Liberty and Justice for all

Scripture passage that caught my attention today: Numbers 36:1-4 The heads of the ancestral houses of the clans of the descendants of Gilead son of Machir son of Manasseh, of the Josephite clans, came forward and spoke in the presence of Moses and the leaders, the heads of the ancestral houses of the Israelites; 2 they said, “The LORD commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the Israelites; and my lord was commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. 3 But if they are married into another Israelite tribe, then their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of our ancestors and added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry; so it will be taken away from the alloted portion of our inheritance. 4 And when the jubilee of the Israelites comes, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they have married; and their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of our ancestral tribe.”

Observation: Folks were thinking ahead in those days.

Application: I love the story of Zelophehad’s daughters. First, they had the gumption earlier in Scripture to lobby successfully for their father’s inheritance, since he had no sons. But with changing policies sometimes comes additional wrinkles to be dealt with, in this case the possibility of them marrying into other tribes and then their father’s inheritance getting swallowed up by the other tribes. So a new and complimentary statute needed to be set up, this case the requirement that they marry within their ancestral tribe.

These days, as in earlier times, it’s not always easy to maintain fairness. But the situation with Zelophehad’s daughters serves as a reminder that it can be done.

Prayer: Lord, thanks for giving us, at least at times, both the gumption and the wherewithal to work toward an ancient principle that is well captured in the more recent phrase “with liberty and justice for all.” In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Scripture readings included: Numbers 34-36 and Mark 11)