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"Miriam
- mediator of God's word"
Numbers 12:1-16, Philippians
4:1-9
Discovering
Miriam in Scripture
We have just heard a story of one of
the foremothers of the faith - the woman Miriam, sister of Moses and
Aaron, called at times a prophet, a leader, a mediator of God's word. To
understand more about this woman we have to trawl through the Pentateuch
and beyond, finding only fragments that nevertheless come together to
build up a picture of a significant woman. But to begin the story we
have to go back to the banks of the River Nile in Egypt, where an
unnamed girl stands and watches over her brother whose life is in
danger. You probably remember the story - this girl mediates between
birth mother and adoptive mother, securing the life of her brother who
will grow up to be Moses, one of the greatest leaders of Israel's
history. It seems as the story unfolds that this unnamed girl was
Miriam. When she was first introduced in the second chapter of Exodus,
we are told she was "standing at a distance". The passage we
have read from Numbers is the longest passage about this woman in the
biblical text, and it again sets her at a distance - outside the camp
and outside of God's favour. How is it that the woman who saved her
brother out of the waters of death is portrayed later in such a negative
light? Will our memory of her be determined by this story?
Women
used by God
Earlier in the service we read from
Philippians. If someone had said to you "what do you know about
Euodia and Syntyche" - providing you know anything about them at
all - it would probably be that Paul exhorted them to stop arguing.
But listen again: "I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the
same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help
these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the
gospel". Maybe there was an argument. Maybe there was merely
a difference of opinion, of interpretation, of emphasis. But more
importantly, we are told they were fellow workers with Paul - he
actually uses a word meaning "athletes". They too were
striving for the gospel: training, using every ounce of their strength,
giving their all. Why should we just remember these women for a
reference to disunity when it seems they were being used by God for far
greater things.
The bible tells us that each of
these women: Miriam, Euodia, Syntyche, were leaders, spokespersons for
God, mediators of God's word. Each of them leave us a legacy of
leadership that may have been suppressed through the texts and through
the centuries, but one that is still there to be discovered and to give
inspiration and encouragement to us in our time.
Reading
between the lines
There are only 7 passages in the
bible that speak directly about Miriam, most of them brief references in
short verses. We know that the Old Testament, especially the first five
books that make up the Pentateuch, is a compilation of various strands
of tradition that over the years were probably vying for dominance. So,
for example, the priests with their emphasis on cultic affairs and
religious purity at times have the upper hand in transmitting the
tradition. At other times the prophetic strands are dominant -
celebrating the freedom of God's spirit to speak through individuals to
the community as a whole. At other times it was the monarchists - the
defenders of God's revelation through a chosen king, or perhaps the
Deuteronomic reformers - those trying to bring the people of God back
into line by reviving the laws and the ordinances. With all these
strands lying beside each other, even at times becoming tangled
together, it can be difficult to draw out the original story.
Take the first appearance of the
adult Miriam in Exodus 15 for example. Most of the chapter is a long
victory song celebrating the deliverance of the Hebrew people from
Pharaoh's army at the Red Sea. The song is attributed to Moses - who,
you might remember, protested at one time that far from being eloquent
he was "slow of speech and slow in tongue". But at the end of
the chapter this short paragraph comes: "Then Miriam, the
prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the
women went out after her with timbrels and dancing. And Miriam sang to
them 'Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously, the horse and
his rider he has thrown into the sea.'" For years biblical scholars
have been saying that this odd mini-song ascribed to Miriam is probably
there because it was the original story - that it was
Miriam who sang the song later ascribed to Moses. And because the
tradition was so firmly tied to her, her voice could not be fully pushed
out of the story. Now these scholars from the early part of last century
could not have been accused of pushing a feminist agenda. Reading
between the lines, then, we see that the beginning and end of the
Exodus story is bracketed by the voice of Miriam. She saved the
would-be saviour of the Hebrews from certain death, and she
celebrated the saving grace of God who brought these people through the
Red Sea to freedom.
Miriam
in the wilderness texts and beyond
Most of the other texts that mention
Miriam are from the books of Numbers and Deuteronomy - books of the
wilderness time of the people of God. Wilderness is a mixed metaphor for
Israel and its descendants. On the one hand it was Israel's formative
time - it was in the wilderness that they became identified as the
people of Yahweh. It was in the wilderness books that the laws were
given, the festivals established, the mighty acts of God witnessed. And
yet the wilderness was so often a place of complaint, confusion and
conflict. So often mediation was needed on behalf of the rebellious
people and their God. How to lead this people was a real issue for Moses
and those closest to him.
So it is in this setting that the
story we heard earlier has its place. Probably there are priestly
concerns - the question of Moses' marriage to a Kushite woman - an
outsider - signals this, as does the leprous punishment of Miriam that
required time for purification. But there are also prophetic concerns
- who can be a spokesperson for God? The claim of Aaron and Miriam
show that they were both recognised as God's spokespersons along
with Moses. God's anger at their question and the inequitable punishment
of the sister and not the brother are matters for speculation, and may
indeed evidence a patriarchal bias in the retelling of the story. But
even so, they do not undermine the claim that both Miriam and Aaron had
been used by God. And the reaction of the Hebrew people as well as Moses
and Aaron to Miriam's punishment show that their regard of her was high.
First Aaron and then Moses pleaded for her healing. And the people
camped and waited until they were able to go on with her after her
temporary exile for cleansing. This loyalty to Miriam is seen again in
the record of her death in Numbers 20. Her death and burial are
witnessed by the whole congregation - and her burial site marked an
important shrine for the wilderness people. Her death brings her back
into equality with her brothers. Both also die before reaching the
promised land, and their deaths mark the three last stopping points in
the wilderness journey. It seems that the very mention of the death and
burial of Miriam highlight her significance as a leader in the
wilderness community.
And this is reiterated when her name
pops up again in later traditions. The 8th century prophet
Micah places Miriam firmly in the prophetic tradition again when he
refers to the leaders of the Exodus group as Moses, Aaron and Miriam.
They were all remembered and respected as leaders on the wilderness
march, representing God's chosen mediators. And then she is mentioned
again in a genealogical list in Chronicles outlining the descendents of
Levi. In this list, compiled centuries after the historical Miriam was
alive, she is the only woman named amidst something like 84 other names.
Here it is the priestly tradition reclaiming her as a member of the
Levites, the priestly line of Israel. This mention alone attests to her
memory or reputation as a leader amongst the people of God.
Miriam's
Legacy down through the ages
By just looking briefly at the
tradition built up around Miriam we can see that we have much to learn
from this mediator of God's word.
Following her
example women and men throughout Scripture and down through the ages
have celebrated the goodness of God in song and music. Our own singing
group this morning echoed her original song shared by the women of the
Exodus - "I sing praises to your name O Lord" (if only
they'd had tambourines and dancing too!)
Good leaders are
remembered because they loved and cared for their people. We have to
really read between the lines here because the only sustained
narrative about Miriam casts her in a negative light. But if we take
the logical step of recognising Miriam in the unnamed sister of the
infant Moses, we have an image there of commitment, concern and
creative solving of problems. One of the little thoughts I shared with
the Crafty Fingers group recently was to remind them that "people
will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people
will never forget how you made them feel." Miriam must have been
someone who made her people feel good, because her name lived on in
their memory as a great leader.
And it doesn't
take much imagination to realise that her leadership was one of
setting an example: we've already seen how she led out the women in
dance and song and praise. But her main influence would have been in
the wilderness wanderings. Remember how that time in the wilderness
was a trying time for the people of God? Miriam must have been seen as
one who trusted God in difficult circumstances; she must have been a
respected leader who was remembered and commemorated and linked
significantly with their journey to the promised land.
And as we peek into the New
Testament we can see that her legacy continued to receive echoes down
through the ages. The Greek form of the Hebrew name Miriam is
"Mary" - and we know what a significant name that is in New
Testament times. A couple of weeks ago we read Mary's song of
celebration in the first chapter of Luke - a song of praise for God's
goodness in the face of adversity which recalls Miriam's song of the
sea: "he has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the
proud, he has brought down the powerful and lifted up the lowly."
And we know both from biblical stories and other contemporary accounts
of the faith and leadership of that Mary and another, Mary Magdalene,
amongst the early church community. Mary of Bethany was another New
Testament woman whose example of faith and devotion has lived on and
been remembered in the tradition.
How tragic if all we knew about
Miriam the sister of Moses and Aaron was that she was punished
temporarily for "a sin so foolishly committed" to quote Aaron.
So much to have missed in this woman who was clearly "mediator,
percussionist, lyricist, vocalist, prophet, leader and theologian."
It seems to be human nature to remember the failings of leaders at the
expense of their contribution. It is good to be reminded by the words
from Philippians to focus on that which is true, honourable, pure,
commendable, on that which is worthy of praise. And we should be
reminded to give thanks to God whose word was spoken and lived out and
mediated by men and women of faith so that we too might be shown God in
our age and every age. Amen.
Rev. Jeanette Mathews
13/10/2002
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