And the chief fathers of families of the sons of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near, and spoke before Moses, and before the princes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel
Numbers closes with a question only half answered. Five sisters had won the right to inherit their dead father's land. Now the men of their own clan come to Moses with a problem that ruling created: what happens to the land if one of these women marries into another tribe?
The chapter finishes a story that began nine chapters earlier. It also pulls in the opposite direction from the first ruling.
Numbers 36 adds a further point that winds up the account of the daughters of Zelophehad. The earlier passage honoured their faith; this one acts as a guard and puts the matter in order. It secures the glory of God while avoiding confusion among men, for the tribes of Israel must be kept as they should be. On the one hand, God's goodness meant that the daughters should inherit if there was no son. On the other hand, the inheritance must not pass out of their fathers' tribe.
Verse 1 puts a group of men in front of Moses. The last people to stand there on this matter were the sisters themselves.
The "fathers" of the house of Joseph must be heard as well as the "daughters." The faith of the daughters was most lovely. But there was a danger that the high place their faith had raised them to might make them forget the claims of others, and move the boundary markers that guarded their fathers' inheritance. This had to be thought about and provided for… We are not to force our way through with a high hand and a strong will, however strong our faith may be. We should always be ready to yield to the adjusting power of the whole truth of God.
The clan leaders are not worried about a temporary loss. They look ahead to the jubilee year and see the loss made permanent.
Turning now to Numbers 36, we find that another difficulty grew out of the settling of this question. This time the heads of the families of the children of Gilead come to Moses. Their concern was for the inheritance of the tribe… They go on to say that when the jubilee arrives, the inheritance taken away in this way will be added for good to that of the tribe these women had married into. Once again Moses receives directions from the Lord, who commands that the daughters of Zelophehad may marry "whom they think best," only it must be to men of their own tribe. This settled the difficulty completely, both then and for all time to come.
The names in verse 1 trace this clan back to Manasseh. The first time, the women pleaded for themselves; now their whole tribe pleads, with the same zeal.
In Numbers 27 the daughters of Zelophehad presented their own petition before God. In chapter 36 Manasseh, the whole tribe they belonged to, is stirred by the zeal of these women and pleads for them before Moses and the princes… The tribe is just as eager to see its inheritance stay whole and undamaged as the daughters of Zelophehad had been to have it… The Lord first gave the sons of Joseph the chance to express what they wanted, for if a man is to receive an answer from God, his faith must always be active. Then He grants full liberty to marriage, giving it His full approval on condition that it takes place within the tribe.
A single family's marriage arrangements are the last matter the book deals with.
The last chapter (Numbers 36) goes back to the daughters of Zelophehad. It makes provision about their marriages, so that the inheritance held by them would not pass out of the tribe they belonged to. This might look to us like a trivial matter, but God took notice of it and provided for it… He overlooked nothing that concerned His people.
The answer does not cancel the sisters' rights. It attaches a condition to them, and the sisters accept it.
But faith has its restraints as well as the things it owns. Soon afterwards the question came up about these women: what was to become of the land given to them if they married? The command is given that, if they take the land, they must marry within the clan of the tribe of their father. Some would have thought this an unwelcome restriction. But it was absolutely necessary, so that the property would not be lost to another tribe. Every ability and privilege carries a restriction with it… In any case, it is typical of Zelophehad's daughters that they accept the condition placed on them and keep it with loyalty and obedience, though they had not yet seen even a grain of the soil of their promised possession.
- Inheritance claimed. Chapter 27 honoured five sisters who asked for a share in land they had never seen. Chapter 36 ties up the loose end their claim left.
- Inheritance threatened. The clan leaders look ahead to the jubilee and see the family portion swallowed up by another tribe for good.
- Inheritance heard. The fathers get a hearing, just as the daughters did. Even strong faith must yield to the whole truth of God.
- Inheritance guarded. The ruling holds both sides together. The daughters marry whom they choose, but inside their father's tribe, so nothing leaves the family line.
- Inheritance noticed. One family's marriage question closes the book. Nothing about His people was too small for God to notice.
and they said, Jehovah commanded my lord to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel; and my lord was commanded by Jehovah to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters.
Israel is camped on the plains of Moab, with the land just ahead. The heads of Gilead's families come to Moses holding two commands God has already given: divide the land by lot, and give Zelophehad's daughters their father's portion. What happens when those two commands seem to collide? Can a promise God has settled still slip away?
In Numbers 27 the daughters asked for themselves. Here the whole tribe pleads for them, and God approves what the tribe says:
In Numbers 27 the daughters of Zelophehad brought their own petition before God. In chapter 36 Manasseh, the whole tribe they belonged to, pleads for them before Moses and the princes. The zeal of these women stirred the tribe to it... The tribe is just as eager to see its inheritance remain complete, with nothing lost, as the daughters of Zelophehad had been eager to gain it. The Lord is pleased to acknowledge how right Manasseh's desire is: "The tribe of the sons of Joseph has said well" (Num. 36:5), just as in chapter 27 He had acknowledged that the daughters of Zelophehad had spoken well.
The men do not say that Moses divided the land by his own judgment. They point to the lot — and God Himself controlled the lot:
God takes care that each of His people keeps the inheritance allotted to him. This teaches us that His giving never changes, for the lot decided everything, and He controlled the lot. It also teaches us that He means each person's own place in the inheritance to be kept. So in His mind the person and his portion of land, allotted by God (Num. 33:54; Joshua 14:2; Num. 36:2-3; Prov. 16:33), belong together so closely that nothing may separate them. Individuality, distinctness and lasting character are all bound up in this.
Zelophehad had no sons. That gap made the tribe's portion look fragile. God's answer shows it cannot undo His gift:
Weakness may have come in. With no male heirs, the inheritance seems to pass into the hands of others — and the jubilee itself would then keep it from ever passing back out of their hands. But everything must give way to the first great necessity: the inheritance God allotted must stay with those He allotted it to. Nothing will change this. Nothing — thank God — will keep any of His own from enjoying for ever the inheritance prepared for them.
The daughters had shown real faith in asking for a portion. But faith itself can carry a danger:
The "fathers" of the house of Joseph must be heard as well as the "daughters." The faith of the daughters was most lovely. But there was just a danger in it. Faith had raised them to a high place, and there they might forget the claims of others and move the landmarks that guarded their fathers' inheritance... We need guarding on every side, so that faith and the testimony keep their integrity. However strong our faith, we are not to push things through with a high hand and a strong will. We should always be ready to yield to the adjusting power of the whole truth of God.
Moses does not rule on the case himself. He takes it to the Lord, and three lessons follow:
First, human wisdom can settle nothing in relation to the people of God. We must lay every difficulty before the Lord. Second, if we lack wisdom the Lord is always ready to give, and to give generously. Nothing that affects the welfare of His people is too small to bring before Him; and for us to try to act without His mind is to take His place. Third, the Lord did not deal with the difficulty in advance. He knew it would arise, but He waited until His servant brought it to Him... He would have His people in constant dependence, and so gave only the word for the moment — the wisdom as it was needed.
God's answer reaches past one family. He sets a limit on marriage, turns the case into a rule for all Israel, and the daughters obey it:
The Lord gives marriage full liberty and His full approval, on one condition: it must take place within the tribe (vv. 6-9)... So from one particular case God draws a general principle, and it becomes binding at once... "Even as the Lord had commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad" (v. 10). They themselves treated the revelation given to them, which answered their particular need, as a commandment of the Lord.
- Given — Men did not choose the portions. God controlled the lot, and in His mind each person and his land belong together.
- Guarded — A family's weakness could not undo that gift. The inheritance stayed with those God gave it to.
- Heard — The daughters spoke, and so did the fathers of Joseph. God said the tribe spoke well. Faith must not override the claims of others.
- Asked — Moses settled nothing by his own judgment. Every new problem went to the Lord. He answered as the need arose and kept His people dependent.
- Obeyed — The daughters took the word given to them as a command and did it. The inheritance stayed where God had put it.
Now 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 added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they shall belong; and it shall be taken from the lot of our inheritance.
The heads of the Gilead families bring Moses a problem. Zelophehad's daughters had been given their father's land, and if they married outside the tribe that land could leave Manasseh for good.
An earlier ruling in Numbers 27 gave the daughters their father's portion.
The earlier decision in their favour made their father's inheritance their own. But there is a danger in this. If they marry outside the tribe, the inheritance may pass through them out of the tribe's hands, and the whole stability of the tribe's holding would be overturned.
The men do not stop at the immediate loss. They look ahead to the jubilee year.
Their concern was for the inheritance of the tribe… And further, they go on to say, when the jubilee arrives, the inheritance taken away in this way will be added to that of the tribe these women had married into, and added for good. Once again Moses receives directions from the Lord. He commands that the daughters of Zelophehad shall marry "whom they think best," only it must be to men of their own tribe. This removed the difficulty completely, both for that moment and for all time to come.
The jubilee was meant to put things right.
The daughters of Zelophehad would naturally marry, and they might well marry outside the boundaries of their own tribe. Then, in the year of jubilee — that great adjusting institution — instead of adjustment there would be confusion, and a permanent breach in the inheritance of Manasseh.
The daughters had acted in real faith. But faith itself can carry a danger.
The "fathers" of the house of Joseph must be heard as well as the "daughters." The faith of the daughters was most lovely. But there was just a danger here. Faith had lifted them high, and from that height they might forget the claims of others and move the landmarks that guarded the inheritance of their fathers… We are not to force things through with a high hand and a strong will, however strong our faith may be. We are always to be ready to yield ourselves to the adjusting power of the whole truth of God.
The men call the land "the lot of our inheritance." How that land was handed out tells us something about the God who gave it.
God takes care that each of His people keeps the inheritance allotted to him. This teaches us that His giving never changes, for He Himself controlled the lot that settled everything. It also teaches us that He means each person's own individuality to be kept in that inheritance. So God ties the person and his allotted portion of land so closely together in His mind that the two are never to be separated. Individuality, distinctness and lasting character are all involved in this.
In Numbers 27 the five women spoke for themselves.
In Numbers 27 the daughters of Zelophehad presented their own request before God. In chapter 36 Manasseh, the whole tribe they belonged to, is stirred by the zeal of these women and pleads for them before Moses and the princes. No high priest appears here to intercede for them at the tent of meeting: Manasseh itself has become the intercessor for the daughters of its people. The tribe is just as eager to see its inheritance stay whole and undamaged as the daughters of Zelophehad had been eager to have it.
God's reply does not stay tied to five women.
So from one particular case God draws a general principle, and it becomes binding at once… "The daughters of Zelophehad did as the Lord commanded Moses." The revelation had been given to them and met their own particular need. They themselves treated it as a commandment of the Lord.
Writers also draw a present-day lesson from the marriage restriction.
In the Church of God today there are no tribes, for it is "one body." But Scripture warns believers not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers (2 Cor. 6:14). Every believer should watch this closely.
Every ruling in this chapter rests on one thing.
All things must give way to the first great necessity: the inheritance God allotted must stay with those He allotted it to. Nothing shall change this; nothing, thank God, shall stop any of His own from enjoying for ever the inheritance prepared.
- Asked. Faith won the inheritance in chapter 27. That same faith now needs a fence, since a gift pressed without regard for others moves the landmarks of a whole tribe.
- Allotted. The land came by lot from God's own hand. He ties person and portion together in His mind and never parts them.
- Endangered. Marriage outside the tribe would have drained Manasseh's portion. The jubilee, meant to set things right, would have sealed the loss instead.
- Guarded. The answer left the women free to marry whom they thought best, but within their father's tribe. One case then became a standing rule for all Israel.
- Kept. Nothing overturns God's allotment. Nothing will stop any of His own from enjoying for ever the inheritance prepared for them.
And when the jubilee of the children of Israel shall come, then shall their inheritance be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they shall belong; and their inheritance shall be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.
The heads of the families of Gilead bring a worry to Moses. The five daughters of Zelophehad had received their late father's land. Verse 4 is the strongest step in their argument. A marriage outside the tribe would not just lend the land away for a time. The jubilee — the law made to put land back where it belonged — would make the loss permanent.
Their whole case rests on what the fiftieth year did in Israel. Commentators say it gave Israel nothing new. It only gave back what they had lost:
It must have been a joyful sound. But this institution really gave them nothing new. It only restored liberty to the slave, and the land to its original owner. Restoration was its special feature. That is just what suited a failing people. By one means or another — really the fruit of sin — they had lost either their personal freedom or the land their fathers had owned.
That was the sting the Gileadites felt. The year meant to put every holding back in place would here do the opposite:
It was natural to suppose that the daughters of Zelophehad would marry. And they might well marry outside the boundaries of their tribe. Then the year of jubilee, that great adjusting institution, would bring confusion instead of adjustment. It would leave a permanent break in the inheritance of Manasseh.
In Numbers 27 God granted the daughters' request. Here the same story comes back from the other side:
In Numbers 36 we have a further point which winds up the account of the daughters of Zelophehad. The earlier account honoured their faith. This one acts as a guard. It stamps order on the matter. It secures the glory of God and avoids confusion among men, for the tribes of Israel must be kept as they should be. On the one hand, it matched God's goodness that the daughters should inherit if there was no son. On the other hand, the inheritance could not pass out of the tribe of their fathers.
Chapter 27 had the women speaking for themselves. Here the tribe speaks, and God weighs its words too:
In Numbers 27 the daughters of Zelophehad brought their own request before God. In chapter 36 their whole tribe, Manasseh, pleads for them before Moses and the princes. The zeal of these women stirred the tribe to act… The tribe is just as eager to see its inheritance stay whole and undamaged as the daughters of Zelophehad had been eager to have it. The Lord is pleased to acknowledge how right Manasseh's desire is. He declares: "The tribe of the people of Joseph is right" (Num. 36:5), just as in chapter 27 He had acknowledged that the daughters of Zelophehad had spoken rightly.
God's reply does not stop at these five women. Their private difficulty becomes a law binding on every heiress in Israel:
"Every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the people of Israel shall be wife to one of the clan of the tribe of her father, so that every one of the people of Israel may possess the inheritance of his fathers" (vv. 8-9). So from one case God draws a general principle, and it becomes binding at once… "The daughters of Zelophehad did as the LORD commanded Moses" (v. 10). They themselves treated the revelation given to meet their own need as a commandment of the LORD.
Another commentator turns the jubilee around. The law that alarmed the Gileadites is what makes loss impossible in the end:
Weakness may have come in. The lack of male heirs may seem to put the inheritance into the hands of others. And the very institution of the jubilee would then stop it passing out of their hands again. But everything must give way to the first great necessity. The inheritance God allotted must stay with those He allotted it to. Nothing shall change this. Nothing, blessed be God, shall stop any of His own from enjoying the inheritance prepared for them, for ever.
Commentators apply the rule about whom the daughters could marry to marriage among believers now:
Marriage must be within the bounds of the family of God and within the realm of faith. If not, disorder will soon enter the Assembly. The Assembly will lose part of its heavenly inheritance, or see it reduced. This inheritance should not be damaged, and it cannot pass into other hands. Every marriage with someone outside is a loss for the whole body.
- Inheritance — God allotted the land, so the first necessity is that it stays with those He gave it to.
- Jubilee — the fiftieth year gave every man his property back. The Gileadites feared it would instead seal their loss for good.
- Guard — chapter 27 honoured the daughters' faith. Chapter 36 guards it, so that faith in one family costs nothing to another.
- Marriage — commentators read the rule as a call to marry inside the family of faith; a marriage outside costs the whole company, not one household only.
- Kept — what God allots, He keeps. Nothing shall stop any of His own from enjoying the inheritance prepared for them.
And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of Jehovah, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph hath said well.
A dispute over land closes the book of Numbers. The leaders of Joseph's tribe fear that Zelophehad's daughters will marry outside the tribe and take the family land with them. Moses does not rule on it himself — he passes on a verdict from the Lord, and that verdict is that the objectors are right.
Earlier, in Numbers 27, Zelophehad's daughters had asked for a share of the land, and God said they spoke rightly. Now the same approval falls on the men who raise the difficulty their success created. One writer sets the two scenes side by side and notes who is pleading this time:
In Numbers 27 the daughters of Zelophehad brought their own request before God. In chapter 36 Manasseh, the whole tribe they belonged to, is stirred by the zeal of these women and pleads for them before Moses and the leaders… The tribe is just as eager to see its inheritance stay whole, with nothing lost, as the daughters of Zelophehad were eager to have it. The Lord is pleased to acknowledge how right Manasseh's desire is. He declares that "the tribe of the people of Joseph is right" (Num. 36:5), just as in chapter 27 He had acknowledged that the daughters of Zelophehad spoke well.
The same writer explains why God waited for them to speak at all: "if anyone is to receive an answer from God, his faith must always be active."
The phrase that carries the verse is "according to the word of the LORD." Moses adds nothing of his own. Twice in this story a question comes to him that he cannot answer, and twice he takes it to God before he speaks. One writer draws four principles from the pattern:
First, and this is obvious: human wisdom cannot settle anything that concerns the people of God. We must bring every difficulty or puzzle to the Lord. Second, if we lack wisdom the Lord is always ready to give, and to give generously… Third, notice that the Lord did not step in ahead of the difficulty. He knew it would come, but He waited until His servant brought it to Him before He gave His mind on the matter… Last, it is lovely to see how readily everyone involved obeyed the word of the Lord.
Notice that Moses owned up to having no answer, though the question looked small:
The matter in itself was a small one. But the principle behind it was so great and reached so far that even Moses felt he could not take the responsibility of deciding it. He referred the subject to the judgment of God (Numbers 27). It is that easy for the humblest person to ask a question the wisest cannot answer.
The sisters had won their land by faith. That very success carried a risk:
The faith of the daughters was most lovely. But there was a danger. Faith had lifted them high, and from there they might forget the claims of others and move the landmarks that guarded the inheritance of their fathers… It was natural to expect that the daughters of Zelophehad would marry, and they might well marry outside the boundaries of their tribe. Then, in the year of jubilee — the great institution for adjusting inheritances — there would be confusion instead of adjustment, and a permanent break in the inheritance of Manasseh… We are not to push things through with a high hand and a strong will, however strong our faith may be. We should always be ready to yield to the adjusting power of the whole truth of God.
God's answer here does not cancel His answer in chapter 27:
The earlier ruling honoured their faith; this one acts as a guard. It stamps order on the matter. It secures the glory of God and avoids confusion among men, for the tribes of Israel must be kept as they should be. On the one hand, God's goodness meant the daughters should inherit if there was no son. On the other hand, He could not allow the inheritance to pass out of the tribe of their fathers.
One writer draws a line from the marriage limit to who a believer marries today:
God gave the answer that these daughters must not marry outside their own tribe. In the Church of God today there are no tribes, for it is "one body." But believers are warned not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers (2 Cor. 6:14), and every believer should watch this closely. It is good that these young women obeyed these instructions and married within their tribe.
- Asked — God waited for Manasseh's leaders to raise the problem before He answered it; an active faith brings its case to Him.
- Referred — Moses settles nothing by human wisdom; the ruling stands only because it came "according to the word of the LORD."
- Approved — He calls their concern right, just as He called the daughters' claim right; both sides of the matter please Him.
- Guarded — the same faith that gains an inheritance can overreach, so God fences it in with the claims of others.
- Kept — the land stays in the family that received it, and the daughters accept the limit and marry within their tribe.