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here are many females in the Bible who were leaders and, through their actions, changed the destinies of nations. In Exodus 1 and 2, we read about one of these girls, Miriam. She was an Israelite under the rule of the newly-installed Pharaoh of Egypt, who had decided the enslaved Israelite nation must be broken. He ordered forced physical labour for all to curb the Israelites’ growing numbers, but the pregnant women persisted in delivering healthy babies under oppressive conditions. So, Pharaoh ordered the slaughter of all Israelite boys. After all, in his experience, only boys grow up to deliver empires— little girls were of little consequence to this powerhungry killer. Two Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, were instructed to kill the boys they delivered. ‘The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live’ (Exodus 1:17). Their courageous disobedience meant that the boys were delivered twice over! Miriam’s mother Jochebed secretly gave birth to a son. When they couldn’t hide him any longer, this clever, heartbroken mother placed her tiny baby in an ark of papyrus and tar. Exodus 2:4 tells us, ‘His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him’. Hebrew Bible scholar, Jopie Siebert-Hommes, describes how Miriam’s stance was one of faithful expectation, careful watching and bold audacity. What a risk to be seen near the contraband-filled basket holding a tiny Hebrew boy. Bithiah, the daughter of Pharaoh, went to
bathe in the same river in which her father had commanded the Hebrew boys be drowned. She spied the tiny boat, opened it to see the little boy, ‘And she had pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children”’ (Exodus 2:6, NASB). Instead of adhering to her father’s decree, Bithiah rescued the child. And the little sister waiting in the reeds saw her opportunity to deliver her brother to safety. ‘“Shall I go and call a woman for you who is nursing from the Hebrew women, so that she may nurse the child for you?” Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go ahead.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother’ (vs 7, 8). Miriam showed wild courage in emerging from cover and suggesting this bold solution to the Egyptian royal. She served as God’s hand in delivering her brother back to his family and into his future. When Miriam grew up, God delivered her family a second time through water, when he parted the Red Sea. Author, Jennifer Lewis, says in her article ‘Girl Power Gone Right’, in the Journal of Youth and Theology: ‘Miriam’s emergence in the text not as an independent actor, but as a member of a community, testifies to the collaborative nature of leadership development and compels Christian communities today to consider their role in growing girls into strong, confident women who believe that their voices are valued and their contributions esteemed’. The courageous, collaborative acts of all the women and girls in this story opened the way for Israel to be saved, and changed the destiny of a nation. BY ROSY KEANE 23 JANUARY 2021 WarCry 3
