365 Reflections

You could really say that Moses was the first person to truly value and liberate women from the constraints laid upon them by males since the dawn of humankind. It is fitting that the last chapter dealing with Moses' acts (Numbers 36) have him resolving land ownership disputes for the daughters of Zelophehad. Numbers 36:6–7 (ESV) This is what the Lord commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: ‘Let them marry whom they think best, only they shall marry within the clan of the tribe of their father. 7 The inheritance of the people of Israel shall not be transferred from one tribe to another, for every one of the people of Israel shall hold on to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. This issue first arose back in Numbers 27. Yet after that first episode with these women Moses commissions Joshua to succeed him and we read 8 chapters of law which may cause us to forget. The daughters of Zelophehad will not let Moses get sidetracked from their issue. Tenacious wome...

Numbers 30:2–5 (ESV) If a man vows a vow to the Lord , or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. 3 “If a woman vows a vow to the Lord and binds herself by a pledge, while within her father’s house in her youth, 4 and her father hears of her vow and of her pledge by which she has bound herself and says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. 5 But if her father opposes her on the day that he hears of it, no vow of hers, no pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. And the Lord will forgive her, because her father opposed her. I admit, when I read Numbers 30 there's a squeamish part of me that flares up. After all, are not all people equal in the eyes of God? How is it then, that a man can make a vow or take an oath for himself, but a woman (either living single in her father's house or married to her h...

What if the daughters of Zelophehad had never asked their question? Numbers 27:1–4 (ESV) Then drew near the daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of Manasseh the son of Joseph. The names of his daughters were: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 And they stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest and before the chiefs and all the congregation, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, saying, 3 “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah, but died for his own sin. And he had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan because he had no son? Give to us a possession among our father’s brothers.” Surely approaching Moses in the sight of 600,000 other Jewish men was intimidating. They also could have assumed that their father was cursed with no son and they were bear...

Exodus 2:9–10 (ESV) And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.” If there's a common theme in both the birth, life, ministry and work of Moses' and Jesus' it is this: They had a lot of help from the female gender. The second chapter of Exodus opens with more female pronouns than you can imagine. Every main character in this story is a female. Moses' mother, sister and Pharaoh's daughter are all three mighty women who play a huge role in the redemption of Israel by delivering Moses. Even before this chapter, during Pharaoh's rage against the boys of Israel, Shiphrah and Puah get their names in the Biblical Canon for their brave defiance of Pharaoh's order. In my last post, I ...

Genesis 29:20 (ESV)   So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her. One thing the three major Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) have in common is their love for their wives. This was the ancient world where sincere love was rare and marriage was often an issue of property rights. But the Bible paints a common thread in the origination of God's house. The men in His house love their wives from the heart. Yes, Abraham had his other women and notoriously slept with Hagar, and yes, Jacob slept with all the women in his house, but for all of these men, only ONE woman would truly switch them on. Abraham wept bitterly over Sarah's death, and Jacob, toward the end of his life recounts the pain he felt at losing Rachel as he blesses his grandsons in Genesis 48: Genesis 48:7 (ESV)  As for me, when I came from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still some di...

1 Timothy 2:12–15 (ESV) I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14 and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. 15 Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control. W come to one of the most confusing passages in the New Testament for our day.  Many a churches have relegated women to sub-standard roles in the church because of these verse.  At the same time, many churches, seeking to be all things to all people have overlooked Paul's admonition here in this text. This passage presents for us questions and at the same time, answer a question we may not actually be asking at first glance, but should.   What is the role of women in relation to man? If women are saved through childbirth, what about women who cannot give birth? It cannot be any clearer for Paul ...