And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: “The daughters of Zelophehad speak what is right; you shall surely give them a possession of inheritance among their father’s brothers, and cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them. And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter. . .’ ” Numbers 27: 6-8, NKJV.
Merciful God, please make us willing to speak truth and bring about justice in Your name. This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
I wonder what would have happened if Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah, had not taken their case to Moses. What we know is that, because they did, positive changes were made in favor of women in Israel. Is that not the way many good precepts have become law? When conscientious human beings look around and realize that things are not going the way they should, as far as justice is concerned, and they speak up, change can take place.
At the beginning of the chapter we find these five women, the daughters of Zelophehad, standing before the ruling council. They went to the place where people make their cases known – “before the leaders and all the congregation, by the doorway of the tabernacle of meeting” (2b). This was a breakthrough! This was the place where men stood – not women! This could, and may, have been, very intimidating. But they went.
Before the witnesses, they cleared their father’s name. They did not leave any door open for their request to be denied, upon the premise that their father was not worthy. They asked a decisive question – and then made their request: “Why should the name of our father be removed from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession among our father’s brothers” (4). Emphasis provided.
A very valid request. “Why should the name of our father be removed from among his family because he had no son? It is not as if our father had no children, he just happened to have five daughters, therefore, his memory has a right to live on, and his heritage has a right to remain within the family, through us, his daughters! In order for this to happen, we need to have “a possession among our father’s brothers.”
Here Moses’ nobility becomes so obvious – he takes it to the LORD! He does not make light of their request. Usually “first timers’ ” requests are not taken too seriously. The reply is usually, “It has never been done this way before.” Not so with Moses – he went directly to the only One who could authorize this change in policy, to the Great Law-Maker. He went to the Source of every just law – the One who is no “respecter of persons.”
As a result, a new law was enacted. Life was never the same again for female heirs in Israel. But greater still, is the fact that while they sought help for themselves, many other people benefited, “And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter. If he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. If he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the relative closest to him in his family, and he shall possess it.’ ” And it shall be to the children of Israel a statute of judgment, just as the LORD commanded Moses” (4-11). And it became law, by order of God Himself!
This incident just served to fortify my faith in the God of all creation. Many of the laws that men impose upon each other are not according to God’s will. When someone speaks up against unjust laws it opens doors for God to reveal His will. Let us not be afraid to take a stand, it could make a difference!