The Daughters of Zelophehad
(The Readings - April 1999)
When a daughter married it was customary for her to receive a dowry from her father, but these faithful women desired an inheritance in Canaan, the promised land. Boldly they asked Moses if land could be allocated directly to them even though they were daughters. Could Moses be persuaded to grant land to their family? Entering the promised land without territory was unthinkable to them, so Zelophehad's daughters made their urgent request.
A bold and reasonable request
They explained to Moses that their father, like most of his generation, had died in
his own sins during the wilderness wanderings (27:3). If he had sons instead of daughters,
his family would have been granted an inheritance in the land.
Moses did not have a ready answer so he took the matter to the Lord. God assured him that Zelophahad’s daughters were right; they should be granted an inheritance in the land (27:7). God’s answer is an excellent example of His fairness to both men and women. While He often makes different provisions for the two genders, His decisions are never chauvinistic.
Their marriage restricted
God’s answer guaranteed Zelophehad’s family an inheritance in the promised
land. However, retaining the land within the family was not quite so simple. If one of
Zelophehad’s daughters married a man from another tribe and the couple had a son, the
mother’s property would transfer to the father’s tribe. To keep it in the
family, Zelophehad’s daughters must act in accord with existing inheritance laws.
Thus Moses instructed them: "Let them marry to whom they think best; only to the
family of the tribe of their father shall they marry" (36:6).
To some, these conditions sound restrictive. Ours is an age when worldly marriages are entered into and ended easily. God has made a better provision for those who value an inheritance in His kingdom, for these daughters could not switch husbands of their own choosing: "For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth" (Rom. 7:2).
Accordingly, only marriages within the tribe kept the family allotments from being lost to another tribe. If Zelophehad’s daughters would consent to marry their cousins or kinsfolk, the inheritance would be retained. If they took husbands from another tribe, eventually the land would be transferred to the other tribe.
Our position similar to these women
Most of us, like Zelophehad’s daughters, were once without hope of an
inheritance: "...being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from
the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world" (Eph.
2:12). But when we desired more than the present life and became related to God’s
promises by baptism into Christ, we became heirs of the promises. The prospect of an
inheritance was first given to the sons (Israel), but God was gracious enough to extend it
to Zelophehad’s daughters (Gentiles). Like these earnest women, we now eagerly desire
our part.
Paul speaks of this extension of fellowship: "That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel" (Eph 3:6). It also reminds us of our baptism: "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit" (I Cor. 12:13).
The women obeyed
Did these young women, the daughters of Zelophehad, heed the words of the Lord to "marry...only
to the family of the tribe of their father"? They certainly did, for we read: "Even
as the LORD commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad: For Mahlah, Tirzah, and
Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married unto their
father’s brothers’ sons" (Num. 36:10,11).
These were exceptional young women who honored their father. When pleading with Moses they had explained their father was not in the company of them who gathered themselves together against the Lord. Zelophehad was not like Dathan and Abiram who forfeited their right to an inheritance (27:3).
Paul touches on such a constructive family attitude in his letter to the Ephesians. "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth" (Eph. 6:1-3). This is a powerful incentive to keep our families intact. By obeying our parents we can live long on the earth.
God recognized right words
Consider that God said to Moses: "The daughters of Zelophehad speak
right." They were not the least out of line in desiring an inheritance in the
land. They spoke right and God did not deny them their right desire. In the Proverbs we
read: "My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine. Yea, my
reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things" (Prov. 23:15,16).
God is pleased when we speak right things because this is the way God Himself speaks: "I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right" (Isa. 45:19).
An entire generation wandered in the wilderness without entering the promised land. Hundreds of thousands left Egypt, but due to their disobedience and unbelief were not allowed to enter Canaan. Let us take steps to ensure that ours is not a life of unbelief. Since we eagerly made the initial commitment, let us continue to follow our Lord. A timeless inheritance lies before us, therefore let each of us "work out our own salvation with trembling and fear."
Jack Robinson