October 13, 2008
Zelophehad son of Hepher had no sons, only daughters. Their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. The daughters of Zelophehad showed up. Their father was the son of Hepher son of Gilead son of Makir son of Manasseh, belonging to the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. The daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They came to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. They stood before Moses and Eleazar the priest and before the leaders and the congregation and said, "Our father died in the wilderness. He wasn't part of Korah's rebel anti-God gang. He died for his own sins. And he left no sons. But why should our father's name die out from his clan just because he had no sons? So give us an inheritance among our father's relatives." Moses brought their case to God. God ruled: "Zelophehad's daughters are right. Give them land as an inheritance among their father's relatives. Give them their father's inheritance. "Then tell the People of Israel, If a man dies and leaves no son, give his inheritance to his daughter..." The heads of the ancestral clan of Gilead son of Makir, the son of Manasseh—they were from the clans of the descendants of Joseph—approached Moses and the leaders who were heads of the families in the People of Israel. They said, "When God commanded my master to hand over the inheritance-lands by lot to the People of Israel, my master was also commanded by God to hand over the inheritance-land of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters. But what happens if they marry into another tribe in the People of Israel? Their inheritance-land will be taken out of our ancestral tribe and get added into the tribe into which they married. And then when the year of Jubilee comes for the People of Israel their inheritance will be lumped in with the inheritance of the tribe into which they married—their land will be removed from our ancestors' inheritance!" Moses, at God's command, issued this order to the People of Israel: "What the tribe of the sons of Joseph says is right. This is God's command to Zelophehad's daughters: They are free to marry anyone they choose as long as they marry within their ancestral clan. The inheritance-land of the People of Israel must not get passed around from tribe to tribe. No, keep the tribal inheritance-land in the family. Every daughter who inherits land, regardless of the tribe she is in, must marry a man from within her father's tribal clan. Every Israelite is responsible for making sure the inheritance stays within the ancestral tribe. No inheritance-land may be passed from tribe to tribe; each tribe of the People of Israel must hold tight to its own land." Zelophehad's daughters did just as God commanded Moses. Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, Zelophehad's daughters, all married their cousins on their father's side. They married within the families of Manasseh son of Joseph and their inheritance-lands stayed in their father's family. (Numbers 26:33, 27:1-11, 36: 1-12)
I love the story of the daughters of Zelophehad; it's one of my favorites. It has been classified as the first case for women's rights. Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noah were the daughters of a man who died. It was customary that the father's inheritance went to his sons and the daughters were left to be cared for, either by their brothers or other family members. If there were no sons, the inheritance was divided amongst the tribe. Realizing that God makes no mistakes and He intended for them to be women, Zelophehad's daughters went to Moses and the elders to request their father's inheritance. Because their case was so strong and made sense, Moses petitioned God and was instructed to release Zelophehad's inheritance to them.
But it was not without stipulations. There were those who requested that Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noah marry within their own tribe to ensure that the inheritance did not leave the family. God allowed it and the daughters obliged without question. Sometimes God will give us, what we consider, obstacles and challenges just to see how bad we want our inheritance. But what is it?
Peace is our inheritance. Joy is our inheritance. Happiness is our inheritance. Success is our inheritance. Love is our inheritance. Broken hearts, questioned purpose, disappointment and insecurity often become our bedfellows. Their presence can either keep us from what rightfully belongs to us or make us run that much faster to it. It's up to us to decide. Comedian Mo'Nique said once in an interview that you should "go be as happy as you can be in this lifetime." That may mean going back to school, opening that business, walking away from that relationship or just releasing yourself from fear. Whatever it is, the courage to do it already lies in you. Over in the book of Joshua, when the Israelites entered the Promised Land, the daughters of Zelophehad received their inheritance. God gave it to them and He's ready to give it to us.
This is for every sister who dreams of better days. I won't tell you that they're on the way because they're already here.
©BirthRight, 2008
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