Moses brought their case before the Lord.
(Bemidbar/Numbers 27:5; ESV)
I am continually struck by the practical insight God gives
us through his Word. When we read “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light
to my path” (Psalms/Tehillim 119:105; ESV), this is not saying that the Bible
enlightens us on what might be considered as spiritual issues alone. The
Scriptures illuminate every area of life, from the understanding of God and how
to properly relate to him to social issues, both personal and communal.
This week’s parasha (weekly Torah reading portion) includes
an interesting incident between four orphaned daughters and Moses. Before
getting into the issue they brought to him, notice that there is no comment in
the text about these females’ (I don’t know how old they were) approaching
Moses directly. I get the impression that many people think that women and
girls in ancient Jewish society had no social standing. Obviously this is not
the case. I am not claiming there was no inequity between men and women back
then. It’s that I think women were much more highly regarded than how some
historical revisionists would have us believe.
Be that as it may, these particular females brought a legal
issue to Moses. They were concerned that based on what God had commanded
regarding inheritances, since their father died and had no sons, only
daughters, their family would lose their right to their ancestral land. They
weren’t simply looking for confirmation of their understanding of what God had said;
they felt that the policy as stated was unjust. That their understanding of the
existing policy was correct is clear from Moses’ lack of response to them. They
rightly interpreted the God-given principle. Yet they didn’t accept it as is.
But notice that Moses didn’t simply reiterate the rule and send them on their
way. Instead he took their concern to God, who agreed with the daughters and
provided an addendum to the policy—a policy that he himself had established. Think
about this! God’s word was clear, yet both he and Moses had no issue with the
daughters’ expressed concern. Not only that; God adjusted the policy
accordingly.
What can we derive from this? First, I already mentioned the
place of women before God may not have been what many have assumed it was.
Their access to both the community’s leader and to God himself demonstrates the
place and value of women at the time. Second, God’s word is not static. That’s
not to say that it is unclear, since likely nothing would have happened if the
policy wasn’t clear. Neither is this to say that God is fickle as if he made a
rule and then changed it as soon as new details arose. God didn’t change the
rule; he expanded on it based on an exceptional circumstance. We discover how the
dynamic nature of God’s word is broad enough to deal with a great variety of
situations. Third, God and his appointed leader were approachable. Moses knew God
would be happy to hear and to address the concern of his people. Finally, we
see here an example of what happens when people appropriately express their
concerns. The Torah is filled with bad examples of complainers and whiners,
whose grumbling was destructive. Regrettably, some people wrongly conclude from
such passages that genuinely spiritual people keep their concerns to
themselves. However, often those concerns emerge anyway through the complaining
we strive to avoid. The lesson to be learned here is that we need to express
our concerns in a way that pleases God and results in constructive outcomes.
God welcomes our pleas for justice. He wants his children to
come to him with their concerns. Congregational leaders would do well to follow
Moses’ example. Listen to your people and bring their concerns before God. Hear
what he has to say, and do what is right unto them.
Too many New Covenant (New Testament) believers have wrongly
used Paul’s words regarding the avoidance of lawsuits (see 1 Corinthians
6:1-8). He was dealing with a highly dysfunctional, self-centered community
when he told them it was better for them to be defrauded than to sue each
other. He wasn’t saying that every unjust action between people should go
unchecked. Listening intently to people’s legitimate concerns and making fair
determinations are essential to healthy, thriving community. God didn’t turn
the daughters away. Neither should we.
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