Take examples from Zelophehad five daughters ! (4)

Saturday July 17, 2021

Take examples from Zelophehad five daughters ! (4)

"They can marry whoever they want, as long as it is in a clan of their father's tribe." Numbers 36.6

The story of the daughters of Zelophehad had another twist, this time occasioned by their uncles and the leaders of the various clans of Joseph's sons. They came before Moses and the other chieftains to point out that the previous divine decision had a flaw in their eyes: if the daughters of Tselophehad married men from other tribes, their inheritance risked coming under control. from another tribe, thus unbalancing the land areas allocated to each tribe during the sharing organized earlier. Again, one may wonder why God did not foresee this objection... or did He foresee it, but chose to wait for the Israelites to come and see Him again to ask Him the question ? When it comes to discussing God's will, let us not forget that He sometimes tests us to make us think for ourselves and seek adequate solutions. Since human beings were made in the image of God, we too have the power of reflection and analysis. Even if He chooses to make us walk on a path we did not foresee, is it not our duty to study possible plans for our actions ? God accepted the objection of the chieftains of the sons of Joseph, and added a condition to His previous ruling : Zelophehad daughters were not to marry men from another tribe. A decision which they accepted with good grace (v. 10-12). A decision that is still relevant today ! “The woman... is free to marry whomever she wants, but a Christian only” (1 Corinthians 7:39), writes Paul, who explains : “Do not put yourselves under the same yoke as people who do not believe in God. How, indeed, would what is right combine with what is bad ? How would light unite with darkness ?" (2 Corinthians 6:14).

Source (His Word for Today)