Bible in a Year - Women’s Thematic Reading Plan | Day 24 

JANUARY 24 / Day 24

Miriam: Watching Over Her Brother 

📖  Exodus 2:1-10 

A Minute of Grace

Exodus Chapter 2 takes place during a dark season of oppression for the Israelites. Pharaoh had commanded that every Hebrew son be cast into the river. In this frightening context, a woman from the house of Levi gave birth to a beautiful child and hid him for three months. When she could no longer hide him, she prepared a basket, coated it with slime and pitch, placed the baby inside, and set it among the reeds by the river’s edge.

Then the child’s sister stood at a distance, watching to know what would happen to him. The passage does not name her here, but from later Scripture we know she was Miriam. Though she was young, she took on the role of a watcher in one of her family’s most dangerous moments.

Miriam’s watchfulness was not dramatic, but it was deeply important. She did not panic and run away. She did not rush forward carelessly and ruin the moment. She stood at a distance, watched carefully, and waited. When Pharaoh’s daughter found the child and had compassion on him, Miriam stepped forward and wisely asked, “Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?”

Her words were simple, but full of wisdom. She did not reveal everything. She did not directly announce the identity of the child’s mother. Yet through her question, Moses was brought back into the care of his own mother. God used a mother’s faith, Miriam’s watchfulness, and Pharaoh’s daughter’s compassion to preserve Moses’ life at the edge of death.

Today’s theme, “Miriam: Watching Over Her Brother,” reminds us that even the young can take part in God’s protection. A child’s watchful heart, one courageous sentence, and one wise response can become instruments in God’s hand to protect life, reconnect a family, and carry forward His plan.

Whispers for the Heart

1 Miriam was still young, yet she stood at a distance and watched over her brother in a moment of danger. Have you ever felt too young, too ordinary, too inexperienced, or too powerless to be used by God? How does today’s passage remind you that God values even a small life that is willing to watch faithfully?

2 Miriam did not do what was beyond her ability, but she faithfully did what was before her: she watched, waited, and spoke. Is there someone near you who needs your watchful care right now? Perhaps a family member, a child, a younger sibling, a friend, a new believer, or someone weak and vulnerable. What is one small act of care you can offer?

3 Miriam spoke with courage at the right moment, and her words helped Moses return to his mother’s care. Are there times when fear, nervousness, or the thought that your voice does not matter keeps you silent? Is God training you to speak with wisdom and courage at the right time?

As you read Exodus 2:1-10 today, do not only notice the rescue of Moses. Also pay attention to the sister standing at a distance. Her quiet figure reminds us that God’s protection often unfolds through many small, faithful, watchful people.

Take a quiet breath before you begin. Bring before the Lord your concerns for your family, children, the next generation, the weak, and lives that need protection. Let His Word meet you there.

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Exodus 2:1-10 (KJV) 

2 And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.

2 And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.

3 And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink.

4 And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.

5 And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it.

6 And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children.

7 Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?

8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother.

9 And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the women took the child, and nursed it.

10 And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.

💡 Closing Thought · Small Courage in Watchful Love 

After reading Exodus 2:1-10, we see that Miriam was only a sister standing at a distance, yet she was not an unimportant bystander. Her eyes were watching. Her heart was concerned. Her feet did not leave. Her mouth opened with courage at the right moment. God used the watchfulness of this young girl as part of His plan to protect Moses’ life.

As we close this page and return to our own lives, perhaps you feel that what you can do is very small. You cannot solve every problem, and you cannot change every situation. But remember this: God often uses one faithful watcher to protect a life, reconnect a family, and open a way.

May today’s Scripture remind you not to despise your place, and not to despise the young, the small, or the quietly watchful. One act of care, one moment of attention, one prayer, one courageous word—any of these may become an expression of God’s protecting love. May you also stand faithfully in your place today, with tenderness, wisdom, and courage, watching over those God has entrusted to you.

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