Hidden Meaning Behind Zelophehad’s Daughters That Many Believers Never Noticed: God’s Secret Plan For Justice and Family Legacy!

Hidden teachings of the Bible the daughters of zelophehad we aren’t told a story in the book of Exodus about five women who created significant change it was the 40th year since the Exodus from Egypt shortly before the Jewish people were to enter the Promised Land Moses was informed by Yahweh that the allotment of each tribe’s territory would be determined among other factors through a lottery system every man in the tribe would be given a piece of land within their tribe’s territory when the man passes away his son will inherit his property this ensures that each plot will stay within the family it was initially assigned to numbers 26 2 take a census of all the males in the congregation of the sons of Israel from 20 years old and upward by their father’s households all in Israel who are able to go to war as part of the list of the various Clans we read that zelophehad had no Sons only daughters numbers 26 33 zelophehad the son of heifer had no Sons but only daughters and the names of zelophehad’s daughters were

Mahlah Noah Hoglah Milkah and Tirzah zelophehad was one of the men that left Egypt and headed for the promised land under the leadership of Moses many of those men died in the wilderness after zelophehad passed away in the desert his daughters were concerned that they might not be entitled to a portion of the land as a result they sought assistance from Moses when the daughters of zelophehad were growing up women did not have the freedom to take over their father’s possessions so these ladies were in a tough position then the Five Daughters of zelophehad the son of heifer the son of Gilead the son of Machir the son of Manasseh from the tribes of Manasseh who was the son of Joseph approached with a request these are the names of his daughters Mahlah Noah Hoglah Milkah and Tirzah they stood before Moses Eleazar the priest the leaders and all the congregation at the doorway of the tent of meeting Tabernacle saying our father died in the wilderness he was not among those who assembled together against the Lord in the company of Korah but he died for his own sin as did all those who rebelled at Kadesh and he had no Sons why should the name of our father be removed from his family because he had no son give us a possession land among our father’s brothers so Moses brought their case before the Lord numbers 27 1-5 Spurgeon used the daughters of zelophehad as examples of brave people who came forward to accept an inheritance by faith they said why should the name of our father be removed from among his family the daughters of zelophehad raised a concern about their inheritance since zelophehad didn’t have any kids to take over his land and carry on his name denying inheritance to the only people who were related to him would get rid of his name traditionally when there were Sons born to a family a father’s property was divided between his sons after his death the eldest son receiving twice as much as his brothers

Deuteronomy 21 15-17 Amplified Bible if a man has two wives one loved and the other unloved and both the loved and the unloved have borne him sons and the firstborn son belongs to the unloved wife then on the day when he Wills his possessions to his sons he cannot treat the son of his loved wife his firstborn in place of the son of the unloved wife the actual firstborn instead he shall acknowledge the son of the unloved as the firstborn by giving him a double portion of all that he has for he was the beginning of his strength generative power to him belongs the right of the firstborn we read so Moses brought their case before the Lord when confronted with a great challenge Moses responded as he should have Moses sought God we also see the wisdom of Moses here if this was a leader that did not seek the voice of God he could easily have dismissed zelophehad’s daughters this could not be the only time Moses brought people’s cases to God this is definitely the heart of a righteous leader a popular bible commenter noted fridge was a hard case and though their plea seemed reasonable yet Moses showed his humility and modesty that he would not determine it himself without God’s particular direction these verses also give an indication how case law might have operated in Israel the general laws would have been promulgated then legitimate exceptions or special considerations would come to the elders and perhaps be brought to Moses himself he then would await a decision from the Lord numbers 27 6-8 then the Lord said to Moses the request of the daughters of zelophehad is Justified you shall certainly give them a possession of an inheritance among their fathers brothers and you shall transfer their father’s inheritance to them further you shall say to the Israelites if a man dies and has no son you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter it seems that God was pleased when the daughters of zelophehad presented their concerns to

Moses as a result God announced that if a father had no Sons his inheritance would be passed down to his daughters this was a significant change in inheritance law at the time and demonstrated God’s fairness and consideration for all his children we even read the phrase give them in Hebrew the word is masculine to indicate that women in this situation should enjoy the man’s privilege and that the Heavenly Canaan whereof this was a type did not belong no less to women than to men these laws were created with the expectation and belief that land of Canaan would be inherited this was only an issue for the daughters of zelophehad because they were Women of Faith who really believed Israel would possess the land of Canaan the daughters of zelophehad’s case helped to clarify the law of inheritance for the people of Israel due to the ruling regarding the daughters of zelophehad women were included in the list of eligible heirs of property The Inheritance order was as follows son daughter brother paternal uncle and nearest kin within the clan it was not permissible to transfer property outside of one’s tribe in numbers 36 we hear about zelophehad’s children again this time it was in relation to whom they could marry a potential problem loomed if the daughters who now owned land married men from other tribes they would join their husband’s tribe and take their father’s land with them God gave a simple remedy to what could have been a big problem God instructed that the daughters of zelophehad could marry anyone they wanted within their father’s tribal Clan numbers 36 7 Amplified Bible so no inheritance of the Israelites shall be transferred from tribe to tribe for every one of the Israelites shall hold the inheritance of the tribe of his father tribal ancestry no inheritance was to pass from tribe to tribe the Five Sisters complied with this ruling and married their cousins on their father’s side this camps the land’s allotment intact numbers 36 10 to 11 Amplified Bible the daughters of zelophehad did as the Lord commanded Moses for Mahlah Tirzah Hoglah Milkah and Noah the daughters of zelophehad were married to Sons of their father’s Brothers throughout the Bible God shows special concern for the Widow and the orphan we read over and over how God makes special Provisions for them as he did for the daughters of zelophehad God is the loving father of all children who have been orphaned Psalm 68 5 tells us a father of the fatherless and a judge and protector of the widows is God in his holy habitation his aim is to show orphan’s

Mercy care and protection and because these waiting children are essential to him they should be essential to us as his church Justice is a fundamental part of God’s character as we are shown in the Bible that even one child does not know the love of a family is a great Injustice and there are millions of children living in this reality Deuteronomy 10 18 says he executes Justice for the orphan and the Widow and shows his love for the stranger resident alien Foreigner by giving him food and clothing also Psalms 10 14 says but you do see for you note mischief and vexation that you may take it into your hands to you the helpless commits himself you have been the helper of the fatherless God promises security and Aid to those who cannot guard themselves he also asks us to do something about it God invites everyone to play his or her part in working toward Justice genealogies rarely mention a woman the principle of male headship within the churches was retained by the apostles 1 Peter 3 1-2 Amplified Bible in the same way you wives be submitted to your own husbands subordinate not as inferior but out of respect for the responsibilities entrusted to husbands and their accountability to God and so partnering with them so that even if some do not obey the word of God they may be won over to Christ without discussion by The Godly lives of their wives when they see your modest and respectful Behavior together with your devotion and appreciation love your husband encourage him and enjoy him as a blessing from God the significance of their action cannot be overstated they approached the entrance of the Tabernacle which served as the location for the assembly’s leaders to convene and more notably the place where the judge of all the Earth resided they sought the protection of God who was known to defend the rights of the vulnerable ensuring that they had a rightful place in the land Isaiah 5 8 Amplified Bible woe judgment is coming to those who join house to house and join field to field to increase their Holdings by depriving others until there is no more room for others so that you have to live alone in the midst of the land the appeal made by zelophehad’s daughters gained them Justice and a permanent law was given to Israel to defend others who would be in similar situations this was not an incidental detail in Israel’s life the spiritual significance of this issue is immense Canaan was the homeland where

God would establish fellowship with his people if anyone were excluded they would be kept out of God’s Fellowship Canaan was not just a place in which to live nor was it a mere token of the new Earth and New Jerusalem through the instruction which was to be gained here men and women would enter the kingdom of God therefore this was no trivial matter these ladies were informed but more importantly they were courageous they boldly brought their case to Moses Moses who was a humble and meek servant of God did not drive them away or belittle their claims but also took their case to the Lord in prayer this is why we really need courage in fact it should be one of our greatest need if we truly hope to face hindrance and win in the Bible courage is also called good cheer as in Mark 6 50 the Greek word translated courage and good cheer means literally boldness and confidence in the Bible courage is the opposite of fear when God commands us to fear not to be of good cheer and to Have Courage he is always commanding against fear which is the opposite of courage Luke 12 32 Amplified Bible do not be afraid an anxious Little Flock for it is your father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom in this great promise lies the basis of our confidence our courage and our good cheer although few details are given about the sisters themselves carefully reading the sources portrays intelligent and Pious women the name of two of the sisters Noah and terza have been popular Israeli names bold faith-filled and courageous words perfectly described these unforgettable Daughters of zelophehad let us pray Our Father we know that your heart is glad when we overcome because our triumph over the challenges that confront us show the world your reality and we can hold on with tenacity and not crumble at the sight of hindrances just like the daughters of zelophehad Hezekiah and Jacob we will realize that God is able to empower us to live as Overcomers as we emerge victoriously please Empower us to remain Resolute when we are challenged and help us to always look up to Jesus the one who triumphed over horrible trials and wickedness we thank you for your grace that is always sufficient for us in the name of Jesus courage will never elude us amen