Women Seek Justice Due to their Gender and God Agrees.

Numbers 27:1-11 God Provides The Land Inheritance for Daughters Where There Are No Sons

Day 82. But not for New Zealand – all restrictions have been removed there.  Good for them. We’re still waiting our turn while our politicians seem to be experimenting with socialism and control. Meanwhile all over the U.S., people are demanding that their police departments either be defunded or totally eliminated. And they say after that, they’ll figure out how to keep their cities safe. People have lost all sense of right and wrong. The Black Lives Movement is causing quite a stir but more and more blacks themselves are speaking out against it with some very convincing evidence. Finally, as I watch social media each day now, I’m sensing a growing feeling of despair among many with comments like, “What’s the use?” or “It’s too late now.” Well, the Truth is that it is not too late at all. We can have a purpose, we can have hope, we can have peace, and we can love. And we do it all with God and by understanding His Word which gives us His Plan for the world. And so, we keep on trucking studying our Bible and even look for its gems in what most consider to be an otherwise uninteresting book – the book of Numbers. We discovered that it isn’t.  Read on.

The Passage

27 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 ⁴ Why should the name of our father be withdrawn from among his family because he had no son?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.’”

Thoughts on the Passage

Here in this passage we have the female descendants of Joseph (you’ll remember his brothers sold him to some traders who in turn sold him in Egypt as a slave), some six generations later, coming to Moses with a complaint that involves fairness. We also note this appears, at least by this passage, that this the last dispute or concern that Moses has to deal with before dying.

These daughters stood before Moses and Eleazar pointing out the unfairness of their families not being given any land inheritance as they weren’t ‘sons’. Their father had no sons. As part of their case, they present the fact that while their father may have had his own sin, and thus rightfully died in the wilderness, he at least was not part of the company of Korah who rose up against the Lord. So, they were asking “Why then should we be punished?” And they simply asked for their “possession among their father’s brothers who had sons.” It does not sound like a ‘rocket-science’ issue for us today. These ‘daughters’ were right.

But clearly in those days, it was a patriarchal world and women only had the rights afforded to them by man. By now we should also know what Moses does when he is presented with a problem or an issue. He goes to God; and that is exactly what he did this time as well. And God responds.

Now we know that many accuse God and Christ and us Christians of not promoting the equality of women. I have always maintained that nothing could be furthest from the truth. I believe that women are honored by God, by Christ, and by true followers of our Lord’s. Many years ago I read a book that very eloquently and convincingly was able to put that argument in print. For those interested, the book is called: 

Slaves, Women & Homosexuals: Exploring the Hermeneutics of Culture Analysis

By Wm. J. Webb

Published by Intervarsity, 2001

 It is well worth looking into.  It shows the progression of how God started from the cultures that developed from the beginning of humanity, and move them along, pushing the envelope in the first two of these areas, right through to the New Testament church, but holding the line on the third.

With that in mind, the Lord doesn’t beat about the bush. He starts off His response to Moses by saying, “Look, these daughters are right in what they say. So, give them a hereditary possession among their father’s brothers, and transfer the inheritance of their father to them.”

God cares for what is right. He cares about these women who have no brothers to take them and their families in. Normally, brothers are responsible for their sisters. But where that is not possible, God steps in and does the job one way or another.

And God uses this opportunity to establish some other rules about how inheritance is supposed to work. He establishes the following rules:

1.     A man dies without having sons, inheritance goes to his daughter(s).

2.     If he has no daughter, to his brothers.

3.     If he has no brothers, to his nearest relative in his own family.

And the above was to be a statutory ordinance.

In my opinion, God has always been for justice and righteousness and for taking care of those in need. No woman’s lib organization or movement was needed. In an ideal patriarchal society, women were honored by being taken care of throughout their lives. In Christ’s time, He often spoke of women and with women and for women – all with high regard and esteem; and always with love and compassion. And today, the true Christian man honors his wife and loves her like Christ loves His church. The true Christian male today honors and loves his daughters. He protects them and thanks God for them. God was not a male chauvinist, neither was Christ. And neither is the true Christian male today.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

2 Views on Incest: God's & Hollywood's -- our study from Leviticus continues.

Leviticus Chapter 18: Laws of Sexual Sin

Laws on Immoral Relations -- Incest

Leviticus 18:1-19

Day 9 of our 14-day self-quarantine due to the Covid-19 virus. No sign of any let-up in the number of deaths based on the latest statistics. At over 25,000 deaths as of this morning (March 27, 2020), Covid-19 has far surpassed the casualties of Ebola, MERS, and SARS.  The next target to be avoided is the death toll of the Yellow Fever pandemic (1800’s) which took, it is estimated, from 100,000 to 150,000 lives. But as the U.S. President said two days ago, one life more is too many. May God continue to keep His people safe, trusting fully in Him. As for me, I continue with my study of the Word. Thank you for joining me today.

As I read Leviticus 18 again today, I realized just how relevant that may be to what is going on again with another pandemic, but we’ll discover that together later.  Also, this is long passage packed with so much, so we may well take several days to cover it.

As we read the passage below, we are to remember that the phrase “uncover their nakedness” is a euphemism for “sexual relations or intercourse”.

The Passage

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘I am the Lord your God. ³ You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes. ⁴ You are to perform My judgments and keep My statutes, to live in accord with them; I am the Lord your God. ⁵ So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, by which a man may live if he does them; I am the Lord.

⁶ ‘None of you shall approach any blood relative of his to uncover nakedness; I am the Lord. ⁷ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, that is, the nakedness of your mother. She is your mother; you are not to uncover her nakedness. ⁸ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is your father’s nakedness. ⁹ The nakedness of your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether born at home or born outside, their nakedness you shall not uncover. ¹⁰ The nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, their nakedness you shall not uncover; for their nakedness is yours.¹¹ The nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, born to your father, she is your sister, you shall not uncover her nakedness. ¹² You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is your father’s blood relative. ¹³ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s blood relative. ¹⁴ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother; you shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. ¹⁵ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she is your son’s wife; you shall not uncover her nakedness.¹⁶ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness. ¹⁷ You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and of her daughter, nor shall you take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness; they are blood relatives. It is lewdness. ¹⁸ You shall not marry a woman in addition to her sister as a rival while she is alive, to uncover her nakedness.

¹⁹ ‘Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness during her menstrual impurity.”

Thoughts on the Passage

To begin with God sets the stage for the laws He is about to give Moses for His people. He says we are not to do what those from whom we were drawn out from do. And we are not to do what those that we come upon, do. We are to do what God commands. (verse 4) That’s pretty simple, one would think. But oh, how often we forget it.

In verse 5 God again gives us the two main reasons for following His commands. First, “that we may live” and second, because He is the Lord. Nothing more is required. We follow His commands because doing so keeps us alive – sometimes physically, sometimes socially, always spiritually. And we don’t mind doing that because we remember what God has done for us.

Then God gets right into the topic of who we are not to sleep with just like that. Nothing shy about this Heavenly Father. This is a much fuller clarification of the seventh commandment “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”

Clearly, He knew, having created man and woman, that sexual relationships are pretty important to us, so He wants to establish the boundaries in this area right away.  And of course, mankind has been fighting these ever since. All you have to do is look at the movie industry and what it has been pushing at us in recent decades.

But what are no-nos according to God?  Well, let’s make a summary list of who you or I are not to have sexual intercourse with:

n  No blood relative

n  Not one of your parents

n  Not a stepparent

n  Not a sibling or stepsibling

n  Not a grandchild

n  Not an aunt (or uncle)

n  Not a daughter-in-law (or son-in-law)

n  Not a sister-in-law (or brother-in-law)

n  No relations with those who are related to each other (verse 17 describes sleeping with two people or more who are related) – God calls that lewdness.

n  No marriage to two sisters at the same time (this was a practice among ancient Egyptians, Chaldeans, and others; remember this is long after the story of Jacob marrying Rachel and Leah in Genesis)

n  Not a woman who is having her monthly period (one assumes for hygienic reasons and/or love and consideration)

David Guzik reminds us, quoting Harrison, that God does not want us to be like others. He writes:

"The Persians, for example, encouraged marital unions with mothers, daughters and sisters, on the ground that such relationships had special merit in the eyes of the gods." (Harrison)

Anything that smacks of what idolatrous people did is not going to be okay with the true God. Therefore, He hates these things.

Now the above list is a pretty complete list. The message is clear.  No incest at any degree level.

Does that mean anyone outside the above list is fair game? The rest of the chapter speaks to that and we’ll save that for the next study. In the meantime, let’s make sure we know where we stand on this.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Werts writes about the ‘Heart’ from the ‘heart’ and her message is crucial to Love

Lies And Love:
Cleansing the heart to make room for radical love

Author: Vanessa D. Werts

Publisher: Higher Realm Publishing, Ashburn, VA, 2016                                                                     

I must admit that when I agreed to review this book, I did not realize what it was.  I figured a title like “Lies and Love” for a non-fiction work would be most interesting.  It was only when I started reading it that I realized this book was about having a clean heart and how to get one. More specifically it presents the need for a spiritual 30-day cleanse to achieve the desired state. Finally, it was written for women but it doesn’t take rocket science to see how many men could benefit from such an exercise too.

Author Vanessa Werts has weathered the storms of rejection, mistreatment, disappointment, discouragement, ill-spoken words towards her, and the like. As a single mom who no longer trusted men, she tried keeping her life together for her two children as best she knew how. She had it down pat. Except that the emptiness that was deep down inside would never leave her alone.

After turning 39, God used a friend to send Vanessa a message that floored her: “God said to tell you that you don’t love yourself.” After getting up, her batteries were now charged and she was ready to address the accusation.

The result was a 30-day biblically sound process for getting a clean heart through forgiving, pursuing love, celebrating your life, and living on purpose. But on the way, as she shares her own experience with the various steps that she suggests, we get some wonderful truths and observations to ponder ourselves.

One of my favorites was when she asked the question, “Does it irritate you when you meet someone for the first time and they treat you like you did something to them? . . . what you’re encountering are their heart issues. It could be insecurity, jealousy, envy, whatever. Something about ‘your type’ represents and reminds them of a painful or unfavorable experience in their life, so you’re treated accordingly. . .. When you meet someone who treats you badly, it’s not the true person you’re encountering but rather their brokenness.”

She also refers us to some scriptural gems that when viewed in this context, take on a whole new perspective.  One of my favorites in this regard is I John 4:18 about fear. She quotes it in the AMP version, “. . . the one who is afraid [of God’s judgment] is not perfected in love [has not grown into a sufficient understanding of God’s love.” Werts then states, “God doesn’t want us tormented with questions like ‘how will I make it?’ and ‘what will happen next?’” Basically put, the author’s point is that you can’t, nor need you fear and love at the same time.

Another of her recommended pursuits is the combination of ‘wisdom and understanding’. Using Proverbs 2:10-11, which reads, “When wisdom enters the heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you” she gave this reader an insight into God’s role in his own life. When God gives us discretion and understanding it is not just to make us smart, or even to use it as a gift for others (a good thing), but Werts points out, it is to “preserve and keep us” safe throughout our lives.

I did find one area where I might disagree with the author and that is with respect to her view of “tough love”.  She’s against it arguing that she’s thankful God didn’t use that with her. I think however she may be a) assuming “tough love” is the withdrawal of love (on the contrary, it’s the maintaining of love but not overlooking the natural consequences of sin – they still must be addressed) and b) forgetting that God did that for us – our sins were addressed by His Son.

Around the middle of the book, she introduces as to Bobbi Farqua the main character of her fictional work called, Lies: Even love has its casualties.  And through that we get some more gems for us when she writes, “But what Bobbi didn’t realize is that the heart will become tied to what you invest your time in whether the relationship is labeled as casual or committed.  And once the tie is formed, the heart will seek to be accepted, considered, and honored in that relationship.”  Bottom line, Werts seems to be saying is, “be careful where you lead your heart.”

Another gem, and please remember she is writing to women, is this:

“Consider this: When a woman is successful and winning in her professional life but hasn’t found a way to win in her personal life with men, she will adjust (her heart) in a way that makes her feel like she’s at least not losing. Losing is not in her DNA.  So, she will amend the rules of the game to keep playing, telling herself that she holds all the cards, convincing herself that casual sex is perfectly fine as long as she decides who and when. And though everything seems to be under her control at first, her value system is compromised, because secretly, her heart’s goal is marriage.”

And then she delivers her zinger, “Compromising your values will never position you to win. Even if you get the prize [the man], you don’t get the victory since you didn’t play the game based on your own [heart] rules – your values.”

She then takes us into the nitty-gritty details of her 30-day cleanse for the heart process. She tells her audience that the key is to see and acknowledge that whatever happened to them, no matter how painful it was, didn’t end their life.  They are a survivor.  They are still here.  The four weeks and two days are designed with a daily activity which is doable and very reasonable – one does not have to go through hoops to do them.

One of the key benefits of the program as she herself states is, “But oh, how sweet it is not to compromise what I value anymore. Now I can see myself as a gift to a man – his present – a reward for him being in the will of God.”

Her last question must not be ignored and if it helps one person, then all of Werts’ efforts in writing this book are more than worthwhile. She asks,

“Is there a situation in your life right now that you’re working on and have solicited the help of others, but you haven’t asked Jesus for help?”

This is a book I recommend to the women in my family, to any women’s ministry pastor, and to any woman who doesn’t yet love herself as God intended her to do, so that she may live without fear and with a purpose!

·      Ken B. Godevenos, President, Accord Resolutions Services Inc., Toronto, Ontario, February 27, 2017. www.accordconsulting.com

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.