The daughters of Zelophehad had presented their plea to Moses. In what they said to him about Korah’s rebellion and about their father’s death they showed the depth of their spiritual insight. This same insight will shine forth as we now explore the inheritance and the significance of a family’s name in Israel. The daughters understood the meaning that God had given to each of these things. Rather than just being a piece of property, the inheritance was much more; rather than just being a title, a family’s name was much more. In this article we will look first at the inheritance, and second at the family name.
When looking at the characteristics of the inheritance, it becomes clear that the inheritance pointed forward towards something greater to come: it was the end result of a teamwork between the children of Israel and Yahweh their God. He would strengthen them to drive the nations out of their land:
“To drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou art, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this day” (Deut 4:38).
It was not to have any of the old inhabitants still dwelling in it — it was to be cleansed:
“But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for
an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth” (Deut 20:16).
Along the same lines as the thought above, it could not be defiled. It must be pure:
“His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance” (Deut 21:23).
It was connected to the time of rest:
“For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the LORD your God giveth you” (Deut 12:9).
It was only given to the faithful:
“Now therefore in the sight of all Israel the congregation of the LORD, and in the audience of our God, keep and seek for all the commandments of the LORD your God: that ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever” (1Chron 28:8).
“When thou criest, let thy companies deliver thee; but the wind shall carry them all away; vanity shall take them: but he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain” (Isa 57:13).
Conversely, just as the inheritance was given to those who were righteous, it could also be lost by those who were unrighteous or unfaithful. This is the principle that the prophet Ezekiel sought to teach the people:
“Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israeli speak, sayings, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance. Wherefore say unto them, Thous saith the Lord GOD; Ye eat with the blood, and lifts up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the land?” (Ezek 33:24-25).
The people looked at Abraham and said, “he was only one man and he was given the land. We are many people, surely the land is ours!” Yet because of their wickedness and idolatry, God said that they would not inherit it. The same principle comes out when we think about the wandering in the wilderness after the people left Egypt. God had promised them an inheritance, yet they were unfaithful and didn’t truly believe that God would conquer the giants in the land. So God refused to give it to them, but instead the land would be given to their children. An inheritance depended on a life based on faith and righteousness.
When we bring all of these things together, we can see that the inheritance had a powerful significance behind it. Here are the characteristics again:
- It was the end result of a faithful teamwork between the people and Yahweh their God
- It was pure, with all of the heathen nations driven from it, and it was not to be defiled
- It was connected to the time of rest
- It was given strictly to those who were faithful
- It was withheld from the unrighteous
These characteristics come together and have strong undertones of the Kingdom — a time when the land will not be defiled by the immorality of its inhabitants, when the gift will be given to the believers for their faithful teamwork with their Father (Phil 2:12-13). It will be a time of rest.
This is why we see other verses which mention an inheritance, and at the same time, can only be applicable to the Kingdom of God. Let’s just survey a few of those:
“What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose. His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth” (Psa 25:12-13).
The seed of the righteous would have the entire earth as their inheritance! This is surely Kingdom-type language. Again, just a few psalms later , we see that this same theme shows up repeatedly:
“For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth” (Psa 37:9).
“But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace” (Psa 37:11).
“For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off” (Psa 37:22).
Yet in addition to connecting the inheritance with the Kingdom in this respect, Psa 37 also brings out another connection between the two:
“The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever” (Psa 37:18).
The inheritance of the righteous will truly be in the Kingdom of God, when the Lord Jesus reigns from Jerusalem. We will remember that this is the type of inheritance that was promised to Abraham and his seed. Yahweh promised him the land from the Euphrates to the brook of Egypt (Gen 15:18) as his inheritance — yet he never received it! Only after the Lord Jesus returns will Abraham receive his inheritance.
In ancient Israel, the inheritance had a very powerful spiritual meaning. It was beautifully connected to the Kingdom. Just like the Kingdom would be filled with God’s glory, so this inheritance was to be undefiled and a place where His name would be lifted up — thus, if this was not happening, then the family would lose the land. It was a place for God to be honored. The inheritance would show a family’s connection to the Father in heaven, and show their desire to lift up His name.
These sisters had brilliant spiritual perception in this matter of the inheritance. Much of this wisdom was probably passed down by one of their role models, their ancestor Joseph. This cleaving to the inheritance was a trait powerfully demonstrated by him and passed on to his descendants.
Joseph’s Influence
“And Joseph saw Ephraim’s children of the third generation: the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph’s knees” (Gen 50:23).
Look at the impact that Joseph had on his progeny. We can perhaps picture the scene of great grandpa with all of the little children sitting around, speaking to the seed of Israel about the miraculous way that Yahweh had brought them to Egypt and had saved them. Imagine him telling them his story, and about the way that he was revealed to their great uncles. Think of the impression that it would have on them when he spoke to them about the Promised Land, and assured them that one day, they would be back in that land. Then, picture how his faith would have been burned into their minds as the frail, old Joseph took an oath of them that they would not forget to bring back his bones to the land when Yahweh brought them out of Egypt.
“And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence” (Gen 50:24-25).
With this charge, surely Joseph would have driven into his descendant’s minds that the land and their inheritance were of great importance. His one dying wish was to have his bones brought back to the land which was to be inherited by the seed of Israel. He knew that God would bring them back, he knew that Israel was the Promised Land, and as he raised up his great grandchildren, he must have urged them to remember that. This love for the inheritance, and the greater inheritance that would eventually be given at the resurrection, was almost surely passed down through the generations, as Gilead heard it directly from his great-grandfather Joseph and passed it on to Hepher, and Hepher passed it to Zelophehad, and Zelophehad told his daughters.
So it was that the daughters of Zelophehad had a strong understanding of the spiritual meaning of the inheritance. It wasn’t just a plot of land to them, but it was their family’s connection to God. Yet not only did these sisters seem to understand the meaning of the inheritance, but also seemed to understand the significance of a name in Israel, and how that name was connected to the land given by God. They specifically said that their father’s name would be “done away from among his family” if he did not receive this inheritance.
The Name
Zelophehad’s young daughters were exactly right in what they said. The inheritance also had strong connections with the name of the one who possessed it — if the inheritance was lost, their name would too be lost in the history of Israel. The name of a family was carried on through their inheritance; the plot of land that they received would be known as that family’s space, their territory. This is shown in the story of Ruth and Boaz. When Boaz performed the part of the kinsman-redeemer to Ruth, one of his jobs was to keep the name of her dead former husband alive through his inheritance.
“Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day” (Ruth 4:10).
Boaz was to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance. He would use Mahlon’s old inheritance to keep his family name alive. Thus, if a family lost their inheritance, not only would they lose their gift from God, and their possession which symbolized their connection to Him, their name would also disappear from Israel.
It was extremely important that the family name was kept alive, because having a good name in Israel symbolized your favor with God. Over and over Scripture tells us that the name of the wicked are blotted out, and that they disappear:
“Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever” (Psa 9:5).
“The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot” (Prov 10:7).
If a family name was lost from under heaven, then it would be assumed that this happened because the family had fallen out of favor with God. The family had become wicked, and so God destroyed the name. The daughters’ point was that their father wasn’t part of a rebellious group like Korah’s henchmen, he just died in his own sin. He died a natural death. Therefore, why should his name be blotted out?
Thus they presented their plea to Moses, eagerly awaiting God’s response. What would be decided? What would be the fate of their father’s name? Would God in His mercy allow them to inherit the land?
In our next article, we will see God’s response.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One