Exodus 2:1-10, 15:19-21; Numbers 12, 20:1-2
Miriam protects
Moses
Miriam who engineered Moses’ rescue would play a
crucial role in Moses’ life. His mother’s name was JACHEBED (Ex.6:20) She so
thoroughly instructed him that all the allurements of the palace never
eradicated his faith. Moses would spend close to forty years in the palace but
would never abandon his childhood faith.
Miriam was the sister
of two powerful Old Testament men, Moses and Aaron. She served the Lord all of
her life, remained steadfast in her determination to see the Hebrew people free
from the pharaoh's oppression. Miriam was human, and not perfect. For her pride
and insubordination to the power of God working through her brother Moses, she
became afflicted with leprosy. (Numbers 12:10-13) It was of short duration,
(only one week) but long enough for her to reflect on the error she made in
criticizing her brother.
Jealousy caused Miriam
to despise her brother. She blamed him for marrying a Cushite woman but that
was not the real reason for her resentment. She hated the fact that the Lord
spoke directly to her brother Moses. She hated the fact that Moses was more
humble than anyone else on the face of the earth. Bitterness, resentment,
cynicism can creep into our lives. Mariam let it get the best of her. In Lent,
we pray for a pure heart.
Create in
me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away
from Thy presence and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy
of Thy salvation, and uphold me with Thy free spirit. –Psalm 51:10-12
Schnorr
von Carolsfeld Woodcut used with permission © WELS
Halley’s
Bible Handbook An Abbreviated Bible Commentary Twenty-Third Edition, © 1962
Zondervan Grand Rapids, MI
The
Offertory, Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis
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