Unlikely Heroes Miriam By Justin Allison 6/15/13 Ice-Breaker Qs If you could be a contestant on any game show, which one

e would it be? If you could cure any one disease what would it be? If you had to eliminate one odor from the earth, which would it be?1 Today we are going to look at a woman, Miriam, as a Hero in the OT. For the ladies, can you describe some of the ways that women were treated differently in ancient times? Somebody tell me what they know about Miriam? Miriam (meeree-uhm), the sister of Moses and Aaron. We first hear of her when the infant Moses was placed in a basket on the Nile and his sister (not named here) watched from a distance; when the baby was discovered by Pharaohs daughter, the sister offered to find a Hebrew wetnurse and fetched Mosesmother (Exod. 2:4-8). After the Exodus, Miriam had a prominent position among the women, for Exod. 15:20-21 records her leading the women in the victory song after the events at the Red Sea. Miriam is called a prophetess in this passage. She later considered her prophecy equal to that of Moses when she and Aaron complained about the marriage of Moses to the Cushite woman (Num. 12); for that, she was struck with leprosy and was healed a week later after Aaron asked Moses to intercede for her. Miriam died and was buried at Kadesh. In later biblical tradition the leprosy of Miriam was presented as a caution to Israel (Deut. 24:9), and Miriam was remembered together with Moses and Aaron as leaders sent by God (Mic. 6:4). In postbiblical Jewish legends the prophecy of Miriam is stressed, and she was considered to have foretold the birth of Moses as savior of his people.2

Ex 15:1, 20. What is important to learn about her here? Prophetess? Any others in the OT? Deborah (Judg 4:4), Huldah (2 Kgs 22:14), Isaiahs wife (Isa 8:3), and Anna (Luke 2:36); a couple of not-so-godly women do as well (Noadiah in Neh 6:14 and Jezebel in Rev 2:20). Teach song?

Nu 12:1-2 Why was it a big deal then to have marry outside of their ethnic race? Religious/Cultural identity
McFarlane If (Questions for the Game of Life), 69. Paul J. Achtemeier, Harper & Row and Society of Biblical Literature, Harpers Bible Dictionary, 1st ed. (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1985), 641.
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Note that she was the leader in the inquisition So, Leprosy is ? Why did this happen? Did she learn from it? We arent told

Mi 4:3-5 What is special about Miriam being mentioned here? In this passage, God is rebuking his people, calling them to be faithful again. He begins with retelling how he has physically saved them, and how he has given human leaders. Based upon what we talked about earlier, women in ancient times, what is special about Miriam being mentioned here?

Wrapping Up Based on what weve read, what are some qualities of Miriams character? What did she excel at/ or what is she remembered for? So even though Miriam had her problems, she was considered a prophet, and revered as an example of leadership generations later. What does her story tell us about God? What does her story tell us about ourselves? Maybe something we need to change/work harder at? How does her example give us hope in our situations today? Is there something that God did in her story, that you and I can pray for to happen in our lives this week? Maybe taking worship songs seriously Maybe we need to respect those in position of authority above us Maybe we need to respect the fact of God speaking to/through women at certain times, who knows Maybe we need to ask God to do something special with our family, as he did with Miriams family