Prophetess and Confidant
Scripture calls Miriam a prophetess. “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).
Miriam was highly visible. Moses, the deliverer and leader of Israel, was her brother. Aaron, who initially acted as Moses’ mouth piece, became high priest, also was her brother. Because both her brothers were God’s chosen leaders over Israel, she held a place of status among the people.
But in her own right, Miriam had influence and credibility. She was a prophetess, which means she was gifted with song and probably had a beautiful voice. She may also have been a poetess.[1] Miriam was gifted. Scripture does not specify, but because she had the gift of music, leading the women in worship of Adonai after the Red Sea crossing, and had the ear of the people, it seems she was also fluent in speech. Micah stated the LORD sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam before the people as He led them out of Egypt (Mic 6:4).
In Egypt, when things were difficult, Moses sent Zipporah, his wife, and his sons back to Midian under the protection of his father-in-law. It does not seem Miriam married. When Zipporah was gone, most likely Miriam cooked and cared for Moses. During that time, she would have been able to pour love on him in a way she was unable to do when he was a child and he would have held her in his confidence. Later, when Israel traveled in the wilderness, Zipporah’s father brought her to Moses. Her return meant Miriam would have been displaced, as Moses then lived with his wife and sons, and no longer needed Miriam’s help.
Some think Moses took a new wife. It is possible if Zipporah had died, Miriam would again have been the one to fill his need for feminine companionship. But there is no evidence he took a second wife.
As Moses grew in strength of character, became more decisive, more confident in the Lord, perhaps he spent less time with Miriam, needed her words of encouragement less, or asked her opinion less. In Genesis 17 we read he pitched a tent outside of camp to spend time in the Lord’s presence. As he grew in the fear of the Lord, he developed an intimate relationship with Jehovah God. As a result, his fear of man diminished and he was less needy of human approval or companionship. Without intentionally rejecting Miriam, as he matured and his work load increased, he would have spent less time with her.
Miriam faced what many of us experience today. Longing for significance, for love, and for acceptance, not having dealt with fears of the past, she lashed out against Moses, whom she loved, but did not respect.
With unresolved fears, wounding from abuse, especially in childhood, where there is no resolution, where feelings of rejection are triggered by daily experiences where we do not walk in intentional forgiveness, bitterness is the fruit. We do not know the specifics but Miriam was bitter about Moses’ marriage. Where bitterness is cultivated, words of disrespect, long hidden in the heart, act like poisonous barbs to undermine someone else’s authority are vocalized.
We will look next at Aaron, to better understand how he enabled and even facilitated Miriam’s bitterness.
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7, ESV).
[1]Prophetess: H5031 נְבִיאָה nᵉbîyʼâh; feminine of H5030; a prophetess or (generally) inspired woman; by implication, a poetess; by association a prophet's wife: prophetess.
