Miriam's Rebellion

00:00:00 Speaker 1: Previously on the chosen people. 00:00:03 Speaker 2: How can we trust that you won't run again. When you killed that Egyptian all those years ago, Pharaoh's grip became harder. 00:00:12 Speaker 3: I have been met by one who alters the wind's course. I have seen his wonders before my eyes. I know there's nowhere I can run to where he will not find me. It is love and fear that binds me to you and to these people. 00:00:34 Speaker 2: Welcome home, brother, I will follow you. It's these foreigners that travel with us, the Kushites, med Jays, Libyans, Asiatics, whoever they are, the heathens that are leading our people astray. They complain about the lack of variety and the blendness of our food, disregarding our meager resources. 00:00:56 Speaker 4: And now you will have people clamoring to kill our livestock for meat. 00:01:00 Speaker 2: I blame the rabble of foreigners for bringing this upon us. They've tempted our good people into sin. 00:01:07 Speaker 5: Enough enough enough of this blame game. Throwing insults around isn't going to correct the flimsy faith of our people. They don't need an excuse for their lack of faith. Why have you brought such trouble on me? You must be angry with me. Why else would you burden me with all these people? Am I their mother? Did I carry them in my womb? 00:01:34 Speaker 3: No? 00:01:34 Speaker 5: Then, wordless I endure their infantile cries day and night. 00:01:40 Speaker 2: Ah, What am I going to do? 00:01:44 Speaker 5: Where can I get meet to give all these people? I can't carry all these people by myself. They're too much for me. If you are going to treat me like this, just kill me right now. If I found favor with you, and don't let me see my misery any. 00:02:01 Speaker 6: Bring me seventy elders from Israel. Take them to the tent of meeting and have them stand there with you. I will take some of the spirit who is on you and put the spirit on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so you do not have to bear it alone. 00:02:24 Speaker 7: When even the righteous are tempted by enevy, the wilderness becomes a battle ground of the soul. Shallo my friends from here in the Holy Land. I'm ya el Extein with International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Welcome to the Chosen People. The wilderness has a way of bringing things to the surface, doesn't it. It's a place of trial where the human heart is tested and the crucible of sand, sky and survival. And here we find our ancestors, wandering, wading, and ready to break. But it's not the trials of hunger or thirst that will break them this time. It's something deeper, something closer to home. 00:03:05 Speaker 1: Jealousy. 00:03:07 Speaker 7: Miriam and Aaron, two pillars of leadership, rise up against their brother Moses, not in an open rebellion of armies or swords, but in a whispered defiance. Why would those closest to Moses his own flesh and blood turn against him? What is it about authority that causes even the faithful to question? What is it about our human nature that turns siblings in trivals? This is where we find ourselves, my friends, standing at the edge of rebellion, where the hearts, hidden motives are about to be laid bare before God himself. 00:03:47 Speaker 1: The wind scoured the wilderness, carrying with it the dry, biting scent of dust and the faint traces of decay that still lingered from the quailed plague. Miriam stood at the camp's edge, her figure stooped but proud, her face weathered by time and sorrow. Seven days of isolation had etched deeper lines into her features, but it was her heart that bore the heaviest scars. The deaths of her son Hor and her grandson Yuri haunted her. Hor had fallen amid the chaos of the Golden Calf Rebellion, his blood spilled by the mob's blind fury. Yuri had been claimed by greed, choking in the very quail meat that had rained from the heavens. A bitter irony, Miriam could neither forgive nor forget. Her pain vested into anger, and her anger found a target, the foreigners, among them the so called mixed multitude. It was their influence, she told herself, that had corrupted the Israelites. From her point of view, there presence had brought the wrath of the Lord. They were a shadow over the Chosen People, diluting their mission and sowing weakness. And the one who permitted them to stay, the man who held the staff of power, was her brother Moses. As the sun dipped behind the jagged hills, casting the land in deep purples and golds, Miriam prepared for the final act of her purification. Her steps were steady as she joined the line of the young teen, those who had buried their dead in the plague's wake. They awaited the priests at the CAB's border, where ashwater would cleanse them of their impurity. Miriam's family accompanied her Bezamel, her great grandson, the tabernacle's gifted architect, and her widowed granddaughter in all. Yet even with their presence, she felt the chill of isolation, a wall of anger and grief separating her from them. At the border, Eliza and Ihamol, Aaron's sons stood solemnly with the purification vessels deep and deliberate. Eliza's voice carried over the crowd's murmurs. Oh, dear aunt Miriam, we grieve with you. 00:06:16 Speaker 4: Come forward, and you'll be made clean. 00:06:19 Speaker 1: Miriam stepped forward, holding her head high, though the indignity of her place in line burned in her chest. Eliza sprinkled the ash water over her, droplets running like tears down her cheeks. She clenched her jaw against the chill, refusing to flinch. Eliza off with a respectful nod before moving on to Besolo. 00:06:42 Speaker 6: And the others. 00:06:43 Speaker 1: As the ritual progressed, Miriam's mind churned. Moses and Aaron were exempt from this the law shielded them, keeping them apart from death and mourning, but also from the people they claimed to serve. She had stood alongside them at the ri at Sea, raising her voice in songs of triumph, and yet now her brothers acted like she was a relic, a symbol of honor with no real influence. That sting of rejection fanned her anger into resolve. She would confront them later. As the camp settled into the stillness of evening, Miriam approached the central tents, where power resided. She stopped short when she saw Eldad and Medad, two of the seventy elders appointed to aid Moses. Their faces lit up with reverence as they greeted her. Miriam managed a curt smile. 00:07:38 Speaker 2: Your condolences are noted, But tell me what business brings you here. Your tribes are assigned to the west, are they not. 00:07:47 Speaker 1: From behind a cluster of tents, Ho Shia emerged, his movements quick and purposeful. His gaze flickered nervously to Miriam as he approached. 00:07:57 Speaker 6: My lords, the elders are gathering in Lord Moses' tent. Oh guide you. 00:08:02 Speaker 1: The elders departed with ho Sheer, leaving Miriam to stew in her isolation, her anger simmered. The power her brothers wielded once shared with her, now felt distant and unreachable. She clenched her fists and strode toward Moses's tent. Inside the tent, Moses and Aaron sat in quiet discussion. Miriam entered without preamble, her presence as sharp as a blade. 00:08:30 Speaker 2: Brother, I require a word with you, Miriam. 00:08:33 Speaker 8: We were just about to begin deliberations about moving forward. 00:08:36 Speaker 3: A word, Moses, Ah, speak your mind, sister? 00:08:41 Speaker 2: What has changed? You used to seek my counsel? Include me in decisions? Do I not prophesy? Do I not advise? Was it not my hand that God used to protect you and lead you back to our people? Have I not stood faithfully by you since your return? 00:09:00 Speaker 9: Yet? 00:09:00 Speaker 2: Now you appoint new elders and leave me out. You call the spirit of God upon these men who are not your kin? What makes them so deserving? You're so absorbed in your duties that you don't even think of your family anymore. Have you become so holy that you're no longer one of us? Is that why you've abandoned me? 00:09:27 Speaker 6: Miriam? 00:09:28 Speaker 4: No, what you have to understand is. 00:09:31 Speaker 2: No what I see is you both edging me out. He's edged. Don't you too erin? Or have you not noticed? The High Priest cannot even bury his own children. He cannot grieve as a father should. 00:09:45 Speaker 8: Miriam and you, we've both agreed. 00:09:49 Speaker 2: Does the Lord only speak through you? You would rule over us like a pharaoh. You would appoint elders and captains, and cast your own family aside, me to the outskirts and Aaron to the tabernacle. You surround yourself with people you can control. Are you so intimidated that we too might have something to say? That we too maybe merited leaders. 00:10:19 Speaker 1: Miriam was only picking up speed, the flames of her rage only kicking off as she drew breath. The shock on her brother's faces at her words did not even face her as she plowed forward, unleashing her rage at last. 00:10:33 Speaker 2: Hah, and you are not so perfect, brother. Our people are dying, and yet you stand by your precious foreigners. Your years living in the house of our enemies undermine your loyalty to us. Your love for your cushite wife and her family has elevated their status among us. Did not the Lord command us not to make treaties? With foreigners, saying they will become a snare among us. And yet you welcome your wife's father and invite his people to join us, and you do not send those who came with us from Egypt away. 00:11:15 Speaker 8: You know that my in laws hail from Miliana. Their bloodline can be traced back to Abraham himself. 00:11:22 Speaker 2: Midianite Cushite. It makes no difference. Would you marry a Cushite woman next? There are plenty of them here, but they are not the chosen people. They did not come through the promised son Isaac. 00:11:37 Speaker 1: She knew that her words had stung Moses. Zippora was a woman. She socialized with a new world. She cared for her sons as well. But Miriam could no longer ignore the troubles and missteps of the people. She needed someone to blame. They had risked too much and had come so far. 00:11:56 Speaker 9: In her grief, hatred had formed, and in her hatred a villain emerged the others, anyone who was not like them, anyone who would block them. 00:12:07 Speaker 1: From taking the land. Though he had been promised, Moses took a steadying breath when she could tell he was trying to get a grip on his anger. It was always there, just beneath the surface. He could hide it from most, perhaps even from himself, as he had grown wisened and burdened by responsibility. But she saw him plain Moses hands were shaking in anger. His sister's words cut him to the core. Setting aside her callous words about his wife, the nagging voice from deep within himself that told him he didn't belong, that he didn't belong anywhere was starting to awaken. It shifted and coiled inside of him, readying to rise and consume him. He knew Miriam was allowing her grief to overrun her. This was not Miriam, This was not the clever, reasonable, wise woman he had come to know. He clung to that truth as the lies of his own inner demons threatened to take over. He would have to try and appeal to that reason. 00:13:10 Speaker 8: You're twisting the words of the Lord to suit your own prejudice. You know, those who came with us were escaping the oppressors of Egypt, the same as us. You would have us become the oppressors in your bigotry. The Lord warns us from being swayed or taken with the pagan customs of the peoples we encounter here in the desert. The ones who come with us or treat us well, can benefit from the blessing of the Lord. You know this, The blessing of the Lord is not a resource to hoard. Your anger is making you legalistic. 00:13:45 Speaker 2: And that is why you find me unfit to rule at your side. 00:13:50 Speaker 1: Moses's heart lurched. They had come to it at last. Her hurt was not so different from his own. The wounds of isolation and rejection cut deep. The brokenness in her voice softened his heart, and the raging fires dwindled. He was about to comfort her when he felt the presence of the Lord in his mind, stir warning him not to let down his guard. Moses looked to his brother Aaron, who had despondently observed this exchange. He had been upholding his duties and his faith, but he seemed far away. Moses knew he was still grieving as well. They had all suffered so much loss in these short years since Egypt. 00:14:35 Speaker 8: And you, brother, do you share the same belief that I've fallen short as your leader. 00:14:43 Speaker 1: Miriam's head whipped to Aaron, and she pinned him with a meaningful stare. Moses's heart lurched again. They had spoken of this before. Between the two of them, there was an unmistakable understanding between them. Moses' bride stung with the feeling of being cut out again. 00:15:02 Speaker 4: Brother, No one will deny that you're a prophet, but Miriam speaks the truth. You are not the only one among us. The Lord speaks through. We think your pride has gotten the best of you. 00:15:15 Speaker 1: Moses was stunned his pride when they both so clearly pined for power. They were both unsatisfied with the rolls they had been given. Moses had never wanted this, he didn't choose it. It had forged a humility in him that he was constantly reckoning with at every turn. The losses, the failures, the missteps. The power of the Lord stood above it all, and somehow Moses was still there, still asked to lead. Pride had nothing to do with it, with all that he had to endure. Perhaps he was the most humble man on the face of the earth, for his fears and his ego would have made him give up long ago. It was only through his humility that he could maintain the faithfulness to keep to his mission. But suddenly he felt the anger of the Lord mounting. He had felt this before. It shook him out of his own in a turmoil. His stomach dropped out. He knew where this was headed, but he could not deny the promptings of the Lord. 00:16:21 Speaker 8: We are being summoned to stand. 00:16:23 Speaker 6: Before the Lord. 00:16:25 Speaker 1: Aaron's knees trembled as he stood before the Lord, the towering d of Cowd swirling above them at the tenth entrance. He knew his siblings would notice his fear. Speaking aloud the doubts he and Miriam shared about Moses now felt like a grave error. Yet, seeing Miriam's desperation, he couldn't falter in supporting her, and deep down he couldn't deny the doubt that had been growing in his heart for a long time. For who had suffered more than Aaron. He had sacrificed his first borns and relinquished leadership to Moses. Perhaps that had been the true mistake, But standing now before their Lord, he had a sinking feeling that it had been a bigger mistake to say it aloud. 00:17:12 Speaker 6: Listen to what I say. If there is a prophet among you from the Lord, I make myself known to him in a vision. I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses. He is the most faithful in all my household. I speak with him directly, openly, not in riddles. He alone sees my very form. 00:17:44 Speaker 1: Aaron could not stop trembling. Drawing breath was difficult, as the words of the Lord pomed over them in a lightning building within the cloud punctuated every word. 00:17:55 Speaker 6: Why were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses and the jealousy and resentment you harbor in your hearts towards him. You must have known I would not let it stand. 00:18:09 Speaker 1: Aaron's knees finally gave out, and he fell. He sobbed as his heart broke, and he relented. In his heart, he begged for forgiveness of his own pride and scheming. 00:18:21 Speaker 4: Please, Lord, you've forgiven me before, Please do so again. I know I don't deserve it, but please forgive me now. 00:18:31 Speaker 1: Aaron fell face down before the war weeping. Miriam stood beside him, tears streaming silently, though defiance still burned in her eyes. Suddenly the cloud withdrew and her scream pierced the air. Aaron flinched feeling she had been struck down like his son's. But as Moses rushed to her, he gasped in horror. Miriam's skin had turned white and diseased, flaking and peeling like snow. From where Aaron knelt, he watched as the sows spread rapidly, the skin fluttering away like dust. Her cries shifted from shock to the sharp yelps of pain as numbness crept through her limbs. Aaron remained frozen, paralyzed by fear, unable to help. Moses, however, dropped to his knees, facing the most holy place and pleaded desperately for her healing. 00:19:27 Speaker 5: Ugh no, no, my God, Please please, please don't hold against us, this said, We've so foolishly committed. 00:19:35 Speaker 2: Please heal her. 00:19:37 Speaker 1: Miriam's cries became whimpers of despair. Aaron could barely stand to look at her in her agony. For a moment, there was nothing but Miriam's broken cries and the intensity of Moses pleased hanging in the air between them and the holy veil of the tabernacle. The Lord finally responded, and his anger seemed diminished. 00:20:00 Speaker 6: Let her be confined outside the camp for seven days, after that she may be brought back in relief. 00:20:10 Speaker 1: Flooded through both brothers, Miriam cried out as well, knowing she had been spared by her brother's intervention. Aaron let out a shuddering breath, eternally grateful he did not have to watch another execution in the holy place. Moses gently approached Aaron and placed his hand on his shoulder. 00:20:29 Speaker 8: Needs a purifire, so her diseased skin can in here, Oh, your son, and he his art to do it, I will help him. 00:20:40 Speaker 1: With trembling hands, Aaron called for Elieza to perform the ritual for cleansing skin diseases. As high priest, Aaron couldn't risk becoming ritually and pure, even for his sister. He stood a few paces back, watching helplessly as Miriam knelt on the ground. Two birds were brought forward like the goats on Atonement day, one for sacrifice and the other to be set free. Miriam, defeated and contrite, accepted her penance, weeping out apologies as they helped cleanse her and shave her hair according to custom. Moses and Aaron then sent her into the wilderness for the seven days of purification. Moses declared that the camp would not move until Miriam was fully restored and clean. 00:21:35 Speaker 7: This strange Bible story is a bit unsettling, isn't it. It's unsettling to see Miriam and Aaron pillars of faith fall into jealousy. The ones who stood alongside Moses, who saw the miracles, who felt God's presence, even they whispered rebellion. And I find this unsettling story. 00:21:52 Speaker 2: A bit hard to understand. 00:21:54 Speaker 7: When considering this story, many of the Jewish ages wonder why Miriam was punished for speaking ill of her brother Moses, since her intent was constructive. The sage is suggest that the problem is what we call in Hebrew less shon harah negative speech. Don't we all do that sometimes, convince ourselves that something negative we say is for constructive reasons, and therefore it's okay. How do we know if that negative speech is actually doing good? It's very hard. We can't. We might think it's productive, but it's not. And so it's better to avoid any negative speech about others, since, even if we don't mean to, we might be harming them. The sages note that going all the way back to the Garden of Eden, the very first incident of slander in the world was spoken by the serpent, who is speaking against God himself. 00:22:47 Speaker 2: So I think we should all. 00:22:48 Speaker 7: Learn from this Bible story and work to avoid less shon haarrah negative speech, and to stop speaking about one another altogether unless it's something really nice. Now, let's talk about Miriam. Miriam, the same woman who had been with Moses through everything, through the plagues and the parting of the sea. This same Miriam let a moment of pride and jealousy take over her. She spoke out against her own brother, and for that she was struck with leprosy and cast out of the camp for seven days, seven days of silence. But here's the part that gets me. The entire nation, hundreds of thousands of Israelites paused, They didn't move on, They waited for her, And we have this beautiful moment of kindness of grace. And why did the chosen people wait for Miriam? Well, because decades earlier, Miriam had stood by the Nile watching over baby Moses, making sure that he was safe in that basket. Now hundreds of thousands of people showed the same compassion, waiting for her healing and also waiting there it's full circle. We have Miriam's brother, Moses, Moses, the man described in numbers as more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth, the same Moses who had every right to be offended, to hold a grudge, but instead he prayed with all of his heart for his sister. He didn't seek revenge or punishment. He sought her healing. And this is the essence of leadership, humility. It reminds me of Mayaba, my father a by reel Ekstein of Blessed Memory. He once told me that real leadership is not about taking the spotlight. It's about stepping aside so that others can shine, just like Moses did. True leaders lift others up, even when they've been hurt. How often do we show the same compassion that we've seen from Moses, from Miriam and from the Chosen people. Pride is a strange thing, isn't it. It sneaks in, almost unnoticed, even in the most well meaning hearts. Miriam wasn't a stranger to her brother's calling. She was his sister, his partner in the journey. She had watched over Moses as a baby, stood with him through the trials of Egypt, And yet in this moment she questions his authority. Why because pride is always there lurking, It whispers. 00:25:29 Speaker 2: Why not me? 00:25:29 Speaker 8: Why not? 00:25:30 Speaker 2: Now? 00:25:30 Speaker 7: Haven't I done enough? This is the same struggle that we've seen time and time again throughout this journey of the Chosen People, from the garden of Eden to the wilderness. Over and over again, our ancestors faced the challenge of pride, and the results were never good. So what does this mean for us? Miriam was struck with leprosy as a result of her pride. She was sent outside of her camp, isolated quarantine from her people. But the Israelites, her family, her community, they didn't leave her behind. They waited for seven days. They waited and prayed until Miriam was healed. Think about that for a moment. 00:26:15 Speaker 2: The entire nation. 00:26:16 Speaker 7: Was ready to move forward, but they paused why because of something Miriam did eighty years earlier. She waited by the Nile for baby Moses, ensuring his safety. And now finally the kindness that she had shown came back to her in her time of need. This is a deep truth in our faith. Acts of compassion have ripples, sometimes unseen. What we sow in kindness we reap in times of struggle. Just as the Israelites waited for Miriam, God waits for us, his chosen people, patiently and with grace. He waits for our healing and our restoration. In our own life, we face moments where pride isolates us, where we need to be humbled, even quarantine from the places that we've been. But God never abandons us. There is always the chance for tshuva, for returning, for rectification, for turning back, for healing. And just as Miriam experience grace from her people, we are called to extend that grace to others. When someone falls, when pride or sin takes them away from our community, do we pause and wait for their healing? Do we offer the same patience and compassion that we've seen today? Just as God waited for Miriam, he waits for us, ready to heal, ready to restore, ready to bring us back. Let us live in that truth and extend that same grace to others. 00:27:50 Speaker 1: You can listen to the Chosen People with the Isle exstein ad free by downloading and subscribing to the pray dot Com app today. This prey do dot Comprada unction is only made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Gattina, Max Bard, Zach Shellabarger and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of the Chosen People with Yile Eckstein. Edited by Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold, Sylvia Zaradoc and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore. Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Bree Rosalie and Aaron Salvato. Special thanks to Bishop Paul Lanier, Robin van Ettin, kayleb Burrows, Jocelyn Fuller, and the team at International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. You can hear more Prey dot com productions on the Prey dot Com app, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. If you enjoyed The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, please rate and leave a review.