Miriam,

“The name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and to Amram she bore Aaron and Moses and their sister Miriam” (Numbers 26:59, NKJV). Miriam means bitter. Miriam is the older sister of Aaron and Moses. It was Miriam who watched Moses (when he was in a basket) from afar and she also mentioned to Pharoah’s daughter about finding a Hebrew woman for the baby Moses. Even though the mother gave Moses up (it was to protect him) it was through the providence of God that she was able to get him back. She taught him all he needed to know that he was a Hebrew and was not an Egyptian.

There are not many scriptures about Miriam as a prophetess but in Micah 6:4, she is mentioned as well as Moses and Aaron leading the Israelites out of Egypt.

“For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,

I redeemed you from the house of bondage;

And I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam” (NKJV).

We first read about Miriam the prophetess in Exodus 15. After the Red Sea crossing, the Israelites feared God and believed in Him as well as in Moses. Miriam was one of them that walked across the Red Sea. After Moses and the people sang a song to the Lord, “Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam answered them:

“Sing to the Lord,

For He has triumphed gloriously!

The horse and its rider

He has thrown into the sea!” (Exodus 15:20–21, NKJV).

Even a prophetess can sin and be punished. There is a consequence when you sin as you can read in Numbers 12:1–15. Miriam and Aaron had spoken against Moses because he had married an Ethiopian woman. God heard it and asked all three of them to meet in the Tabernacle. God spoke to Aaron and Miriam. He was angry with them because they spoke against Moses. When God left, Miriam became a leper. Numbers 12:10 (NKJV), “And when the cloud departed from above the tabernacle, suddenly Miriam became leprous, as white as snow.” Aaron sees this and cries to their brother, Moses. Moses then cries out to the Lord. Moses asks God to heal her. Numbers 12:14–16, we read the consequence of Miriam’s sin. “Then the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, would she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut out of the camp seven days, and afterward she may be received again”. So Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days, and the people did not journey till Miriam was brought in again. And afterward the people moved from Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran” (NKJV). So, as you can see God spares no one from punishment. Miriam would have swelling of the skin, with crust and a whitish patch. Leprosy in Bible times was chronic and an incurable disease where they died. Leprosy was a punishment for a sin as well as a divine curse. Only God could cure leprosy as we see with Miriam.

The next time we read about Miriam is when she dies. “Then the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh; and Miriam died there and was buried there. Now there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses and Aaron. 3 And the people contended with Moses and spoke, saying: “If only we had died when our brethren died before the Lord! (Numbers 20:1–3).

In conclusion, we can learn from Miriam. She was a devoted sister to her brother Moses by protecting him and making sure he was safe. She was bold when she a Jew went to the Pharoah’s daughter and mentioned getting a Hebrew woman to look after Moses. She took great steps to make sure her brother was safe. Would we do that for our siblings, especially for our Christian family? Even though she was a prophetess, she was not exempt from sin or punishment. We learn from her that when we sin, God sees all. We might not be punished on Earth, but we will be on judgment day. Miriam’s punishment was for all to see. We also learn how she taught the women about faith. When we sin, we must not only accept the punishment, but we must learn from it. This is a woman that we should look up to.