Numbers 26:33; Numbers 27:1-7; Joshua 17:1-6
Zelophehad son of Hepher had no sons; he had only daughters, whose names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah. One day the daughters of Zelophehad came to the entrance of the Tabernacle to give a petition to Moses, Eleazar the priest, the tribal leaders, and others who were there. The names of these women were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They were members of the half-tribe of Manasseh (a son of Joseph). Their ancestor was Machir, son of Manasseh. Manasseh’s son Gilead was their great-grandfather, his son Hepher was their grandfather, and his son Zelophehad was their father.
“Our father died in the wilderness,” they said, “and he was not one of those who perished in Korah’s revolt against the Lord—it was a natural death, but he had no sons. Why should the name of our father disappear just because he had no son? We feel that we should be given property along with our father’s brothers.”
So Moses brought their case before the Lord. And the Lord replied to Moses, “The daughters of Zelophehad are correct. Give them land along with their uncles; give them the property that would have been given to their father if he had lived.
The sisters Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Mikvah, and Tirzah, all daughters of Zelophehad, were aware of what was happening in the assembly. Land was being divided among those who were counted in the census; males twenty years and older. They also knew that since they had neither father nor brothers, they would be destitute in the Promised Land, without any land of their own.
Up to that time, the Lord God had not given Moses any laws that would allow daughters to inherit land. But these sisters had faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who many years ago had commanded Father Abraham to hearken to the voice of his wife Sarah.
With this conviction in their hearts, in the spirit of unity and supplication, they approached Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders and the whole assembly. Armed with knowledge and reason, they presented their case. Moses listened and then tooktheir case to the Lord God, Judge of Heaven and Earth. The Lord God ruled in their favor; a new law was to be implemented in Israel: The Law of Inheritance. These women made history in Israel.
Fast forward years later…. The Israelites are now in the Promised Land. They are in a season of land conquests. Moses is dead and Joshua is the current leader. Joshua is distributing the land to the families in the tribes. There is a stir in the congregation as a small group of women approach the leaders, Joshua, and Eleazar the priest. It is the five sisters whose father Zelophehad had left Egypt with Moses but had died in the wanderings of the wilderness. (Zelophehad had no sons, only five daughters.) Since his death, these sisters had embraced the knowledge that they had no provider, no defender, no protector, except the Lord God.
From the day that God ruled in their favor, they were watching over that word. They remained alert and active until the day that the word was to be carried out. Today was that day. It was the tribe of Manasseh’s turn to receive their portion of lands. They were of the tribe of Manasseh. The sisters watched as their relatives, the male children of Manasseh received their inheritance.
They thought, “What about us? Hadn’t the Lord God said that we were to inherit our father’s portion? Maybe the leaders didn’t remember. Maybe it is an oversight. In any case, we are responsible to watch over what God has already assigned to us. They might not know but we know. We must step up as Watchers of Ministry Empowered with kNowledge!”
Once again, the vigilant sisters interrupted what seemed as the inevitable to declare the will of God. Their persistence in watching over God’s word, God’s decree, gave rise to the execution of the will of God in Israel.
Sisters, this is a strategy for winning, for seeing what God said to you and about you gain expression in your world. The strategy is watching over the word. This watching involves cognition (being aware of what’s happening in your environment in regards to that word). The watching also requires some level of activity of doing to make preparation for the manifestation of that word. Finally, the watching requires prayer to strengthen your conviction and invite reinforcement from the heavenly hosts.
May we be as courageous as Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Mikvah, and Tirzah, the daughters of Zelophehad, to break the status quo when needed, to walk into places where we are told we do not belong, and stimulate a search for and manifestation of the will of God.
DIG DEEPER:
Blog Post: STRATEGY FOR WARFARE: WATCHING