Miriam

Reading: Exodus 2.1-10

Do you know what a pessimist is? A pessimist always sees the worst possibilities in anything. There used to be a saying that "a pessimist is a person who wears a belt as well as his bracers." "Bracers" in those days, of course, were the straps that a man wore over his shoulders to hold his trousers up. But times changed and a pessimist became a person who wore bracers as well as his belt. Then bracers went out of fashion, trousers were redesigned to hold themselves up and the pessimist had to be content to wear his belt whether needed or not.

Perhaps you have heard the humorous poem about "Hanrahan". Whether it was drought or rain, he was sure "We'll all be rooned before the year is out."

What is the worst thing that can happen to you? Does being a Christian mean that life will be a bed of roses, that everything that happens will be good and positive all the time?

Listen to what Paul wrote to the Romans, "We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose" (8.28). He goes on to express his certainty, not that nothing awful will happen, but that "nothing can separate us from his love: neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers, neither the present nor the future, neither the world above nor the world below - there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord" (v.38-39).

That means that God can turn the worst things that happen to us to good if we will but love and trust him. If God can take the death of his Son on a cross and make it the means of forgiveness, salvation and new life, there is no limit to what he can do with your circumstance.

That doesn't mean we sit down doing nothing - waiting for God to "work it all for our good." God expects us to be involved. Trusting God means being available to him, ready to act. This may involve us in repentance and restitution. It may lead us to a new attitude to someone else. It may mean changing our situation so we will not be tempted to do wrong. We may have to speak out and act.

DARK TIMES FOR THE HEBREWS

For the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, it was the worst time in their history. They had come to live in Egypt during a famine when Joseph was ruler in that land. But now the old generation had died and there was a Pharaoh who did not know Joseph. There was no appreciation of all the good that had been done - only suspicion at the presence of this large unassimilated group of foreigners who were living in the land.

Now this ruler was trying to break them and assimilate them. They became slaves under harsh conditions. Then an order was given to eliminate all the boy babies - "Take every new-born Hebrew boy and throw him into the Nile, but let all the girls live" (Ex.1.22).

This meant, by the way, that he recognised that the fathers were leaders in their own homes, that faith in the Hebrew's God and the practice of the Hebrew culture were guaranteed by having Hebrew fathers. Eliminate all the boys and, in time, marry off all the girls to Egyptian husbands - then they will all be Egyptians.

Today's story takes us into the home of Amram and Jochebed. The mother hid their baby for three months, while Dad went out to work making bricks to build a big Egyptian store city. But guess what happened...

Twenty-five years ago, Alison went into a chemist shop in Toowoomba. Our young baby Ruth was making some protesting noises. Mr Petty the chemist looked down at her and said, "Wait till she gets another valve and a bigger speaker!" - in modern terms, a more powerful sound system!

That's right! The baby started crying louder. It was becoming impossible to hide his cries. So what did the mother do? She threw him into the River Nile. Well... carefully, of course! She took a basket made of reeds, covered it with tar to make it watertight, put the baby in it, placed it in the tall grass at the edge of the river and set big sister Miriam to watch what would happen to him.

He was found by the king's daughter whose reaction suggests that she was angry at her father's cruel order. She would adopt this baby as her own son - that would keep him safe.

Just then, Miriam pops up - "You'll need someone to feed him. Shall I get one of the Hebrew women for you?" So Jochebed got to look after her own baby boy in safety - and was paid for it! What did she call him? We don't know! We only know him by the name his adoptive mother gave him - Moses.

GOD'S PLAN OF ACTION

So, through this whole awful situation God was preparing to do something. This Moses would later lead the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt and back to the edge of the Promised Land. Was this slavery bit the only way God could move them from the comfort of Egypt back to the land where he meant them to be? As Stephen puts it in Acts, "Moses was taught all the wisdom of the Egyptians and became a great man in words and deeds" (7.22).

How valuable that would be when he had to try to negotiate with the hard-hearted Pharaoh! God could certainly use that experience - if Moses loved and trusted God! And he wouldn't learn that from the Egyptians!

So, where did he learn to love and trust God? "At his mother's knee and several other joints!"

THE UNWRITTEN STORY OF JOCHEBED

The unwritten story of Jochebed! Her baby given back to her - for a time! When he was old enough, she would have to take him back to the king's daughter. No doubt his new "mother" took an interest in him and visited from time to time. But Jochebed knew that the time would come when she would have to "give him up." So, undoubtedly, she used all the time she had to teach him who his own people really were, she told him the stories of creation, the stories of Abraham, Isaac. Jacob and his twelve sons up to their present time in Egypt. She taught him about the Lord - to trust, to love, to pray. She would have kept him a little longer and a little longer until at last she had no option but to give him over to Pharaoh's daughter.

She was a brave person, that mother! And today's story tells the bravery of big-sister Miriam, too! I would think she would have been hardly more than ten. She also had another brother, Aaron, who was younger than she was. She was the only one who could do it. Not the parents - they could be in trouble for not destroying their baby. Not Aaron - though spared, it may be that he was one whom Pharaoh had ordered killed at birth.

THE WATCHING TASK OF MIRIAM

No, the watching task was Miriam's. She would protect him by making sure his little boat stayed among the reeds. She would watch what happened when he was found, bringing home the report - good or bad. She was also there to help - available to the Lord to help turn this awful situation to good.

What if there had been no Jochebed? What if there had been no Miriam? What then?

"We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose." Are you prepared to love God, to trust God, to be available to him?

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