THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN BELONGS TO SUCH AS THESE….
 By Norma Wegner
 Christian Community Church

But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”   Matthew 19:13 NASB

God has used many children and young people (we have looked at several) to accomplish His plan for His creation. One of the most well-known of these youngsters is Moses and the story of his ride in a basket and the love of a sister.
 
Moses was born into a Hebrew home, to a Levite family, at a time of unrest when it was bad to be born a boy. Moses had a brother named Aaron and a sister named Miriam.

The Hebrews had lived in Egypt for four centuries in relative peace until the Pharaohic dynasty changed. The new Pharaoh did not know the story of Joseph (our last youngster) and what he had done for Egypt. He saw a huge group of non-Egyptians living within his boundaries and feared they would decide to overthrow his government. To prevent this and to take advantage of the number of laborers he had at hand, Pharaoh made slaves of the Hebrews. Since there were so many male children being born, he decreed that all male infants were to be slaughtered at birth.
 
The midwives feared God and did not want to kill the baby boys, so they let them live and told Pharaoh that the Hebrew women were very sturdy and had their babies before the midwives could arrive. Such was the case with Moses. Jochebed, his mother, was able to hide the baby Moses for a while, but he soon became too big and it became risky to keep him at home.  She made a waterproof basket for him, placed Moses in it and put it among the bulrushes on the bank of the Nile River to hide him.
 
It was Moses’ sister, Miriam, who kept watch over Moses in the basket. This was no easy task. The Nile has some pretty dangerous animals living in and around it, not the least of these was the crocodile. These “guys” are mean and sneaky. Someone wading in the water might never know what attacked him/her. So there was good reason for Miriam’s concern about her brother in the basket.
 
The Nile flows into the Mediterranean Sea and Miriam wanted to be sure the basket did not get that far.  The basket had to pass by Pharaoh’s residence first and was floating there while Pharaoh’s daughter was down at the Nile bathing with her attendants.  She saw the basket, she opened it and heard the baby crying.  She felt sorry for the baby Moses and kept him to raise as her son.  God was in control and used Miriam to save her brother by protecting the basket and guide it to Pharaoh’s daughter.

We also know that Miriam was there when Pharaoh’s daughter needed a nursemaid for the baby. How providential it was that she was able to take the baby back to her own mother to feed and raise him for a short time. Because Miriam was faithful to obey her mother and watch her brother, God was able to use Moses to rescue His people so long ago. Because of Miriam’s faithfulness, Moses grew up in his own home for the first three years or so of his life where he was first influenced by his Hebrew heritage.

Miriam is often remembered for her time of temptation in the wilderness and the punishment she received for it. We should also remember her for her faith as she kept her baby brother safe and protected. To Miriam belongs the kingdom. Join me next time when we encounter a young man known for being a man after God’s heart.