Numbers 27: Inheritance Laws
1 Then came the daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, from the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph; and these were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 And they stood before Moses, before Eleazar the priest, and before the leaders and all the congregation, by the doorway of the tabernacle of meeting, saying: 3 “Our father died in the wilderness; but he was not in the company of those who gathered together against the Lord, in company with Korah, but he died in his own sin; and he had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father be removed from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession among our father’s brothers.”
“Normally when a father died, his sons divided his property with the eldest receiving a double portion. Daughters did not receive an inheritance other than their dowry. The dowry was a substantial present their father gave them when they married. The term dowry also refers to a gift the groom gave to his father-in-law when he married his daughter.” (Constable Notes) But these righteous daughters of Zelophehad had a feeling that the Torah concerning the land of Canaan was different, as a type of Heaven.
Notice that their spirit was right. They “considered themselves as left destitute, having neither father nor brother to inherit any land. Their believing expectation that the word of the Lord would be performed in due season, and their desire of an interest in the promised inheritance; and the modest, candid manner in which they asked, without secret murmurs or discontents, are a good example. They ask for a possession in the land of Canaan. Herein they discovered, 1. Strong faith in the power and promise of God, concerning the giving of the land of Canaan to Israel. 2. And earnest desire of a place and name in the land of promise, which was a type of heaven. 3. Respect and honour for their father, whose name was dear to them now he was gone. He never had done any thing that might bar his children's claim.” (Matthew Henry Commentary)
“This is uncommonly fine. It does the heart good to read such words as these at a time like the present, when so little is made of the proper standing and portion of God's people, and when so many are content to go on from day to day, and year to year, without caring even to inquire into the things which are freely given to them of God... We merely desire to call the reader's attention to the fact, that it is at once sinning against our own rich mercies, and dishonouring the Lord, when we evince a spirit of indifferentism in reference to any one point of divine revelation as to the position and portion of the Church, or of the individual believer. If God in the aboundings of His grace, has been pleased to bestow upon us precious privileges, as Christians, ought we not to seek earnestly to know what these privileges are? Ought we not to seek to make them our own, in the artless simplicity of faith? Is it treating our God and His revelation worthily, to be indifferent as to whether we are servants or sons — as to whether we have the Holy Ghost dwelling in us or not — as to whether we are under law or under grace — whether ours is a heavenly or an earthly calling?”
(C. H. Mackintosh's Notes on the Pentateuch)
5 So Moses brought their case before the Lord. 6 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 7 “The daughters of Zelophehad speak what is right; you shall surely give them a possession of inheritance among their father’s brothers, and cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them. 8 And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter. 9 If he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. 10 If he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. 11 And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the relative closest to him in his family, and he shall possess it.’” And it shall be to the children of Israel a statute of judgment, just as the Lord commanded Moses.
Moses did right by taking the matter to Yahweh. And He said, "The daughters of Zelophehad speak right." "They always do so. Their words are words of faith, and, as such, are always right in the judgement of God, it is a terrible thing to limit ‘the Holy One of Israel.’ He delights to be trusted and used. It is utterly impossible for faith to overdraw its account in God's bank. God could no more disappoint faith than He could deny Himself. He can never say to faith, ‘You have miscalculated; you take too lofty — too bold a stand; so lower down, and lessen your expectations.’ Ah! no; the only thing in all this world that truly delights and refreshes the heart of God is the faith that can simply trust him; and we may rest assured of this, that the faith that can trust Him is also the faith that can love Him, and serve Him, and praise Him. Hence, then, we are deeply indebted to the daughters of Zelophehad. They teach us a lesson of inestimable value. And more than this, their acting gave occasion to the unfolding of a fresh truth which was to form the basis of a divine rule for all future generations. The Lord commanded Moses, saying, ‘If a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughters…’” (C. H. Mackintosh's Notes on the Pentateuch) — and if no daughters, then his brothers…. and if no brothers (and their families), then nearest relative.
It belonged to that family forever, as long as this world endures. "Later (ch36) the Lord placed a restriction on daughters who inherited their father's estate. They had to marry within their own tribe to keep the inheritance within that tribe as it would have remained if the father had had sons.” (Constable Notes) "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?" (2 Corinthians 6:14)
“Thus all is settled. The activities of faith are governed by the truth of God, and individual claims are adjusted in harmony with the true interests of all; while, at the same time, the glory of God is so fully maintained, that at the time of the jubilee, instead of any confusion in the landmarks of Israel, the integrity of the inheritance is secured according to the divine grant. Nothing can be more instructive than this entire history of the daughters of Zelophehad. May we really profit by it!” (C. H. Mackintosh's Notes on the Pentateuch)
Make your own case before God, you daughters of Zion. Come to Him through the mediation of Jesus – at the door of the tabernacle – pleading only His blood and His righteousness alone, saying, "I am an heir of God – a child of Abraham by faith.”
Numbers 27: Joshua the Next Leader of Israel
12 Now the Lord said to Moses: “Go up into this Mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the children of Israel. 13 And when you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was gathered. 14 For in the Wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command to hallow Me at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah, at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.)
Go up into this Mount Abarim— "The whole tract of mountains was called Abarim, whereof one of the highest was called Nebo, and the top of that Pisgah." (Wesley notes)
And see the land which I have given to the children of Israel. And when you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people.... "Moses must die, but he shall have the satisfaction of seeing the land of promise. This sight of Canaan signified his believing prospect of the better country, that is, the heavenly." (Matthew Henry)
Moses was faithful in all his house. (Hebrews 3:5) Thus: "Death does not cut him off; it only gathers him to his people, brings him to rest with the holy patriarchs that were gone before him. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were his people, the people of his choice, and to them death gathered him." (Wesley Notes)
YET, for in the Wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command… “Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them." (Numbers 20:12) Possession of the earthly Canaan - "The privation of this great honor was owing to the unhappy conduct he had manifested in the striking of the rock at Meribah [Nu 20:12]...” (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown)
15 Then Moses spoke to the Lord, saying: 16 “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, 17 who may go out before them and go in before them, who may lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep which have no shepherd.”
"Moses' reaction to God's announcement of his death was admirable. He did not panic like King Saul ( 1 Samuel 28:20) or even pray for a few more years like King Hezekiah ( 2 Kings 20:1-3). Instead he prayed for the welfare of Israel, the nation that had caused him so much grief. Many leaders prefer to select their successor, but Moses asked God to make this crucial choice. In so doing he gave practical testimony to his acceptance of Yahweh"s sovereignty over Israel." (Dr. Thomas Constable)
“Envious spirits do not love their successors; but Moses was not one of these. We should concern ourselves, both in our prayers and in our endeavours, for the rising generation, that religion may be maintained and advanced, when we are in our graves.” (Matthew Henry Commentary)
May Yahweh –the God of the spirits of all flesh...- Who breathed His breath into the nostrils of first man- Adam- and made him a living being... "This acknowledgment that man, who is but flesh (compare Genesis 6:3), is of himself helpless; and 'lives and moves and has his being' in God Acts 17:28. The words are suitably employed here to introduce an entreaty that God would not leave the congregation without a guide and leader, and in Numbers 16:22 as a preface to an intercession that the whole people should not suffer for the sin of a, few." (Barnes) LET HIM... set a man over the congregation, who may go out before them- “That is, who may wisely conduct them in all their affairs, both when they go forth to war, or upon other occasions, and when they return home and live in peace. A metaphor from shepherds, who in those places used not to go behind their sheep, as ours now do, but before them, and to lead them forth to their pasture, and in due time to lead them home again." (Wesley Notes)
18 And the Lord said to Moses: “Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him; 19 set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and inaugurate him in their sight. 20 And you shall give some of your authority to him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient. 21 He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire before the Lord for him by the judgment of the Urim. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, he and all the children of Israel with him—all the congregation.” 22 So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. 23 And he laid his hands on him and inaugurated him, just as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.
Joshua – this spirit-filled, son of Abraham – should for the edification of all Israel, be anointed by the laying on of hands of the high priest in the sight of all. "This spirit was not something that now came upon Joshua , or was temporary (such as the coming of the spirit on the elders in Numbers 11:17; Numbers 11:25-26); it already existed in Joshua and was the basis of God’s choice of him. Deuteronomy 34:9 applies the phrase 'full of the spirit of Wisdom' to Joshua , confirming the thought here." (Ashley)
And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest ... "Joshua was thus to be inferior to what Moses had been. For Moses had enjoyed the privilege of unrestricted direct contact with God: Joshua, like all future rulers of Israel, was to ask counsel mediately, through the High Priest and those means of inquiring of God wherewith the high priest was entrusted. Such counsel Joshua seems to have omitted to seek when he concluded his hasty treaty with the Gibeonites (Joshua 9:3 ff).” (Barnes' Notes)
And so the children of Israel's "going out" and their "coming in" was directed by Yahweh. Our "GOINGS- OUT should be determined by the Word of God. — We never waste time when we stand before the true Priest, who has the Urim of Divine direction, especially when we are considering some call to duty. Very often we have gone out at the instigation of pride, or emulation, or fussy activity; we have gone out because others have done so, and we were eager not to be left behind. Under these circumstances the out-goings of our mornings have not been made to rejoice; we have encountered disappointment and defeat. When we go forth at God’s bidding, He becomes absolutely responsible; otherwise we pierce ourselves through with many sorrows, and bring discredit on the cause we would fain serve. OUR COMINGS-IN must be determined by the Word of God. — When we should come in to rest, to pray, to fill again our souls with his Spirit, to suffer in secret, or to die, must be left to the determination of his will. It is easier to go out than to come in. Activity is pleasanter than passivity; the stir and rush of the world preferable to lying still to suffer. But our times are in his hand, and as soon as we recognize the decisions of the Urim in the appointments of Divine Providence, the speedier shall we be at peace. It we are fully surrendered to God, both our going-out and our coming-in shall be ordered aright by his Spirit. ( F. B. Meyer)