Family trees

 

 Numbers 27 verses 1 to 11

Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph; and these are the names of his daughters; Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah and Tirzah.  And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation saying, Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them that gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah; but died in his own sin, and had no sons.  Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he hath no son?  Give unto us therefore a possession among the brethren of our father.  And Moses brought their cause before the Lord.  And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, The daughters of Zelophehad speak right; thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father’s brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them.  And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter.  And if he have no daughter, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his father’s brethren.  And if his father have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his kinsman that is next to him of his family, and he shall possess it; and it shall be unto the children of Israel a statute of judgment, as the Lord commanded Moses.

 

I came across this story while reading Sharon James’ book and it really made me think.  The story is quite straightforward – these 5 confident women came to Moses one day and asked for an inheritance of land in Canaan.  Why did they do this?  Well, this is where it gets interesting because the story of their family is then made public.  Their father had died and they have no brothers and being Israelites the inheritance of land their family should have received would now be passed to other male tribal members.  It was a legitimate problem, one probably not seen or heard of before. 

The Children of Israel had spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness.  Now they were about to set foot in Canaan and soon land would be divided up amongst all the tribes.  The law stated that land would be given on the basis of families and in particular to the male side.  These women realised that they would not be entitled to anything.  Their father had died and they had no brothers but they felt entitled to something.  We are not told what exactly happened to their father but his death was as a result of sin.  They made reference to the sin of Korah but Zelophehad had not died as a result of this.  There is the suggestion that Zelophehad had committed some sin which God was displeased with and subsequently lost his life as a result.  Remember during their time in the wilderness the Israelites had lost an entire generation due to sin.  God had wiped out individuals who did not obey God but these 5 daughters still felt they were entitled to a division of land in Canaan.  They did the only thing they knew – brought it to God or rather to God’s representatives – Moses, Eleazar the priest, the princes, all the congregation.  They spoke to them at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.  It was where matters of law were brought.  Moses felt it was a reasonable request and decided to bring it to God himself.  God made his decision – they had been right to bring this matter to him and he agreed they were entitled to their inheritance.  The women’s decision to bring this matter to God’s attention resulted in a law written into future statutes of Israel.  If a man had no sons but daughters then the inheritance would pass to the daughters and if there were no daughters then it would go to the wider family.

What is amazing is that this was the law that was invoked in the time of Ruth.  Boaz was her redeemer but there was someone closer in line to receive the inheritance.  Boaz had to ask his permission to receive the inheritance on Ruth’s behalf and we have that great ceremony of tossing the shoe to signify acceptance of passing the inheritance on.

 

What can I learn from this story of Zelophehad’s 5 daughters?  How is this applicable today?

I love family trees and finding out about people who lived in the past.  It is wonderful to find out interesting facts about family and even see photographs.  I have pictures of wedding photos for both my grandparents and also a photograph of a great grandfather on my husband’s side of the family.  Recently I discovered that gospel meetings were held in the house belonging to my husband’s grandparents which still stands in our farm yard some 80 years ago. I often wonder what it would have been like sitting listening to men preaching the same gospel I now believe in.  That is a heritage I treasure today.  For these 5 women in our story they could trace their family tree back to Joseph in the book of Genesis.  That was important in the Israelite heritage.  It mattered to them where they came from.  Today I can trace my story of faith back to when I accepted Christ as Saviour and Lord.  It is also good for me personally to be able to trace the influences on my accepting Christ as Saviour.  Today many of those people who taught the scriptures to me are in heaven and one day the family circle will be complete. 

God in heaven had one Son who he loved more than anyone else but he was prepared to send him into this world to bring us back to himself.  The world had fallen in sin through Adam and Eve, there was no longer an inheritance with God and that family tie had been broken.  In sending his Son Jesus into the world God knew there was only one way to repair the damage – through Jesus’ death on Calvary.  Can you imagine the anguish of our heavenly Father watching as his Son, his only beloved Son died for us?  We have been given an inheritance as sons and daughters but will we accept it for ourselves?  These women came and asked for their inheritance – will we come and ask God to forgive us for our sins and repair the damage we have done?  God has promised us his inheritance if we do so – a place in heaven with him one day and it is ours if we will only ask for it.

Notice these woman had a very strong faith - they believed they would go in and conquer the land of Canaan. They knew that one day very soon the Israelites would cross over and take up residence in the land prepared by God for them.  One day very soon this world will end as we know it.  Are we looking forward to the home God has prepared for us in heaven?  Are we preparing now here on earth for such a home?  These women wanted to know for sure that a piece of Canaan would be their possession one day.  Have you the assurance of a home in heaven?

These women were willing to submit their case before Moses and see what God's will would be. They showed great family loyalty. It was not for their own selves but to preserve their family inheritance. They recognised the importance of obeying God - they were at pains to point out their father had no part in the rebellion of Korah.  Surely this speaks of submission to God and a willingness to be obedient to God’s will.  Many would have said they hadn’t any possibility of being heard never mind receiving anything but their confidence and trust in God was something to be commended for.  They showed patience, they waited on God's will.  Their father had committed sin and as a result lost his life but they did not want that action to taint their lives.  Perhaps as you read this you remember things that to be honest make you feel guilty.  You wonder how God could continue to love you knowing what you have done or has been done to you in the past.  Take comfort from this story today – God is not willing that any should perish but that everyone should come to him and he will accept us as we are.  He longs for us to know his love and reassurance today.  No matter what our past sins are, God is willing to forgive us if only we will confess them to him.  Our God is the God of second chances and even if we have wandered away from him, he is willing to forgive us again and again.  Don’t let the past taint your future.  God wants to hear from you today and he is waiting to be able to welcome you back.

Even in this passage we can see the gospel message portrayed – despite the sin of their father these women wanted an opportunity to prove to God that they were willing to accept whatever God had for them.  They showed great confidence, faith, trust, obedience and a willingness to accept their future.  And God rewarded them.  He commended them, he didn’t turn them away immediately.  If you turn over to Numbers 36 you will see what happened to these women. They would be given their land on one condition - they were not to marry outside of their own tribe.  And later this law was written into the statutes of the Israelites laws and used in the time of Ruth.  God made provision for the future of all women born into families without a male to inherit land.  God has made provision for us today if only we will accept it.  Ruth had to ask Boaz if he would accept her as part of his family.  Why would he do this?  She was outside the family of God and yet Boaz honoured the law of his land.  There was one other family member who should have been the redeemer but he waived his right in the city gate in front of the elders.  Will you be redeemed today?  Will you take the opportunity given to you by God?