NUMBERS LESSON 44
We will begin this lesson in Numbers 36:1 "And the chief fathers
of the families of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son
of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near, and
spake before Moses, and before the princes, the chief fathers of the
children of Israel:"
The father, in the verse above, could be a father, or a
grandfather. The father of the family spoke for his family. In this
particular instance, the father speaking was from the tribe of Joseph
which had come down through Manasseh, Machir, and Gilead.
Numbers 36:2 "And they said, The LORD commanded my lord to give
the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel: and my
lord was commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad
our brother unto his daughters."
We remember, that Zelophehad had no sons. The matter of the
inheritance for the daughters had already come up, and the LORD told
Moses the daughters were to inherit the same as the men.
Numbers 36:3 "And if they be married to any of the sons of the
[other] tribes of the children of Israel, then shall their inheritance
be taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and shall be put to the
inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall it be
taken from the lot of our inheritance."
The daughters of Zelophehad had inherited a parcel of land, the
same as the sons of each of the other tribes. The question is, what
happens, if they marry someone of another tribe? Do they keep their
inheritance and take into the marriage with them, or does it go back
to the tribe they received it from?
Numbers 36:4 "And when the jubile of the children of Israel shall
be, then shall their inheritance be put unto the inheritance of the
tribe whereunto they are received: so shall their inheritance be taken
away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers."
The jubile could not transfer this land to the husband of this
daughter. At jubilee, land went back to its original owner. The land
of the tribe of Manasseh must stay in the hands of the descendents of
Manasseh. This land would be the daughters' ancestors land forever. It
appears, that even though jubilee was taught, it was never really
practiced, even in Israel.
Numbers 36:5 "And Moses commanded the children of Israel
according to the word of the LORD, saying, The tribe of the sons of
Joseph hath said well."
Now, we see the answer that Moses gave them. Moses is saying,
that it was best to bring this up, before it ever happened.
Numbers 36:6 "This [is] the thing which the LORD doth command
concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry to whom
they think best; only to the family of the tribe of their father shall
they marry."
This would solve the problem. If they married within their own
tribe, the land would remain with the tribe of Manasseh.
Numbers 36:7 "So shall not the inheritance of the children of
Israel remove from tribe to tribe: for every one of the children of
Israel shall keep himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his
fathers."
The inheritance of the land was given to that particular tribe
for all generations. They must not start changing land from one tribe
to the other. The heritage is for generations to come. If they start
changing it around, there will be no heritage for future generations.
Numbers 36:8 "And every daughter, that possesseth an inheritance
in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife unto one of the
family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may
enjoy every man the inheritance of his fathers."
This is a general rule to keep the inheritance together for the
future generations. The only answer to this problem, is for her to
choose a husband of her own tribe.
Numbers 36:9 "Neither shall the inheritance remove from [one]
tribe to another tribe; but every one of the tribes of the children of
Israel shall keep himself to his own inheritance."
The land ownership must stay within the tribe it began with. Each
tribe is like a nation unto themselves. They must stay with the
inheritance God gave them from the beginning.
Numbers 36:10 "Even as the LORD commanded Moses, so did the
daughters of Zelophehad:"
The last word on these matters was the LORD. The Lord spoke
through Moses to these daughters. The daughters did exactly as Moses
had told them.
Numbers 36:11 "For Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and
Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married unto their father's
brothers' sons:"
They married their cousins. And the inheritance remained in their
tribe. The names above are the names of Zelophehad's daughters.
Numbers 36:12 "[And] they were married into the families of the
sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in
the tribe of the family of their father."
They obeyed the will of God in this matter, and the inheritance
stayed in the tribe of Manasseh of Joseph.
Numbers 36:13 "These [are] the commandments and the judgments,
which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses unto the children of
Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan [near] Jericho."
The Lord was giving these people some last minute instructions,
before the entering in of the promised land, here, at Jericho. We must
remember, that Moses would not go into the land with them. He would
die on the eastern side of Jordan.
Thank you for taking the time for me to share my thought with you
in the book of Numbers. May God, the Holy Spirit, continue to reveal
His Word to You. God bless you.
Your friend in Christ
Louise Haney
Numbers 44 Questions
1. Who came to speak to Moses in verse 1?
2. Who were the fathers?
3. What tribe was the father from?
4. The LORD had commanded to give the land for an inheritance by lot
to whom?
5. Who would receive the inheritance of Zelophehad?
6. Why did they receive the inheritance?
7. Who had decided, they would receive the inheritance?
8. What is the question in verse 3?
9. The jubile could not transfer this inheritance of land to whom?
10. The land of the tribe of Manasseh must stay in whose hands?
11. What is Moses saying in verse 5?
12. Who were the only ones they could marry?
13. The inheritance of land was given to a tribe for all __________.
14. Why was this to be practiced?
15. What did the daughters of Zelophehad do?
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