Last week, I was studying the life of Miriam. As I was taking a closer look at what the Bible tells us about her, I learned some new things. Before I get into them, left me give you a little bit of her story. Miriam was the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She grew up in slavery in Egypt and was still alive when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea. She was a prophetess (Exodus 15:20) who was sent by God (Micah 6:4) to help lead the people of Israel.
When all the people had crossed the Red Sea and God had destroyed the Egyptians who were following them, Miriam led the women in worship as a response to Moses' song (Exodus 15). They were praising God for his deliverance from the Egyptians. She is teaching us, by her example, to have God-centered worship.
A little further down the road, Moses begins to experience burnout. The people are complaining, again, and he pleads with God to ease his burden by killing him. He feels that the burden is too great to bear alone. So God tells Moses to gather "seventy men of the elders of Israel" (Numbers 11:16) and bring them to the tent of meeting. There, God is going to take some of His Spirit that is on Moses and put it on these elders to help bear the burden of leading the people. God has heard the pleas of Moses and He is sending some relief.
Well, it seems that Miriam did not like having to share the role of leader with all of these men, and that she became jealous. She began to lash out at Moses by criticizing him to the people around her. She even managed to pull Aaron into her sin. At this point God becomes angry with Miriam and He strikes her with leprosy. When Aaron sees this, he repents and begs Moses to plead with God on behalf of Miriam. So Moses prays and asks God to heal Miriam from this disease. God responds by saying, "If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut outside the camp seven days, and after that she may be brought in again." (Numbers 12:14 ESV) So they put Miriam outside the camp for seven days. When she was accepted back into the camp, they picked up and moved on toward Hazeroth.
Now, here's what I learned. My response to those in authority over me has not always been what it should have been. As I was listening to a radio broadcast about Miriam's attitude towards Moses, I was reminded of a couple of specific instances in my past where I had been very critical of some leaders who weren't doing things exactly how I felt they should have been done. I realized now how wrong my attitude was and how I needed to "take every thought captive" the moment it enters my mind and make sure that it is obedient to God's Word. (2 Corinthians 10:5) If Miriam had not let these jealous thought stay in her mind, she would have never acted upon them and would have avoided be excommunicated from the camp. If I had stopped the moment I began to think that these leaders were wrong and got on my knees before God, I would have never gotten to the point where I sinned by becoming angry and judging these people.
As I continued to focus on what God had taught me in order to prevent a repeat of the same incidence, I began to realize that the problem at the center of my sin was a lack of trust in God. I knew these leaders were seeking God's will for their own lives and I was not trusting that God would speak to them and guide them to make the right choices and decisions. I know they are human and can make mistakes just as I can, but I have to trust that God will work through them and me, imperfect as we are, and still be honored and glorified. It is our place, as Christians to support godly leadership, even when we don't agree with the decision that is being made, as long as it is not sinful.
Miriam was instrumental in God's work, even though she wasn't perfect. I think it is important for us to learn from the characters of the Bible because God has put them there as an example to us. I want to challenge you to study the men and women of the Bible. What does God want to teach you through their successes and failures?
To read the story of Miriam, check out Exodus 1:1-2:10, Exodus 15:1-21, and Numbers 11-12. I also used the resources in my study: Life Principles from the Women of the Bible and a radio broadcast series from Revive Our Hearts Ministry entitled Remember Miriam. The link will take you to the website where you can listen to the broadcast or you can download the podcast on Itunes under the Revive Our Hearts podcast.
