S) "3 But if they marry one of the sons of the other tribes of the sons of Israel, their inheritance will be withdrawn from the inheritance of our fathers and will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they belong; thus it will be withdrawn from our allotted inheritance."
Numbers 36:3 (NASB)
O) There was a man, Zelophehad, who had only daughters. Therefore, when the land was being divided, the LORD gave an inheritance to these four women as land owners, which was unprecedented. Stemming from this never-before-dealt-with-land-holding-by-women, there was suddenly a new concern over the way the land would be handled, in the event of these women marrying men of a different tribe. Because the men from another tribe would already hold land, and their would-be wives would hold land, the daughters of Zelophehad would "withdraw" the land they held through Manasseh (their tribe), and it would then be allotted to the tribe of their new husbands. All of this was very political, and had messy implications for both record and peace keeping. In the end (see v.12), these women simply married from within their own tribe, which prevented any future dispute about land allotment.
A) When I was reading this, my first reaction was scoffing. This was not really a justified reaction, I'll admit, but it was hard for me to relate to something that seemed so petty. After really evaluating the history, though, and doing my best to sympathize, what I came to see was that this was indeed a heavy issue, and one I realized I would never have to face. These people had been waiting hundreds of years to finally come into their land. When they are finally on the cusp they recognized a potential problem, one that could snatch away some of that promise, some of that which they had waited all of those centuries to obtain. When Jesus Christ came as the Messiah to Israel, most of the Jews of that day were expecting a political, military leader who would liberate them from their oppressors, reestablish a territorial kingdom, and reign in sovereignty over their province for years to come. In that, despite being a theocratic kingdom, they were inviting problems like the one the sons of Manasseh faced. But, this was not God's plan. He came to free me of such concerns. I do not need to be consumed with which land belongs to whom, because none of it is ever going to truly be mine, and His kingdom does not have borders. Instead, God is concerned with His kingdom within the hearts of people. For myself, He is only ever concerned with who (or what) owns my heart. So, this story from the end of Numbers is a reminder to me, that I must keep my heart sanctified, set apart, holy to the Lord my GOD only. The kingdom of my heart is His alone.
P) Father, You are sovereign and everything on earth and in heaven belongs to You alone. Too often, I try to reign supreme in my own heart, Father God. Please forgive me for trying to conquer that place. Only You should be enthroned in my heart, Lord. Thank You for establishing Your kingdom in the invisible, in the hearts of Your people everywhere. Help me remain faithfully submitted to Your rule and reign in my life, in the kingdom of my heart, God. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
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