Day 13 | Miriam

Read Numbers 12:1-16

In Israel’s journey from Egyptian captivity to the land God promised them, Miriam was an important figure. She was the older sister of Moses, the man whom God chose to lead the people out from Egypt. The Bible also describes her as a prophet in Exodus 15, clearly an influential leader of her time. But despite the many good things she did for the people, she sometimes let her position and status drive her to make much of herself and lose sight of the authority given to others.

When Miriam disrespected her little brother Moses by calling into question his place with God, the consequences for her disrespect were severe. Not only did a skin disease physically threaten her health, but it also isolated her from the community and placed her outside their protection. Being outside camp was dangerous, not to mention lonely. This demonstrates for us how important it is to respect any authority granted by God. Disrespecting our parents, slandering our government officials, ignoring the wisdom and guidance of our spiritual leaders, all of these things are as equally dangerous for us as they were for Miriam.

Ultimately, Miriam’s disrespect wasn’t scandalous because Moses was such a great guy. It was scandalous because she looked at God and told Him “no.” Her actions said, “I don’t really trust the choice you made, and I’m sure I could do better. Let me handle this.” If we reject the authority God has granted others, that’s a wholesale rejection of God. We have to guard against attitudes that tell us we know better than God. Don’t let the mistakes of authority figures around you or what you perceive to be your relative competency blind you to the will of God. Remind yourself that you can trust in His plan and the work He’s doing. When you live in that trust, you’ll stay within the safety of the structure and community God has built.

Pray for 10 minutes