Give To Us A Possession...

 Numbers 27: 1-11

Charles J. Tomlin, May 9^th, 2021

Flat Rock-Zion Baptist Partnership

Series: The Roots of God’s Justice 5/20

 

NRS Numbers 27:1:   Then the daughters of Zelophehad came forward. Zelophehad was son of Hepher son of Gilead son of Machir son of Manasseh son of Joseph, a member of the Manassite clans. The names of his daughters were: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

 2 They stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and all the congregation, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and they said,

 3 "Our father died in the wilderness; he was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah, but died for his own sin; and he had no sons.

 4 Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan because he had no son? Give to us a possession among our father's brothers."

 5 Moses brought their case before the LORD.

 6 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

 7 The daughters of Zelophehad are right in what they are saying; you shall indeed let them possess an inheritance among their father's brothers and pass the inheritance of their father on to them.

 8 You shall also say to the Israelites, "If a man dies, and has no son, then you shall pass his inheritance on to his daughter.

 9 If he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers.

 10 If he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father's brothers.

 11 And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the nearest kinsman of his clan, and he shall possess it. It shall be for the Israelites a statute and ordinance, as the LORD commanded Moses."

 

 

Dear People of God, 

Happy Mother’s Day!   This is a special day we honor all our mothers in particular, just as we honor all women in general.    As Scriptures say, ‘...male and female, God created them! (Gen. 1:27).   On our calendar’s Mother’s Day precedes Father’s Day; and perhaps that’s how it should be, ‘the first shall be last and the last shall be first’.  Mothers, and Women have been underappreciated in both law and life.

           Today, in our Scripture passage, following the Biblical story of justice, we come across an amazing and most fitting story for Mother’s Day; a story about 5 Feisty Women,  known as ‘the daughters of Zelophehad (Num. 27:1 NRS).   These 5 women marched right up to Moses and demanded fairness and justice.   It’s a story that is unknown to most Christians, but Jewish folks know the story very well, as a story that not only points to the need to make just laws that understand women’s needs, but also how we need to continual change and make laws that meet human need. 

 

BEAUTIFUL GIRLS...’CAME FORWARD’ (27:1).

           Since we don’t know these ladies very well, let me introduce them to you.   There names are clearly written for us.  This is quite rare, because only about 8 percent of the Biblical names listed in the Bible were women.   But right here, in this somewhat obscure text, we have not one, but five women being named one by one; Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah (27:1).    What these 5 women said to Moses can also be divided into 5 parts, as they brought their concern to Moses together in unison.  

           In a culture where women were seldom heard or seen, just like in middle eastern culture today, how these 5 girls brought their need before Moses and the whole assembly (v.2) with such courage, or as the Jews say, with chutzpah (courage, boldness) is quite amazing and almost unheard of in ancient culture.   In fact, these Hebrew women were so far ahead of their time, that even today, both the world and the church has a difficult time keeping up with them.   

What makes their deed so beautiful is that even before Israel had reached the promised land, in their own male dominated world, they asked their own male leaders and culture to take a serious look at the needs of women.   And it wasn’t just ‘that’ these women challenged their laws and rules, but it was ‘how’ they did it that was also very, very, beautiful.   It was beautiful because in a moment when they faced a dire, desperate situation, they were determined not to submit to unfair rules, but to speak up and to speak out.   And what they did still shakes our world, just like it did Moses’ world too.

   Like most of you, I grew up in a Church world which, for the most part, treated women with great respect.   In fact, in both the small town and large country church I grew up in women basically ran the church.   While women didn’t hold official leadership positions, they were always the major influence in the church.  Women taught the children.  Women had prayer circles.   Women were married to the Deacons. Women had a say, if not the say, in everything, even without saying a word.   As the old saying goes, “If Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!”    That’s how it was at church too.  Even though those two churches didn’t have women in official leadership roles, women were most important in determining which way the church would or couldn’t go.

           Also, in my early ‘public’ world, working alongside of my father in his country store business, Dad taught me to treat women when they came into the store.   If a woman drove up, without hesitation, I would go out and ask her politely, Ma’am, how can I help you?  Can I fill it up?  Can I check your water, oil, or tire pressure?   If the lady was headed toward the door, I was to open the door for her.  I was to ask if I could help her find anything.  I was to carry out her groceries to the car.   This wasn’t just good business, it was also how I was taught to be polite and helpful to women in general too.   Treating women with respect, was how public life was and should be, not just in the store, but everywhere else too.

But I also remember how I started observing how certain women, the ‘women libbers’, we called them, became a little resentful of me opening the door for them.   They wanted to be treated as equals, like men.   But I’d try to open the door for them anyway, just like I tried to be helpful anyway, because this was taught a young man was supposed to be and do.   I still do.

However, what I didn’t realize then, but do now, is that many women didn’t grow up in a polite ‘family’ or ‘church’ world like I did.   Some of those women were in dire and desperate situations somewhat like these 5 daughters.   Their resentment of any male help was because they were living in ‘unfair’ or ‘disadvantaged’ situations.   Some of them were even being mistreated by their husbands, or by other men at work.   These women were also in a dire and desperate situation hoping for a better life or to create a fairer world.   At that time, I only knew my own world.  I didn’t understand what this ‘women’s liberation’ movement was about.   It was only latter that I came to realize that The Women’s Rights Movement wasn’t coming out of our church world, but it was coming our of a fallen, secular world, which was dominated by sin and still unfair.    

In the Biblical story, according to Genesis’ opening chapters, the implication is that God created Adam and Eve, man and woman, as equal partners.   In that very beautiful story, after the man was formed out of dirt, the woman was formed out of one of Adam’s ribs, taken from his side.   This is a beautiful picture of partnership; of the two working together side by side in life to become one flesh, rather than either the man or the woman ruling over the other (Gen. 2: 18-25).    But in Genesis chapter 3, we read how ‘sin’ and ‘rebellion’ came into the picture, and as a result, it was because of the curse of sin, the man would rule over and dominate the woman (3:16).  This is not how life is supposed to be, but this is how life became because of sin.  

As Christians, the only way to ‘undo’ this unfair situation, which is also the fallen, rebellious, sin situation, is to learn to relate to each other in the way of Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, which the the apostle Paul describes; ‘there is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus (Gal. 3:28 NRS).  What Paul means is also explained later:  “It is for Freedom that Christ has set you free, do not submit to slavery again... (5:1).

           So, in the Bible, both the Old and in the New Testament, we see God moving in the direction of fairness, justice, and equality too.   But in both human history and Christian history too, we also see how fairness, justice and equality has not been realized as it should have been.    

BRAVE GIRLS...  STOOD BEFORE MOSES...THE PRIEST..ALL (v.2)

No, life is not always ‘just’ or ‘fair’, and that’s what makes what these ‘girls’ did, not only beautiful, but brave too.   In order to make their plea known, they not only had to ‘come forward’ but they had to become leaders of their clan and stand before ‘Moses, the Priest, the Leaders, and the all the congregation (v. 2).   That would have been a very brave and brassy thing to do in a male dominated world, where the rules and laws were all written by the men and for the men.   It must have been a moment filled with much trepidation and intimidation too.

Let me say again, and reiterate, this was a male dominated, Patriarchal society.   It wasn’t so much that these laws and rules were written against the women, but sometimes it did end up that way, and this was such a case.   This is these 5 daughters of Zelophehad  came forward and had to be brave   They had to appeal the Inheritance Laws of their people, even as God had set them up too.   It was a big deal, especially now, as they were preparing to enter the promise land and claim the land.   If these women didn’t step up now, they would be left out.

In their five-point argument we see just how these 5 daughters present their case before Moses.   You can follow their argument beginning in verse 3.   According to Jewish tradition, Mahlah speaks first, simply stating: “Our Father died in the Wilderness”.   Just like all the original Israelites who escaped in the Exodus, their father Zelophehad did not make it to the Holy Land.  Because they still had the ‘slave’ mindset and could not learn to trust God, they were unable to inherit the land.   Then, according to the second point,  Noah adds, most importantly, “He was not part of the Korah faction and died for his own sin.   This was important because Korah led a rebellious faction of 250 men to start an ‘uprising’ and attempted a coup against Moses (Num. 16).    Stating this, Noah wants Moses to know, like their Father, they greatly respect him and God’s law, but are sinners too, just like everyone else.  

Then, in the third part of their case, Hoglah gets to the major problem, “He has left no sons”.   This is why these 5 daughters are speaking up and speaking out.   According to the situation, because they have no Father and no brothers, they have no one to speak up for them.   They are having to go against tradition and law, and make speak up for themselves.  Still, however, they aren’t willingly trying to be ‘forward’ nor intentionally go against God or God’s law, but they are speaking because of their tradition, as the fourth daughter, Milcah says,  so that ‘their Father’s name not be lost to his clan because he had no son!’   Again, the daughters want Moses to know that they are speaking up on behalf of their dead father, not for themselves.

           All this brings us now to the final part of the argument.  Everything the first four daughters have said, prepares us for the what the final daughter, Tirzah says.   If you take away the other four parts, this final demand would sound forceful, but everything said up to now makes this demand sound most reasonable when Tirzah says, “Give us a holding among our father’s kinsman!”

           When you read this final part, it still sounds direct and demanding, especially coming from 5 young girls addressing Moses and the whole assembly.   It sounds just as sharp and demanding as some women have also sounded at times in our world, and in our culture, but we did not fully realize why they spoke out like they did, nor did we always understand where they were coming from in their own situations.    

           And there have been some difficult and challenging situations for women too, haven’t there?   I’ve already mentioned the personal and private ones, where women have been either under-appreciated or mistreated under dominate and abusive men.  I remember the uproar in our own Southern Baptist Convention, when the men who were running the Convention at the time, states that women not be allowed to preach, not because this was our Baptist way, but they misused the Bible to say that because women were ‘the first to sin’ they should not be allowed to speak or share God’s word of grace in the churches.   But while it is true that the Bible story states that Eve deceived Adam, the Bible also states that God held them both accountable and already put them both on equal ground again:  The Bible calls that ‘childbearing.’  (1 Tim.  2:15).  The point is, we should move beyond this making it even, or holding blame business, and see that God has restored us to equality through the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ because we are now ‘one’ in Christ, both as sinners and saved sinners.   Now I understand why the world didn’t get this, but I still don’t understand why some in the church still don’t.

           What Tirzah does here, and in fact, what all these daughters are doing, is not just speaking up in behalf of the needs of women, but they were also speaking out in behalf of all human rights.  They were speaking out for people who’s situation has not yet been fully addressed by the law, and still needs answering.   Don’t we still live in a world where the law is still incomplete?  No, law, human or divine, has addressed every scenario, has understood every problem, or has known or tackled every situation humans will ever face.   Laws are written, and some laws will eventually need to be unwritten, just like laws need to remain, but still need to be rewritten too.

When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Preamble for US Constitution, he made sure that he put in there that ‘all men are created equal’.     Now, of course, that needs to be rewritten today too, as we all mean ‘all people, not just men.    It also needs to be explained that what Jefferson said is an ideal; not what’s real.  While people may be loved equally the same in God’s sight, you certainly can’t prove that by how people are born into this world.   Some people are born healthy; others unhealthy.  Some are born wealthy with many advantages, while others are born poor with all kinds of disadvantages.   A few are born with a ‘silver spoons’ in their mouths, while many have to work and too many still have to struggle just to find enough to eat.   There is no such thing as ‘equality’.  

The truth is that equality, if you take it at face value, is still a myth.  Now, of course, it’s a good myth, and it’s our great American ideal, but this is not how life really is, because life can be unfair and people aren’t really ‘created equal’ even when they are born into the same family.   We all have differences and we all advantages and disadvantages, but we’re really never equal.

In a traditional family, it has been a mother’s job to go beyond what Thomas Jefferson wrote, with every single child she raises, noticing and noting just how different her children are, helping and guiding the family to adjust and appreciate those differences.  While a mother’s love may flow equally from her heart to all her children, it flows uniquely to each child in the way she knows they need to be loved the most.     

In the same way a mother loves uniquely, the needs of human beings are unique too.   That’s what Eleanor Roosevelt wrote about in 1940, when she chaired the commission which wrote the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights’.  In an essay entitled, “The Moral Basis of Democracy,”  she repeatedly asserted that a “Christ-like” way of life was essential for a democracy” (http://www.anglicanexaminer.com/ER2.html).

In that amazing document, it also stated that there is “inherent dignity,” which should lead to “rights” for all members of the human family, based upon a foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.”   But the document also admits that “contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts” at different times and in different parts of the world.   It encourages humanity to develop ‘friendly relations between nations,” so that we can have better standards for life” and “larger freedom” too.   But of course, this great freedom doesn’t come without taking responsibility to specifically respond to human need where people are hurting the most. 

 

BOLD GIRLS...  “GIVE US A HOLDING!”

           These 5 daughters were beautiful, brave, but also ‘bold’ to speak up and to speak out in such a way that it even caused Moses to have to ‘take their case before the Lord’ (v. 5).    Only three other times do we read in the entire life and ministry of Moses, that the great leader had to seek a new revelation directly from the Lord.  This is one of them.   What these women did, was so brave and bold, it caused Moses great pause.  He had to take a step back and take very seriously what they said; not because they were women, but because the case they were argued set a whole new precedent; it forced a whole new legal principal, which will be explained later (Num. 36) as also assuring that the women only marry Hebrews, so they land won’t be inherited away.    

           Perhaps you can see here, especially in verse 5, that even though this required a new law to be written, there is much more than mere ‘law’ going on here.   This beautiful, brave, and bold request of these women was a request, not only being made to their community, but they were so bold as to ask God to consider their situation.   Instead of just being a legal argument, their whole case was meant to be a prayer for Moses to intercede and pray to God in their behalf. 

           Doesn’t this whole story remind you of one, if not two of Jesus own parables about God’s kingdom?  One is where a widow (Lk 18: 1-8) is arguing her case before an unjust judge and will not give up, and another where a friend comes at midnight and goes to the neighbor and pounds on the door in the middle of the night, demanding help from the neighbor (Lk 11: 5-8).   In both parables, just like in this story,  it’s as if God is saying, ‘You have not, because you ask not, so don’t stop praying, don’t stop seeking, asking, and knocking on the door, because the God who knows how to give you good things, can you give you better things than you can give to your own children, if you will just keep asking.

           But it’s not always easy to have that kind of courage and boldness, is it?    It’s not easy to have the kind of boldness that another woman had, named Sojourner Truth.  She was born a slave in New York of the 1790’s, but she became free in 182, but then became an outspoken advocate for women’s rights and the abolition of slavery for all God’s children.   At a Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio in 1851, Sojourner Truth, who told the truth, said something like this: ‘

Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be something out of kilter.   I think that ‘twixt the negroes of the South and the women at the North, all talking about rights, the white men will be in a fix pretty soon.    But what’s all this here talking about?

That man over there says women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain’t I a woman?

Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed, and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me!   And ain’t I woman?

I could work as much and eat as much as a man—when I could get it—and bear the lash as well! And ain’t I a woman?

I have borne thirteen children, and seen them most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain’t I a woman?

Then they talk about this thing in the head; what’s this they call it?  “Intellect,” That’s it, honey.   What’s that got to do with women’s rights or Negro rights?   

If my cup won’t hold but a pint, and yours holds a quart, wouldn’t you be mean not to let me have my little half-measure full?

Then that little man in black there, he says women can’t have as much rights as men, because Christ wasn’t a woman!  Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman!   Man had nothing to do with Him....

If the first woman God ever made was strong enough, to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again!

And now they are asking to do it, the men better let them.

 Now that’s a descendant of the daughters of Zelophehad, if I’ve ever heard one.   It very much the same kind of speech that sent Moses back into the Tent to talk to God.   Getting men to talk to God, like many women have done, and still need to do, is what will still ‘get the world right side up’ again.  Amen.