Miriam

Exodus 2:1–10; 15:1–21                                                                                               Next Reading

The Birth of Moses

            About this time, a man and woman from the tribe of Levi got married. The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that he was a special baby and kept him hidden for three months. But when she could no longer hide him, she got a basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River. The baby’s sister then stood at a distance, watching to see what would happen to him.

            Soon Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the river, and her attendants walked along the riverbank. When the princess saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it for her. When the princess opened it, she saw the baby. The little boy was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This must be one of the Hebrew children,” she said.

            Then the baby’s sister approached the princess. “Should I go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” she asked.

            “Yes, do!” the princess replied. So the girl went and called the baby’s mother.

            “Take this baby and nurse him for me,” the princess told the baby’s mother.

            “I will pay you for your help.” So the woman took her baby home and nursed him.

            Later, when the boy was older, his mother brought him back to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted            him as her own son. The princess named him Moses, for she explained, “I lifted him out of the water.”

A Song of Deliverance

Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD:

            “I will sing to the LORD,

             for he has triumphed gloriously;

             he has hurled both horse and rider

             into the sea.

             The LORD is my strength and my song;

             he has given me victory.

             This is my God, and I will praise him—

             my father’s God, and I will exalt him!

             The LORD is a warrior;

             Yahweh is his name!

             Pharaoh’s chariots and army

             he has hurled into the sea.

             The finest of Pharaoh’s officers

             are drowned in the Red Sea.

             The deep waters gushed over them;

             they sank to the bottom like a stone.

            “Your right hand, O LORD,

            is glorious in power.

             Your right hand, O LORD,

             smashes the enemy.

             In the greatness of your majesty,

             you overthrow those who rise against you.

             You unleash your blazing fury;

             it consumes them like straw.

             At the blast of your breath,

             the waters piled up!

             The surging waters stood straight like a wall;

             in the heart of the sea the deep waters became hard.

            “The enemy boasted, ‘I will chase them

             and catch up with them.

             I will plunder them

             and consume them.

             I will flash my sword;

             my powerful hand will destroy them.’

             But you blew with your breath,

            and the sea covered them.

            They sank like lead

             in the mighty waters.

            “Who is like you among the gods, O LORD—

             glorious in holiness,

             awesome in splendor,

             performing great wonders?

             You raised your right hand,

             and the earth swallowed our enemies.

           

            “With your unfailing love you lead    

             the people you have redeemed.

             In your might, you guide them

             to your sacred home.

             The peoples hear and tremble;

             anguish grips those who live in Philistia.

             The leaders of Edom are terrified;

             the nobles of Moab tremble.

             All who live in Canaan melt away;

             terror and dread fall upon them.

             The power of your arm

             makes them lifeless as stone

             until your people pass by, O LORD,

             until the people you purchased pass by.

             You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain—

             the place, O LORD, reserved for your own dwelling,

             the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established.

             The LORD will reign forever and ever!”

          When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and charioteers rushed into the sea, the LORD brought the water crashing down on them. But the people of Israel had walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground!

            Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine and led all the women as they played their tambourines and danced. And Miriam sang this song:

            “Sing to the LORD,

             for he has triumphed gloriously;

             he has hurled both horse and rider

             into the sea.” (NLT)

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This reading is taken from 30 Scripture Readings on Great Women from the Bible. The complete book can be found here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003ZK5H96/ref=nosim?tag=hudsonbcom-20&linkCode=sb1&camp=212353&creative=380549

HOLY BIBLE, NEW LIVING TRANSLATION copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.