Numbers 20:1 Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month… I. DEATH TERMINATES THE MOST PROTRACTED LIFE. Miriam must have been about 130 years old when she died. II. DEATH TERMINATES THE MOST EVENTFUL LIFE. 1. The girl watching over the life of her infant brother (Exodus 3:4-8). 2. The experienced woman sharing in the interest and action of the stirring events which led to the great emancipation from Egypt. 3. The prophetess leading the exultant songs and dances of a triumphant people (Exodus 15:20, 21). 4. The envious woman aspiring after equality with, and speaking against her greater brother (Numbers 12:1, 2). 5. The guilty woman smitten with leprosy because of the sin (Numbers 12:9, 10). 6. The leprous woman healed in answer to the prayer of the brother whom she had spoken against (Numbers 12:13-15). The most stirring and eventful life is closed by death, as well as the quiet and monotonous one. III. DEATH TERMINATES THE MOST DISTINGUISHED LIFE. 1. Miriam was distinguished by her gifts. Prophetic gifts arc ascribed to her. "Miriam, the prophetess," is her acknowledged title (Exodus 15:20). 2. Miriam was distinguished by her position. IV. DEATH, BY REASON OF SIN, SOMETIMES TERMINATES LIFE EARLIER THAN IT OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE DONE. V. DEATH SOMETIMES TERMINATES LIFE WITH SUGGESTIONS OF A LIFE BEYOND. It was so in the case of Miriam. Can we think that the gifts with which she was so richly endowed, and the treasures of experience which in her long and eventful life she had gathered, were all lost at death? This would be in utter opposition to the analogy of the Divine arrangements in the universe. (W. Jones.) Parallel Verses KJV: Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there. |
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