Day 4: Miriam
And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.
Numbers 12: 15
No family is perfect, even the ones that appear so happy on the outside endure their own hardships from time to time. Growing up, I was obsessed with the family of my next-door neighbour. A fun, eccentric couple and their four kids, they lived a life belonging to a typical British sitcom. Oftentimes I wished to be the fifth child. Years later, the parents separated due to infidelity, unhappiness, and deceit. When I heard this news, I asked myself “is there hope for any of us? If they couldn’t make it, who can?”. After a while it remained as a lesson to me that families are simply imperfect human units: two flawed people brought together through marriage, and sometimes children will be added, with their own personalities, problems, and traits that no one chose. Its up to the family unit to get along and love each other, to endure problems together and hopefully come out stronger. But because we are all different, and all have our own temperaments, clashes are bound to happen. Such was the case for Moses and his two siblings, Miriam and Aaron.
Sibling rivalry is an unfortunate aspect of family life, and there are some famous sibling rivalries explored in the Bible: Cain and Abel, Joseph and his brothers, Jacob and Esau, Leah and Rebekah. Each conflict has its own reason behind them: meddling parents, unfair favouritism, genuine jealousy, ignorance of God’s expectations—the list could go on. In the Moses’ siblings’ case, Miriam and Aaron felt that Moses was getting too much attention from God. Understandable in some sense; all three were prophets, and when Moses was too shy and self-conscious, he used Aaron to be his mouthpiece to stand up to Pharaoh (Exodus 4: 27-30). However, the Bible says that Moses was meek and humble, and God chose him specifically to lead the Children of Israel. In response, the siblings criticised Moses’ wife, exposing some hidden xenophobia towards her Ethiopian heritage (Numbers 12:1). Isn’t that a low blow for a pair of prophets? Not only did they fall into bigotry, but they randomly dragged an innocent woman through the mud, all because they were jealous of Moses’ relationship with God. Way to show how worthier you are for his position, guys!
In response, God punishes Miriam—the oldest sibling—with leprosy (verse 10) and she is forced to be separated from the camp for seven days until she is healed. That must have been a lonely and reflective week for her. As the oldest, she should have displayed more maturity, wisdom and understanding; she was the one that both Moses and Aaron were supposed to look up to, instead she encouraged negativity and poor judgement.
After she was brought in again, Miriam continued her duties alongside her brothers, but there is no recorded instance of her murmuring against Moses in the same way again—she learnt her lesson and grew from it. Her punishment is referenced as a warning to others in Deuteronomy 24:9; a solemn reminder of the consequences of a jealous heart. Let this be a lesson to all of us: comparison is dangerous. Be happy with what God has given you, and improve on it to the best of your ability. We are all on our own path, and we are all important in God’s eyes, therefore there is no need to covet the blessings of others.