Why was the girl looking so earnestly at those bulrushes as they swayed in the breeze? Or why did she again turn anxiously to see if any Egyptian Soldier should be coming down to the River's brink?
Did she know of something which was hidden there? Something very, very precious?
Perhaps, wearied with standing and watching in two directions, Miriam sat down, and resting her elbows on her knees, looked only towards the river; and as she sat so silently and patiently there, her mind went over the past months of anxious fears, which had almost overwhelmed the family of Israelites of whom she was the only daughter.
She knew that about 400 years before, the Children of Israel, whom the Egyptians called the Hebrews, and we now call the Jews, travelled down from the land of Canaan (Palestine) to the land of Egypt.
They were the children of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob; and because of a great famine in all the countries round, these Israelites came down to Egypt to buy corn. You have all heard the story of Joseph who was sold into Egypt by his brothers? Well, God had sent this Joseph to Egypt, on purpose, to store up the corn for the famine which was coming.
So Joseph gave his brothers as much corn as they needed, and sent them back to fetch his dear old father Jacob. And that is how the Israelites came down into Egypt, and settled there with their flocks and herds, for they were Shepherds.
But by and bye the Egyptians began to get jealous of them. They increased in numbers so fast, and were so prosperous, because God blessed them abundantly, that the King of Egypt sent out a command that all the little boys who were born to the Israelites must be killed, and only the little girls saved alive.
This was a very cruel command, and the Israelitish women were very sorrowful at having all their baby boys thrown into the river.
At length, one baby boy was born, whom his Mother managed to hide in their little home for three long months; but he was a beautiful, strong child, and soon, his mother found that it was impossible to hide him.
She and her husband loved and served God, and we read in the 11th Chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews and the 23rd verse, that it was "by faith" that they hid him so long, looking up to God in Heaven to save their darling boy.