Sisters: The Five Daughters of Zelophehadনমুনা

The Courage to Challenge the Status Quo

Catherine Booth, the co-founder of the Salvation Army with her husband William, made this statement; ‘There is no improving the future without disturbing the present.’

If you look back in history, you’ll remember many moments where one person challenged the status quo. Rosa Parks is a classic example; in 1920, Racism was a cruel way of life. Her childhood was filled with the terror and cruelty of the Ku Klux Klan. Simply riding a bus was reserved for white people, and then eventually, when buses did allow people of color to ride on them, the first four rows were reserved for white citizens. Writing this makes me sick to my stomach.

But on the 1st of December 1955, 42-year-old Rosa made history and refused to move from her seat. She said this; ‘people said I was just tired, but I was just tired of giving in.’

Just as Rosa Parks grew up in an era of injustice, the daughters of Zelophehad grew up in an era when women were not treated fairly. They were young sisters when the Israelites wandered the wilderness of Sinai. They would hear people talking about what life would be like when they arrived in Canaan, the ‘land of milk and honey.’ The men around them spoke of obtaining portions of land on the other side of the Jordan River; they spoke of planting crops, growing cattle, and digging for precious metals. But the daughters of Zelophehad knew they would not inherit anything in this new land.

The problem was with the law and how things had ‘always’ been done. In patriarchal Israel, only men were allowed to own property, and so a family with no male heir had no chance or way of obtaining inheritance rights. A family of only daughters ended with them, and no land was ever given or passed on. But when we meet the daughters in Numbers 27, we learn that they did not sit back and accept the cultural edict; they did not simply go with the ‘flow.’

There is so much we do not know. Like where these girls found their bravery, especially in a culture where women had no rights. We don’t know which girl made the speech. Except for Miriam, Moses' sister, we have no record of any other women in prominent leadership during that period.

I love these girls. Willing to ask a question that had never been asked. They were so fearless, that they went all the way to Moses to ask their seemingly audacious request. The bible does not paint them as rebels, and they didn’t come with a vindictive spirit or angry tone. Not only did Moses listen to them and treat them with respect, but God heard their request and acted on their behalf!

The daughters appear in the Bible five times, and all of them are painted in a positive light. There is a subtle message in the world and the church that women can only go so far, that they must stay in the background and raise nice kids. But this is a minimalistic philosophy compared to the biblical record, where we see so many gutsy women standing in the gap.

There are things in your life that you have let go of due to cultural norms; I sense it. But through this study, we will look at how we dig deep into the reality of God's word to unearth all that He has for us all.

Love Darls xx