God The Protector Series

II.) God Protected Miriam- Vs 4-7

- My mother’s name is Miriam, so whenever I read about Miriam in the Bible, it brings a smile to my face because I think of my mom.

- Miriam was Moses’s sister, and would have been between 10 and 12 years of age at this point.

- So she’s only a child, and yet she takes an amazing step of faith by following the basket with her brother to find out what would happen to him.

- The text doesn’t tell us if her mother asked her to do this or not, but I think Miriam probably did this on her own.

- After all, she was his big sister, and she didn’t want anything bad to happen to him.

- But it’s more than that…

- I believe she was led by God to follow because He was in control…

- He had plans to reward Jochebed for her faithfulness, and He was going to use Miriam to make that happen.

- So, Miriam is following the basket from a distance, and all of a sudden, her brother is taken by the maidens who served Pharaoh’s daughter.

- If I were Miriam, my heart probably would have been beating hard, and I’d be extremely nervous, because, upon first glance, this is not a good thing!

- After all, Pharaoh is the one who gave the order for these babies to be killed, and his daughter had no reason to save this baby.

- I’ve got to give Miriam credit though…

- Instead of running away in fear at this point or running toward her brother to try to save him, she keeps her cool and remains at a distance, watching.

- How could she keep her cool and remain where she was?

- I believe it’s because Miriam had strong faith.

- Even though she was a child, she knew that God was in control, and she knew that if He was allowing this to happen, it was part of His plan.

- Think about how much courage it took for her to stand there, either near or in the river…

- The Nile River had a lot of crocodiles, and there might have been some nearby as Miriam is watching…

- There would have been Egyptian guards nearby, looking for any sign of suspicious activity…

- And of course, if they found out she was watching the baby Moses float down the river, they might have killed him in front of her, as a punishment for going against the Pharaoh’s orders.

- So how could she have any courage in a situation like this?

- The answer, of course, is that God was protecting her, and as one of His followers, she understood that, even as a child.

- Now, let’s talk about Pharaoh’s daughter for a moment…

- The Egyptians had extraordinary reverence for the Nile River…

- At certain times of the year, it was an act of devotion to bathe in the waters of the Nile.

- Some think that Pharaoh’s daughter went down to bathe as part of the festival of the new moon.

- In any case, God knew she would be there, and He knew her heart, so He knew that she would not turn the baby Moses away

- When she sees the baby in the basket, she immediately recognizes him as a Hebrew baby boy.

- As she looks at him, he weeps, and instead of turning him away, her heart has compassion for him.

- This is amazing because her father has spread his hate of the Jews throughout his kingdom.