Let's open our Bibles this evening to Numbers chapter 20. I'm just going to read one verse, but we will be using several verses in Numbers and a few in other places, mostly from Numbers. Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, unto the desert of Zion in the first month, and the people abode in Kadesh, And Miriam died there and was buried there. Father, we come tonight. Lord, as we look at this lady who had such a prominent role. especially in the years of wandering. She had a very powerful role in seeing that Moses ended up ultimately in the palace. We will also look, Lord, at even faithful, dedicated people can get caught up in some wrong things. As we look at that, we realize her and the consequences, but we also see how we are to react when those that hate us mistreat us. Help us to learn how that we are supposed to act. In Jesus' name, amen. Miriam is actually one of those people that has quite a bit written about her. Most of it is in the Old Testament. Most of it is in the first five books of the Bible. There are a few references later, but most of what we know is found in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. I want to look at, and when I looked at all of these stories about her, it was really hard to narrow it down, but I narrowed it down to three main points, and then we will look at some lessons as they apply to you and I. First of all, notice, her early highlights. Now we're all familiar with the story how the King Pharaoh had passed a law that all male babies were to be killed. And thousands, perhaps thousands and thousands of babies born to Israelites were killed because Pharaoh was afraid that there would come a man who would lead a rebellion against him. And so he ordered the death of all Israelite male babies, and Moses was born. The Bible says that the parents of Moses saw that he was a goodly child. They hid him as long as they could, and then rather than kill him, His mother took and made a basket, which is the same idea as Noah built the ark. It was a place of safety. It was a place that had been pitched in and out, just like the ark. And it was a place that she put Moses in, hoping to keep him alive and that somebody would find the basket and take Moses home and raise him. So his parents put him in this miniature ark, put him in the lake, hid him in the bulrushes, And his sister stayed up on the hillside watching what would become. Who was his sister? His sister was Miriam. She's up there watching. She sees as Pharaoh's daughter comes to take a bath, and she sees and watches as Pharaoh's daughter sees the basket, sends one of her servants to get the basket, and when she opened the basket, baby Moses began to cry, and Pharaoh's daughter fell in love with the baby. Pharaoh's daughter obviously needed, they didn't have Gerber, they didn't have all the other things that we have today. So she needed someone who could nurse Moses, bring him up until he reached a certain age, and then bring him to the palace to be raised for the rest of his life. Miriam, watching up on the hill, comes down and says, would you like for me to find a Hebrew lady who is still capable of nursing so that this baby can be fed? And Pharaoh's daughter was delighted, yes, by all means. Miriam, who some estimate was maybe 10 to 12, maybe in that range, she's smart enough, she's logical enough, she's sensible enough that instead of going and picking a lady at random, she goes home and says, hey, Mom, How would you like to work for Pharaoh's daughter, raise your baby, and get paid in the process of raising your own son? And so Moses' mother goes down, talks to Pharaoh's daughter, and they work out the agreement. Pharaoh's daughter doesn't know that this is his mother, real mother. So they work out an agreement, she takes Moses home, and for several years she feeds him, she raises him, and she indoctrinates him. But Miriam saw what was going on, and said, you know what, this is an opportunity that God has given me to take care of my brother and to have my brother raised by his mom. She saw the opportunity. She saw the need. She was not afraid to step in and approach Pharaoh's daughter and make an offer to take care of the baby until he was old enough to move back to the palace. How many of us would have seen what she saw? and said, oh, oh, I sure hope something happens. She hoped something happened, but then she also got involved, went down, got involved, suggested to Pharaoh's daughter, made a suggestion, then went back, got her mother. She didn't just stand there and say, oh, I sure hope something happens. I sure hope she picks Moses. I sure hope that she—no, she saw the opportunity and got right in the thick of it, got involved, and because of her actions, Moses was fed by his mother, taken to the palace where we saw this morning in the devotion where he spent 40 years being trained under the very roof of Pharaoh who tried to kill him. She saw an opportunity. She got involved and God used her to prepare Moses for what would come later. Exodus chapter 15. If you recall in chapter 15, the children of Israel have left Egypt. They have gotten to the Red Sea. And it's like, oh, what are we going to do? We've got the Red Sea in front of us, Pharaoh's army behind us, mountains on one side, desert on the other side. What are we going to do? God opened up the Red Sea. Children of Israel crossed on dry land. And it's like, oh no, oh we're still doomed. Here comes Pharaoh's army behind us. And God waited until Pharaoh's army was completely in the middle of the Red Sea. And God just, the walls were frozen. God unfrozen the waters came down and drowned the entire Egyptian army. In chapter 15, we find out that Miriam was a prophetess in verse 20. But as a prophetess, she wrote a song about deliverance. She wrote a very detailed song about how that God had opened up the Red Sea. She wrote a song about how that God had drowned the entire Egyptian army in the Red Sea. She wrote a song and the theme of that song was praising God. I know sometimes people think Women should be quiet. Women should stay in the kitchen, raise kids, keep the house clean, and nothing else. But God used Miriam, which God recorded, her song, God recorded it and has preserved it down through history as a song of praise for God's deliverance. I think ladies, while they cannot teach and preach, they cannot teach men and preach, I think ladies can have a tremendous role. Miriam led the congregation in singing. She led the singing, she led the praise to God, and she was so good at writing. that God preserved her song. Now, if we were to go through our hymn book, we have two. I know there's some overlap, but there's some different songs in both of them. But if we were to go through our hymn book, you would probably be surprised How many of the hymns that we sing were written by women? Women aren't supposed to do anything. Look up some of our hymns sometimes. Look at who wrote them. Now, if you look at our hymn book, there is the title at the top. On one side, there's a name. On the other side, it sometimes is the same name, but sometimes the names are different. One of those names wrote the words. The other name wrote the music. And if you look up the person that wrote the words, and sometimes the music, many of our hymns were written by ladies who saw the glory of God, who saw the majesty of God, who saw the magnificence of God and who wrote it, And we sing those songs without realizing God used women to write many of the songs that are in our hymn book. And I'm trying to think of the lady. I had it, and when I went to say it, my mind lost it. She was blind, and yet she managed to write Fannie Crosby, thank you, you get the prize for today. Fannie Crosby wrote hundreds of songs, many of which we still sing. So ladies, if God has allowed you the ability to write and to be a blessing and to praise God, use it. in the way God gave it to you and intended it to be used. But then we come to Numbers chapter 12, and we find a very low point in the life of Miriam. Prior to this, y'all recall when Moses fled, I saw a movie where they said that Moses was beaten and chased out of Egypt. Totally wrong. Moses fled out of Egypt and he goes over to the country of Ethiopia and while he's there, he marries an Ethiopian wife. Geographically, based on the dispersion of the nations in Genesis. You know, Genesis tells us this person went there, this person went there, this group went there, and Genesis gives us the dispersion of the nations. If you look at the dispersions, look at where they ended up, and studied the geography of many of those countries, Moses married, are you ready for this? Moses married a black woman. Do you know that? So Moses and his wife have a falling out as he's on his way back to Egypt. So she leaves him, goes back home. Moses goes on down into Egypt, leads the nation out of Egypt. They are now out in the desert And Moses' father-in-law says, I'm going to take your wife and I'm going to bring her down there to you because a wife belongs with her husband. And so Moses' father-in-law brings Moses' wife into the camp of Israel. It's one of the very first cases recorded in the Bible of racial prejudice because of skin color. Prejudice is not something new. I bet you and I have some prejudices if we really searched our heart. Prejudice can be against skin color. It can be against nationality. It can be against the way somebody looks. I was telling my wife, I guess it was yesterday on the way down to Newby. I see a lady when I go to the gym, One of very, very, very nice ladies. Very nice. She's about as tall as your Aunt Frances. And she weighs... How do you say this politely? She's a little on the heavy side. And people can be prejudiced because of the way you look. Prejudice can show its ugly head in many, many ways. We can be prejudiced against fat or skinny. We can be prejudiced because someone doesn't have teeth, and they're talking with no teeth, and it's easy to make fun It's easy to be prejudiced. Prejudice has been all down through the centuries. The Jews were prejudiced against the Samaritans. Many, many, many other examples. But in Miriam's case, God showed his disapproval of prejudice. The Bible teaches that we're to love our neighbor as ourself. It doesn't give a restriction on nationality. It doesn't give a description of color. By the way, I almost said race. There is no such thing as race in the Bible. God showed in this case and throughout the Bible is taught very, very strongly there is no room in a Christian life for prejudice. It's not there. Well, she's different. You know what? So are you. I look at all of you. Yeah, every one of you are different. Does that give us a right to be prejudiced? No. Prejudice in Miriam's case was sin and God dealt with it quickly. Any kind of prejudice has been seen since the days of Cain. It was seen here, and it's been seen every since. It is never okay. It is never okay. to be prejudiced against anyone because of the way God made them. It is wrong, always has been, and always will be. Is there somebody that you don't like? because of some... Would you stop? Because of some physical thing about them. She has pointed ears. God gave her ears, and when you really are making fun of her ears or his ears, you're really making fun of the way God created them. If you're making fun of someone because their eyes are slanted, you're making fun of the way God made them. You know, the only difference between me and every other person on the face of the earth is God made us all just a little bit different. and he still commanded us. We used to sing the song, red and yellow, black and white. Did you ever sing that? Yeah, yeah. I thought you were old enough to remember that one. Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world. We're to love our neighbor regardless of outward differences. But then we also see Aaron in this case. Miriam began with prejudice against Moses' wife. But then she used that prejudice to attack Moses. She began to complain and somehow she got her older brother Aaron on her side. The Bible does not say that Aaron was prejudiced against his wife. Aaron became jealous because I'm the older son, I'm the older boy, And I should have been the one that God called to lead and to be the leader. I should be the one in charge, not my baby brother. Have you ever been in a position where you had to work for one of your siblings? It can be interesting. It's like, I remember all those times you locked me out of the house. I remember all those times you short-sheeted my bed, and now I am your boss, and it's get even time. Aaron does not seem to be prejudiced because of his wife. His seems to be more jealousy because one of their big arguments is that you take too much upon yourself. In other words, you've got too much power. Numbers chapter 12, Miriam started it. Aaron joined in. God spoke on the scene and immediately struck Miriam with leprosy from her head to her feet. Leprosy was a horrible disease that meant you had to be put outside of the camp You were not allowed in the camp. You were put in isolation and you stayed in isolation until either the leprosy was healed or you died. God immediately stroked her with leprosy. What did she do wrong? She was prejudiced against Moses' wife because she was an Ethiopian. To show you how much God hated prejudice, he immediately, from the top of her head to her feet, instantly, she became leprous. which meant she would have to be isolated outside of the camp. But we see something happen in chapter 12. We see Moses coming to the defense of his sister. Miriam immediately realized the error of her way and repented. And I'm paraphrasing what God said. If somebody had simply spit on her, she would have had to be unclean for I believe it was seven days. There is a cost. There is a cost that she must pay. for her prejudice. Now, I know with us, it's Democrats versus Republicans. I'm not going to go there. Her prejudice almost cost her her life. That's how much God hated prejudice. She became a constant reminder to everyone around her what happens when you exercise prejudice and also what happens when you rebel and attack God's appointed leader. Moses interceded for her and begged God to heal her. God said, I will heal her, but she has to learn I will not accept prejudice, nor will I accept direct attacks on my men. And so she still had to be isolated. She still had to bring the sacrifices. She still had to go through the cleansing process. God forgave her. Yes, God forgave her. But there's still a price that had to be paid. Well, there's some lessons for us. There are times to rejoice and praise God. That God had delivered them from Egypt and killed the Egyptian army, and Miriam led the way in praising God for it. We ought to be more active praising God. when God does protect us, when God does watch over us. Number two, don't let prejudice destroy you. Miriam was upset because of Moses' wife. But she used the excuse that Moses was taking too much authority. She wouldn't admit the real motive. She wouldn't admit the real purpose. So she made up an excuse to cover up her real motive, which the Bible clearly states was jealousy. Moses actually prayed for her health. As I thought about this, I find it almost humorous when somebody mistreats you, somebody abuses you, somebody attacks you, I'm still in the flesh enough that it's like, Lord, burn their house down, wreck their car, get them fired from work, because they offended me. Moses was the one they attacked, but he prayed for their healing. Oh, the flesh wants revenge. It's much easier to pray for their destruction. And it's very hard to pray after they have attacked you, offended you, called you all kinds of things. It's very hard to pray for God to bless them. But isn't that what the Bible teaches throughout? And I've got a couple of verses and we'll be done. Proverbs 24. Begin reading with verse 17. Proverbs 24, 17, and 18. Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, And let not thy heart be glad when he stumbleth, lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, and ye turn away his wrath from him. Luke 18, verse 7. Jesus is talking and he said, shall not God avenge his own elect, which cried day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I don't have to take matters into my own hand. In Romans chapter 12, Paul wrote, Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath. For it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. Paul wrote in Galatians chapter 6 and verse 7, be not deceived. And I know I'm taking it a little out of context, but I think this is a legitimate application. Be not deceived. God is not mauled. For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. In other words, you live a life of jealousy, a life of envy, a life of prejudice, you live that kind of life, and Paul said you will reap. what you sow, you will. God does not approve of envy, jealousy, malice, anger, bitterness, or prejudice. And if that's the kind of life you choose to live, you will reap it someday. Father, we