of Moses. Though she is not referred to in length and is not the subject of Bible studies, she nonetheless is a life with some lessons for us.
We see Miriam and her rescue.
The first mention of Miriam is in Exodus 2:4, 7. We find her standing some distance away from the bank of the Nile River, where her mother had placed the infant Moses into an ark of bulrushes. Miriam was a young teen. When Pharaoh’s daughter uncovered that a baby Hebrew boy was in that little basket, her heart was touched with compassion. At that moment, Miriam sprang into action and, with quick thinking, asked Pharaoh’s daughter if she would like a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby child for her. Pharaoh’s daughter said, “Sure, I would!” Miriam can be credited in having a part in the rescue of her little brother. She spoke up when her voice needed to be heard. Sometimes, we think we have to do something substantial in order to serve the Lord. However, God uses all of us to have a part in the life of another person. Never forget that inviting someone to church or giving out a gospel tract might be used of God to rescue a soul from going to Hell.
We see Miriam and her role.
We next see Miriam in Exodus 15:20-21 as a prophetess. Right after Israel crossed the Red Sea, she immediately had a major role in leading the people in worship and singing songs of praise for the Lord. As a prophetess, she was a spokesperson for God and helped influence the people to worship and honor God. Again, she used her influence in leading people to do the right thing. She was an encouragement to the Hebrew women. She inspired them to have a heart of worship for the Lord. Never underestimate the role that God has given you. Use your influence to bring people closer to God.
We see Miriam and her rivalry.
We next see Miriam in Numbers 12. In this section of Scripture, we see Miriam in rivalry with her brother Moses. She and Aaron rose up against Moses because of disagreements that they had with him. They despised the wife of Moses because she was not a Hebrew. She spoke evil against Moses. She was part of an insurrection against him. She was upset with her brother and thought only of overthrowing his leadership. One of the biggest hindrances in Christianity is when brothers- and sisters-in-Christ have strong rivalries against each other. As in Miriam’s case, most rivalries are because of preferences and not biblical convictions. This rivalry led to her being chastened by God and cast out of the camp. God never looks favorably upon sibling rivalry in the church. By the way, her name means “rebellion.”
We see Miriam and her remission.
She was cast out of the camp for seven days and allowed back in thereafter. Being shut out of the camp as a leper made her feel the hurt of being ostracized and rejected. She sat outside of the camp rejected and lonely. God let her back in after seven days, but she surely was happy to be restored in health and fellowship. When she returned, the leprosy was gone and she was allowed to fellowship again. God will forgive us when we confess our sins to Him, but we must remember that it is of the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed.
Use your influence to help others and not to hurt them. A spiteful heart will catch up with us, and our evil malice will be chastened by the Lord. Play it safe and be a humble servant of the Lord.
Have a humble God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Acts 24-26