The Bible in 90 Days
Day 12: Numbers 21:8-32:19 || Read the CEB online.
“If a man dies and doesn’t have a son, you must hand his inheritance over to his daughters. If he doesn’t have a daughter, you will give his inheritance to his brothers. If he doesn’t have any brothers, you should give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. If his father had no brothers, you should give his inheritance to his nearest relative from his clan. He will take possession of it. This will be a regulation and a case law for the Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.” (Numbers 27:8-11)
You maybe haven’t heard of the Daughters of Zelophehad before you got to the reading today. Amid a bloody and disturbing reading of Israel’s advance towards the Promised Land (how many nations did Israel wipe out, again?), these 5 women come to ask for their forgotten inheritance. “Why should our father’s name be taken away from his clan because he didn’t have a son?”
Justice is often neglected because the people who need it most are the ones without recourse or sometimes even a voice. Yet these daughters speak out, counting on God’s wisdom and righteousness — even if there’s no precedent. Reworking the inheritance must have been a tiresome job for those in charge, yet God doesn’t let that stop Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah from receiving justice. What an example for God’s people today!
Where have you experienced God’s graciousness towards the forgotten?
What does Israel’s advance through other nations mean for us?
Share your thoughts in the comments below,
and don’t forget to pray for our U.M. ARMY team in West Monroe, Louisiana!
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