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Miriam Had to Die Because It Was
Sabbath |
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by Rud Persson |
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It was Nisan 27, 128 BC and it was
Sabbath. It was a beautiful spring morning in Jericho, Judea. Simon ben Judah, a moderately wealthy merchant, was sitting outside his fine house, talking to his two sons, three-year-old Joseph and four-year-old Judah. Simon was a pious man, anxious to teach his sons the ways of YHWH, their God. He was an elder in the local synagogue and was respected by the whole community. Miriam, his wife, was much younger than Simon, being 23 years old. She was inside the house, doing such little chores as were permitted on the Sabbath. Everyone was in a good mood. Suddenly there were strange noises and the ground began to shake. A severe earthquake hit the area, and before anyone really had sensed what was going on, houses all over collapsed and big holes in the ground appeared. Simon could hear his wife screaming inside the house. Well, a house it hardly was anymore. It had been reduced to rubble. He froze as he realized he could not come to Miriam´s rescue. It was Sabbath and no work whatsoever was allowed. It was YHWH´s holy Sabbath and no exception for emergencies was mentioned in all the holy texts about the Sabbath. It was not permitted even to make a fire or to cook. Clearing the rubble would take considerable work, so Simon´s hands were tied - he could not remove the debris to save the life of his wife. He had to be faithful to YHWH even in the face of emergency. He prayed and hoped that Miriam would live till sunset, when the Sabbath ended. Then he could act, but not before. Miriam screamed that she had terrible pain and that she could not breathe properly. Simon probed every possibility his mind could come up with. Should he try to reach some of the Gentiles who lived in a nearby village, people who did not keep YHWH´s sacred Sabbath and who therefore might clear the rubble? They unfortunately lived a little farther away than he in all good conscience could run on a Sabbath. Too bad. He had to be faithful to YHWH. Could he make some appliance that could do the necessary work for him? Well, making such an appliance involved work, and that was out of the question on YHWH´s sacred Sabbath. His wife´s suffering was almost unbearable. The two boys cried loudly, too. Simon shouted to her to pray to YHWH for help, and that he would be ready to act as soon as the Sabbath ended. He prayed to his God that he would keep his dear wife alive. He had great confidence in his prayer for he had stayed faithful and had not violated YHWH´s holy Sabbath. Miriam´s cries could be heard all over the place. One of the neighbors felt he had to clear the rubble, but Simon pleaded with him not to break the Sabbath. Simon was an esteemed elder, so the neighbor respectfully withdrew. A couple of hours passed. Then suddenly there was a banging noise. The rubble fell down even more. Miriam´s screams ended. There was silence. At sunset Simon immediately threw himself into the work of finding Miriam. Others also helped, and before long they had removed everything and could lift her out. SHE WAS DEAD. She had terrible wounds, especially on her neck. She clearly died during the last movement of the debris. Simon cried openly. His sons Joseph and Judah cried even more desperately. They had lost their mother. But Simon took comfort in the fact that he had been faithful to YHWH and for not having broken his holy Sabbath. Miriam would, after all, come back in the resurrection.... Now he would have to raise his two sons on his own. He was sure that it would all work out fine, since he had a clean conscience and had not compromised. There were some Simon knew who felt that life took precedence over the Sabbath, but Simon knew that the law was clear and distinct. No exception for emergency was mentioned. Later, the leading scholars of Judaism would rule that it would be proper to clear the rubble to save life even on the Sabbath, but Simon was blissfully ignorant of such apostasy. More than 2000 years later people still refuse to compromise, with the same result as in the case of Miriam. But now it is mostly mothers who die in hospital after giving birth, bleeding to death, not accepting what might have saved their lives. And encouraged by their husbands to stay faithful.... It is good to be faithful, isn´t it? Additional thought by Frank J. Toth, Webmaster:
Jesus would certainly allow blood
transfusions to save human lives. The Sabbath law was just as binding upon the Jews as the law against eating
animal blood. Showing that such laws could be disobeyed if a human life is at stake,
Jesus said: "Who will be the man among you that has one sheep and, if this falls into a
pit on the Sabbath, will not get hold of it and lift it out? All considered, of how
much more worth is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do a fine thing on the
Sabbath." (Matthew 12:11, 12) "And he said to them: 'Who of you, if his son or bull falls
into a well, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?' And they were
not able to answer back on these things." (Luke 14:5, 6) Jehovah's
Witnesses will doubtless be likewise speechless on Judgment Day when
Jesus confronts them about their ban on blood transfusions even when human lives are in
danger. Return to "I Walked Away from Jehovah's Witnesses--Never to Turn Back!" by Frank J. Toth
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