Once again, the Holy Spirit surprises me with a message of grace hidden (quite well, this time!) in the pages of what appear, at first glance, to be dry, irrelevant pages of the Mosaic law. It’s like an Easter egg hunt, or, as I said before, a game of Where’s Waldo. Here is today’s devotional reading:
1 Then the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph, came near; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah and Hoglah and Milcah and Tirzah. 2 They stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest and before the leaders and all the congregation, at the doorway of the tent of meeting, saying, 3 “Our father died in the wilderness, yet he was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah; but he died in his own sin, and he had no sons. 4 “Why should the name of our father be withdrawn from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession among our father’s brothers.”
5 So Moses brought their case before the LORD. 6 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 7 “The daughters of Zelophehad are right in their statements. You shall surely give them a hereditary possession among their father’s brothers, and you shall transfer the inheritance of their father to them. 8 “Further, you shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall transfer his inheritance 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 ‘If his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his nearest relative in his own family, and he shall possess it; and it shall be a statutory ordinance to the sons of Israel, just as the LORD commanded Moses.’ “
Numbers 27:1-11
Now, as a lawyer, I found this account mildly interesting from a legal point of view, but that’s not really what I’m looking for in a morning devotion. So after reading it (twice) I turned to the Holy Spirit, and I said “Lord, I don’t see it. Where is Jesus? Where is grace? I know it’s got to be here somewhere, but I just can’t find it.” Basically, I asked the Guy who hid the eggs where the eggs are hidden. What He showed me is pretty darn cool and encouraging.
Look at verse 3. Zelophehad messed up. His daughters are careful to point out that he “died in his own sin.” Oh, it wasn’t the kind of “serious” sin we would immediately think was worthy of mention in the Bible. He didn’t participate in Korah’s rebellion against Moses and Aaron (Numbers 16:1-40), which we might think would justify cutting off his name from the rolls of the Israelites for the rest of all time. He didn’t lie, cheat, steal, or murder. He didn’t commit any of the “seven deadly sins.” No, his sin was one that we might think was just a “little” sin — a minor failing, that we might call, really, more of a personality flaw, or a result of bad circumstances, or really just a poor decision. He died because he was part of that group of people — an entire generation of Israelites! — who refused to enter the Promised Land when God led them there (Numbers 13-14). Zelophehad’s sin was lack of faith. He lacked faith in God: God’s promises, God’s provision, and God’s power. And this “minor” sin had very serious consequences, certainly for Zelophehad, but also for his family.
Because of his sin, Zelophehad — along with the rest of his faithless peers — died before he could claim his inheritance in the land of Canaan. Bad for Zelophehad, but also really bad for his family. Because, you see, Zelophehad had no sons, only 5 daughters. And at that time daughters could not inherit anything from their father. So when it came time to parcel out parts of Canaan, Zelophehad’s daughters were going to be out of luck. If he had remained faithful to God and trusted His promises way back when, Zelophehad would have been around to claim his rightful portion of the Promised Land (as Caleb and Joshua were). But his lack of faith meant that his daughters had no legal standing to claim even one square foot of the Promised Land. Oof!
But here’s where God’s grace really shines through. Because, you see, Zelophehad’s daughters did have faith. Unlike their father, they did believe God’s promises to give the Israelites the land of Canaan. Even though at this point the nation of Israel hadn’t even dangled a single toe into the Jordan river, much less crossed it into Canaan, much less conquered even one foot of ground, still those remarkable women believed that God would give them the land. They believed it so fervently — were so convinced that God would make good on His promise — that they were adamant that they should be allowed to participate in the benefits and blessings of that promise. So they took their case directly to the highest court in the land: God himself, through Moses and Eleazar the high priest.
And God, in His grace, honored their faith. He said that they were “right in their statements” — e.g. in the right. Another way to say that is they were righteous. And God decreed that they were to be given their father’s portion of the Promised Land. Because God refused to let their father’s sin of faithlessness keep them from the blessings of their own faith.
As I see my own failings as a father, I frequently get discouraged. I see my own sins passed on, and sometimes magnified, in my children. I look back on how I parented through the years, and I see my “mistakes” (really, there’s nothing mistaken about it — it’s my sin nature on vivid display!) and the effects they have had on my children, and the way they have had to cope with my sin, and sometimes I am beaten down with guilt and shame.
And then God, in his grace toward me, brings me gently to a “dry” and “irrelevant” case law regarding Ancient Near East inheritance, and he shows me that He is sovereign even over my sin. His grace is greater than my worst failings, and my children’s faith can wipe out the consequences of even my worst parenting.
And I am undone.
