A STORY BIGGER THAN ME
Opening Prayer
Loving Father, help me to make choices and take actions today that please you, that bring you glory, that are a blessing to others.
Read NUMBERS 36
Inheritance of Zelophehad’s Daughters
36 The family heads of the clan of Gilead son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, who were from the clans of the descendants of Joseph, came and spoke before Moses and the leaders, the heads of the Israelite families. 2 They said, “When the Lord commanded my lord to give the land as an inheritance to the Israelites by lot, he ordered you to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. 3 Now suppose they marry men from other Israelite tribes; then their inheritance will be taken from our ancestral inheritance and added to that of the tribe they marry into. And so part of the inheritance allotted to us will be taken away. 4 When the Year of Jubilee for the Israelites comes, their inheritance will be added to that of the tribe into which they marry, and their property will be taken from the tribal inheritance of our ancestors.”
5 Then at the Lord’s command Moses gave this order to the Israelites: “What the tribe of the descendants of Joseph is saying is right. 6 This is what the Lord commands for Zelophehad’s daughters: They may marry anyone they please as long as they marry within their father’s tribal clan. 7 No inheritance in Israel is to pass from one tribe to another, for every Israelite shall keep the tribal inheritance of their ancestors. 8 Every daughter who inherits land in any Israelite tribe must marry someone in her father’s tribal clan, so that every Israelite will possess the inheritance of their ancestors. 9 No inheritance may pass from one tribe to another, for each Israelite tribe is to keep the land it inherits.”
10 So Zelophehad’s daughters did as the Lord commanded Moses. 11 Zelophehad’s daughters—Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milkah and Noah—married their cousins on their father’s side. 12 They married within the clans of the descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in their father’s tribe and clan.
13 These are the commands and regulations the Lord gave through Moses to the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Is today just another day, or part of something bigger (see 1 Corinthians 2:9)?What a strange ending! An obscure legal ruling is hardly the resounding dénouement we might have hoped for. But maybe that is the point. When Zelophehad’s daughters raised the question of their family inheritance, it took up only half of chapter 27. The rest was to do with Joshua succeeding Moses after his death. But we have heard nothing further about this. The story cannot end here—read on into Deuteronomy and Joshua to see how it concludes.
Today, marriage has become a public expression of a very private affair, ‘our special day.’ Marriage has also become an issue of individual human rights. This incident frames marriage very differently. The choice of marriage partner had huge implications for these women’s family and tribe. Ultimately, their choice would impact on the fulfillment of God’s promise in Genesis 17:8: ‘The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.’ All the characters of this chapter are part of a story that is far bigger than them. ‘My story’ becomes significant when I learn to see it as part of God’s story. If we don’t, we may find ourselves back in the wilderness of self-preoccupation.
Apply
Are we so preoccupied with our own story that we are preventing not only ourselves but others entering into the fullness of God’s blessing? How does your story fit into God’s story?
Closing prayer
Almighty God, thank you for the story of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, that tells me who you are and, from the beginning, what your plans have always been for me. Help me to share that great story with others.
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