Miriam the Proud

 Privileges and Prominence bring blessings as well as dangers. At the time Israel was freed from slavery, Miriam was most likely the most prominent woman in the nation. Would she succumb to pride or ambition? (Proverbs 16:18) Sadly, for a time she did.

A few months after the Exodus, Moses welcomed a group that came from afar-it was his father-in-law, Jethro, bringing Moses' wife, Zipporah, and their two sons. Moses had married her during his 40-year sojourn in Midian. Zipporah had earlier returned to her family in Midian, perhaps for a visit, and now her father was bringing her to the Israelite encampment. (Exodus 18:1-5) Imagine the stir their arrival caused among Moses' people! Likely, many were eager to see the wife of the man God had chosen to lead them out of Egypt. 

Was Miriam pleased as well? Perhaps at first. But it seems that in time she gave in to pride. She might have felt threatened, thinking that Zipporah would replace her as the most prominent woman in the nation. In any case, Miriam and Aaron engaged in negative talk. And such talk, as it often does, soon turned bitter and spiteful. At first their talk focused on Zipporah; they complained that she was not an Israelite but a Cushite. But the talk escalated into complaining about Moses himself. Miriam and Aaron were saying:  "Is it only by Moses that Jehovah has spoken? Has he not also spoken through us?" - NUMBERS 12:1, 2.

Next time: Miriam the Leper

From the jw.org publications