An Imperfect but Faithful Servant of the Lord

      By Fern Horst

"And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea." (Exodus 15:20-21)

When she was a young girl, Miriam began her service to God and His people early when she thought quickly and creatively to keep her baby brother Moses in their mother's care.* Because Pharaoh was attempting to kill all male Hebrew babies, Miriam's mother put little Moses in a basket and then placed the basket among the bullrushes close to the river's bank. His big sister Miriam stood where she could keep an eye on him.

Pharaoh's daughter found him and her heart melted when she saw the crying baby. She decided to keep him. Miriam quickly asked her if she'd like a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby until he was old enough to be weaned. Pharaoh's daughter glady agreed. God used Miriam to spare Moses' life, and to be brought up openly in a Hebrew home during a time when Hebrew boys were in danger for their lives. Moses then grew up to lead his people out of slavery in Egypt.

Miriam herself also grew up, not to marry and have children of her own, but to be a prophetess. When Moses led the Israelites across the river safely, she led the women in a dance of praise to God for all that He had done for them.

Miriam is an example to us of an unmarried woman who served the Lord by serving His people. She and her brother Aaron assisted Moses in his responsibilities of leading the people of Israel as they left Egypt to go to the Promised Land.

She also gave us an example not to follow. At one point she and Aaron criticized Moses for marrying an Ethiopian woman.** This angered the Lord. He told Aaron and Miriam that He was able to tell Moses directly if what Moses had done was displeasing to Him. God was not happy with their criticism of Moses, when what Moses had done was not displeasing to Him.

Immediately, because of their criticism, Miriam was covered with leprosy. This was a fate almost worse than death, as lepers had to live outside the camp and not associate with those who did not have leprosy. Aaron reminded Moses of this, and Moses cried out to the Lord to spare Miriam. God agreed to heal her, but required her to spend seven days outside the camp.

When God puts us in places of service to Him, we need to guard against attitudes of criticism toward those God has placed in service with us. We must remember that God is able to tell a fellow Christian when He is displeased with them. We need not discuss our opinions with others, or think it's out duty to set them straight. Conflict and critical attitudes between church staff and members of missionary teams have often been detrimental to the whole purpose for which they are serving, sometimes destroying the good they had accomplished.

We know little about Miriam after this, except that her death was mentioned and where she was buried.*** The fact this was recorded seems to carry some indication of her significance to the people of Israel. She wasn't a perfect servant of the Lord's, as no human is. But God used her for His glory, and to accomplish His purposes.

May the same be said of us.

* Exodus 2
** Numbers 12
*** Numbers 20

© 2007 Fern Horst

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