`
PIONEERS OF THE FIRST FRONTIER
How Five Sisters Changed The World For Women.
Their names are decidedly obscure, Mahlah, Hoglah, Milcah, Noah. Tirzah. Their action, taken eight centuries before the founding of Rome, is largely lost in the annals of time. But every woman owes them a debt of gratitude. So does every lawyer.
The name belong to the daughters of Zelophehad-five girls who were of the appropriate age, in our modern day, to be attending a university law school. But in their time, in the ancient Near East, they had few freedoms and even less say about the course of their futures.
Thankfully, that did not stop them from challenging the statutes of their culture while respecting the tenets of their faith. In so doing, they won an incredible victory for women’s rights while giving us an inspiring example of undaunted courage.
Their story is found in the book of Numbers. Their father Zelophehad, a Manassite, had died in the wilderness. Since he was not in the company of Korah, who had rebelled against Moses, his family had right to his inheritance. There was problem, though, Zelophehad did not have a some to claim that inheritance, but only daughters, who had absolutely no property rights under existing customs. Seeing this as unfair, the young women teamed together and boldly declared they were entitled to what he had left.
This happened at a key moment in the history of Israel. The people were getting ready to enter the Promised Land and therefore had commissioned a census so that the new land could be distributed properly before they crossed the Jordan.
The daughters of Zelophehad had been counted among those in their tribe who would be at least 20 years of age by the time the land was apportioned. They were wise enough to recognize that the time was ripe to take a stand; otherwise, they would risk losing any chance of securing their father’s inheritance for their families.
UNPRECEDENTED BLESSING
The young ladies did something that had never been tried before. They went directly to Moses, the priest Eleazar, and the whole congregation to state their case publicly.
Numbers 27:4
~ Why should the name of our father be withdrawn from among his family because he had no son?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. ~
Their request was unprecedented, an act of great conviction and risk.
Can you imagine the scene? They must have endured intense ridicule, even consternation, from Old-School Israelites who believed that women, especially ones so youthful, should simply know their place and remain silent. Some may have even interpreted their actions as an affront to almighty God and the laws He had so carefully established.
Moses certainly must have discerned this, but he also knew the solution. He took their case before the Lord, a God of justice and right. And the ultimate Judge quickly returned His decision:
Numbers 27:7
~ 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.
God’s ruling was in favor of the sisters. The law was rewritten, and women gained legal property rights for the very first time. Later, the case was broadened to include other instances, such as when there were no brothers or surviving children of the deceased.
It was one of the earliest reported lawsuits on record. In modern times, it has been used by attorney and jurists for opinions, and it is still accepted as the oldest decided case cited as a legal authority.
In fact, an American Bar Association Journal article by Henry C. Clark, dating back to 1924, quotes this decision, describing it as a judgment of tremendous significance. The judgment or decree was applicable to all the 12 tribes. It altered their very constitution of government. The fundamental policy of the state was changed.
Whereas women had not before been counted, now they could be numbered. Whereas before, in the absence of male descendants, a family became extinct and the daughters penniless, now daughters could be preserve the family and receive the estate.
Edith Deen, in her book; All of the Women of the Bible; summarized it this way:
Up until then women had no legal property rights. This is one of the reasons a man always desired a son. Now women were numbered as human beings and legally entitled to the same property rights as men.
SETTING A PRECEDENT FOR OTHERS
The bold action of Mahlah, Hoglah, Milcah, Noah, and Tirzah shows the incredible impact one instance of courage can have not just in your life, but in their lives of others, even generations into the future.
The five sisters provided a model for other women with names just as obscure, who felt led by God to challenge the status quo of their times. For example, in the worlds of publishing, missions work, and prison outreach.
In the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Anne Bradstreet lost her home in a fire, saw a daughter die at age four, and was separated from her husband Simon for extended periods when duty took him to England. However, these experiences, and the faith in God they inspired, were expressed in her poems, which were eventually published as; The Tenth Muse. It was the first volume of enduring English language poetry ever produced by a women.
Within the churches of the 1800s, there was intense opposition to single women who wanted to become missionaries. Sarah Doremus began a new missions association; the Women’s Union Missionary Society of America; which broke down those barriers. In addition to raising eight children, Sarah also led an organization to return women prisoners to society; organized relief for Christian Greeks oppressed by Muslim Turks; and cooperated with efforts to create both a children’s hospital and a separate women’s hospital in New York State.
In 1896, the warden of Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York, summoned Maud Booth to speak to inmates.
She boldly told them ~ I do not come here to prevent you from paying the just penalty of your crimes; take your medicine like men. When you have paid the penalty, I will help you. I will nurse you back to health. I will get your work. Above all, I will trust. It depends on you whether I keep doing so or not. ~
Five prisoners made up their minds to follow Christ that day. By year’s end, she formed the Volunteer Prison League. As of 1923, over 100,000 prisoners had signed up for its programs. Maud set up, Houses of Hope, around the country to help ease ex-cons back into society. Thanks to her efforts, Volunteers of America did as much to bring about twentieth-century prison reform as did any other organization.
What courageous act is the Lord asking of you? It may not be to challenge the legal mores of the day or to pioneer a great ministry outreach. It could be as simple and as profound as witnessing to a neighbor, confronting a loved one about a relationship problem, or starting a new business.
Whatever it is, follow the bold example of the daughters of Zelophehad and their modern day predecessors.
You will likely discover that God will bless you, and others, in way you will find unprecedented.
~
I can do all things thru God who strengthens me.
~
The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary.
He gives power to the weak.
To those who have no might, He increases their strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall.
But those who wait on the Lord, He shall renew their strength.
They shall mount up with wings like eagles.
They shall run and not be weary.
They shall walk and not faint.
THE COMPANION OF FAITH
http://bolderspirit.livejournal.com/9
THE MIRACLE OF TITHING
http://bolderspirit.livejournal.com/7
http://tithing101.livejournal.com
~
THE COSTLY CALLS BY JESUS
http://call101.livejournal.com
~
PIONEERS OF THE FIRST FRONTIER
How Five Sisters Changed The World For Women.
Their names are decidedly obscure, Mahlah, Hoglah, Milcah, Noah. Tirzah. Their action, taken eight centuries before the founding of Rome, is largely lost in the annals of time. But every woman owes them a debt of gratitude. So does every lawyer.
The name belong to the daughters of Zelophehad-five girls who were of the appropriate age, in our modern day, to be attending a university law school. But in their time, in the ancient Near East, they had few freedoms and even less say about the course of their futures.
Thankfully, that did not stop them from challenging the statutes of their culture while respecting the tenets of their faith. In so doing, they won an incredible victory for women’s rights while giving us an inspiring example of undaunted courage.
Their story is found in the book of Numbers. Their father Zelophehad, a Manassite, had died in the wilderness. Since he was not in the company of Korah, who had rebelled against Moses, his family had right to his inheritance. There was problem, though, Zelophehad did not have a some to claim that inheritance, but only daughters, who had absolutely no property rights under existing customs. Seeing this as unfair, the young women teamed together and boldly declared they were entitled to what he had left.
This happened at a key moment in the history of Israel. The people were getting ready to enter the Promised Land and therefore had commissioned a census so that the new land could be distributed properly before they crossed the Jordan.
The daughters of Zelophehad had been counted among those in their tribe who would be at least 20 years of age by the time the land was apportioned. They were wise enough to recognize that the time was ripe to take a stand; otherwise, they would risk losing any chance of securing their father’s inheritance for their families.
UNPRECEDENTED BLESSING
The young ladies did something that had never been tried before. They went directly to Moses, the priest Eleazar, and the whole congregation to state their case publicly.
Numbers 27:4
~ 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. ~
Their request was unprecedented, an act of great conviction and risk.
Can you imagine the scene? They must have endured intense ridicule, even consternation, from Old-School Israelites who believed that women, especially ones so youthful, should simply know their place and remain silent. Some may have even interpreted their actions as an affront to almighty God and the laws He had so carefully established.
Moses certainly must have discerned this, but he also knew the solution. He took their case before the Lord, a God of justice and right. And the ultimate Judge quickly returned His decision:
Numbers 27:7
~ 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.
God’s ruling was in favor of the sisters. The law was rewritten, and women gained legal property rights for the very first time. Later, the case was broadened to include other instances, such as when there were no brothers or surviving children of the deceased.
It was one of the earliest reported lawsuits on record. In modern times, it has been used by attorney and jurists for opinions, and it is still accepted as the oldest decided case cited as a legal authority.
In fact, an American Bar Association Journal article by Henry C. Clark, dating back to 1924, quotes this decision, describing it as a judgment of tremendous significance. The judgment or decree was applicable to all the 12 tribes. It altered their very constitution of government. The fundamental policy of the state was changed.
Whereas women had not before been counted, now they could be numbered. Whereas before, in the absence of male descendants, a family became extinct and the daughters penniless, now daughters could be preserve the family and receive the estate.
Edith Deen, in her book; All of the Women of the Bible; summarized it this way:
Up until then women had no legal property rights. This is one of the reasons a man always desired a son. Now women were numbered as human beings and legally entitled to the same property rights as men.
SETTING A PRECEDENT FOR OTHERS
The bold action of Mahlah, Hoglah, Milcah, Noah, and Tirzah shows the incredible impact one instance of courage can have not just in your life, but in their lives of others, even generations into the future.
The five sisters provided a model for other women with names just as obscure, who felt led by God to challenge the status quo of their times. For example, in the worlds of publishing, missions work, and prison outreach.
In the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Anne Bradstreet lost her home in a fire, saw a daughter die at age four, and was separated from her husband Simon for extended periods when duty took him to England. However, these experiences, and the faith in God they inspired, were expressed in her poems, which were eventually published as; The Tenth Muse. It was the first volume of enduring English language poetry ever produced by a women.
Within the churches of the 1800s, there was intense opposition to single women who wanted to become missionaries. Sarah Doremus began a new missions association; the Women’s Union Missionary Society of America; which broke down those barriers. In addition to raising eight children, Sarah also led an organization to return women prisoners to society; organized relief for Christian Greeks oppressed by Muslim Turks; and cooperated with efforts to create both a children’s hospital and a separate women’s hospital in New York State.
In 1896, the warden of Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York, summoned Maud Booth to speak to inmates.
She boldly told them ~ I do not come here to prevent you from paying the just penalty of your crimes; take your medicine like men. When you have paid the penalty, I will help you. I will nurse you back to health. I will get your work. Above all, I will trust. It depends on you whether I keep doing so or not. ~
Five prisoners made up their minds to follow Christ that day. By year’s end, she formed the Volunteer Prison League. As of 1923, over 100,000 prisoners had signed up for its programs. Maud set up, Houses of Hope, around the country to help ease ex-cons back into society. Thanks to her efforts, Volunteers of America did as much to bring about twentieth-century prison reform as did any other organization.
What courageous act is the Lord asking of you? It may not be to challenge the legal mores of the day or to pioneer a great ministry outreach. It could be as simple and as profound as witnessing to a neighbor, confronting a loved one about a relationship problem, or starting a new business.
Whatever it is, follow the bold example of the daughters of Zelophehad and their modern day predecessors.
You will likely discover that God will bless you, and others, in way you will find unprecedented.
~
I can do all things thru God who strengthens me.
~
The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary.
He gives power to the weak.
To those who have no might, He increases their strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall.
But those who wait on the Lord, He shall renew their strength.
They shall mount up with wings like eagles.
They shall run and not be weary.
They shall walk and not faint.
THE COMPANION OF FAITH
http://bolderspirit.livejournal.com/9
THE MIRACLE OF TITHING
http://bolderspirit.livejournal.com/7
http://tithing101.livejournal.com
~
THE COSTLY CALLS BY JESUS
http://call101.livejournal.com
~