Daily Lesson for March 5, 2020

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Numbers chapter 27 verses 1 through 11:

The he daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, belonged to the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. The names of the daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah. They came forward 2 and stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders and the whole assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said, 3 “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among Korah’s followers, who banded together against the Lord, but he died for his own sin and left no sons. 4 Why should our father’s name disappear from his clan because he had no son? Give us property among our father’s relatives.”
5 So Moses brought their case before the Lord, 6 and the Lord said to him, 7 “What Zelophehad’s daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father’s relatives and give their father’s inheritance to them.
8 “Say to the Israelites, ‘If a man dies and leaves no son, give his inheritance to his daughter. 9 If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers. 10 If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. 11 If his father had no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative in his clan, that he may possess it. This is to have the force of law for the Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.’”

Here is the beginning of equal rights in Israel.

In ancient Israel, property rights were passed down patrilineally. But that system showed its imperfection when there was no male to inherit the property. The alternatives were for either the property to be given to close clan groups, thus dispossessing the descendants, or for the property to actually be handed down through, gasp, a woman.

And when the LORD spoke to Moses about this the word was woman.

It was not equal. Sons were still privileged over daughters; but it was a beginning to the long, hard road we’re still walking towards what is know as equal rights for all sexes and genders.  And we wouldn’t be watching “The Crown” on Netflix without it . . .

NOTE: I’m  reading the whole Bible this year.  Tomorrow’s Lesson is from Numbers chapters 28-30.