Daughters of Inheritance

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Some cultures view daughters as more valuable than sons; in others, it is reversed. Yet, God loves all His children, both sons AND daughters. Inexplicably, this Father’s love has not always been demonstrated in Christian or Jewish cultures where daughters, at times, have been overlooked. 

Thankfully, however, as children of God each of us are without price… in God, His beloved children can all receive an inheritance! 

Daughters of the Word

While man may have often overlooked the women and therefore the daughters God created… God never did. He blessed many, as can be seen in His Word!

Consider:

• God had Rahab to not only help Israel take Jericho, but also included her in the lineage of Jesus.
• God raised Esther—Hadassah—to the position of queen, allowing her great blessings and the ability to enact change; saving all the Jewish people living under Persian rule.
• God used the daughters of Shallum to help rebuild the walls of Jerusalem during the time of Nehemiah.
• God chose the woman at the well to be the FIRST person to whom Yeshua revealed His true identity.
• God allowed Mary Magdalene to be the one to whom Yeshua first appeared after His resurrection.
• God selected Mary to be the mother of Yeshua and revealed this to her before Joseph.
• God accepted Ruth—a Moabite—into not only His people, Israel, but He also included her in the lineage of their kings and of the King of kings, Yeshua.
• God loved the behavior of the woman who poured expensive perfume upon Yeshua, preparing Him for the death, burial, and resurrection to come; so much did God love it that Yeshua said what she did would be told wherever the gospel was preached.
• God selected Sarah, Abraham’s wife, to be the mother of God’s chosen people; a mother of nations.
• God allowed those women who were bold enough to go to Yeshua’s tomb—to be associated with Him—to be the first to discover that it was empty and Yeshua had risen.

These are just a few examples of the many women God has used and blessed throughout Scripture, yet, through them, we see that God truly does love and use women. He does not consider them second-class citizens or less valuable. He sees them as a unique and wonderful creation. 

When Yeshua broke down the middle wall of separation He also destroyed other boundaries that had been put up. Yes, differences remain in many areas, but our Messiah released us from the bondage they created. 

For instance, while Yeshua fulfilled the Law, He did not reject or abolish it; instead, the curse of not being able to follow God’s Law without error was removed… every fear, every doubt, every fumble of humankind was overcome!

But, to top it all off, God created One New Man in Christ! Allowing Jew and Gentile, male and female, indeed, all of us, to be one in Him! So, while it is still to the Jew first—blessing and cursing, good and bad—the separation of Jew and Gentile from God has been removed, allowing both a fullness of knowing God that creates One New Man! This also applies to male and female, slave and free… for all of us are able to know God, to become One New Man in Him!

Daughters of Inheritance

God certainly uses and loves women. It is experienced both in His Word and in the lives of Believers today…

God has an inheritance laid aside for His daughters.

Yeshua’s interaction with women in the Word and on through to today demonstrate both God’s love and His inheritance. But it has been further confirmed through His prophets today, many of whom have spoken on how God specifically is using the women who follow Him. 

God loves His children. He has laid an inheritance aside for all, abundantly, and not based upon if we are sons or daughters.

Even in biblical times, we know that God was in favor of parents laying aside an inheritance for their children, and even their children’s children. Yet not all did so—particularly for daughters. However, some did…

“The benevolent man leaves an inheritance that endures to his children’s children, but the wealth of the wicked is treasured up for the righteous.”

—Proverbs 13:22 (TPT)

Two Stories of Inheritance:

A good or benevolent man leaves an inheritance for his children and even their children, but two stories in the Word stand out regarding daughters receiving an inheritance… 

One in which inheritance was given them freely.

Another in which they had to contend for their inheritance.

• Those Who Contended for Inheritance

In the days of Moses there was a man named Zelophehad, who was of the tribe of Manasseh. 

Like many of those who wandered all of those years in the desert, Zelophehad would not enter into the Promised Land. However, his descendants, five daughters, would. 

Their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 

During this time it was custom that a man’s inheritance would go to his son(s) or to the nearest male relative. Unfortunately, in cases where a man’s inheritance passed to another male relative, the man who had died would not be remembered in the same way, if at all, as he would have by his own children.

Now, while still in the desert, it came time for a census of males in the tribes to be counted to determine the inheritance each would receive when they crossed into the Promised Land. However, because Zelophehad passed away prior to the census and did not have sons, his five daughters were to receive nothing… no inheritance, and no way to keep their father’s memory in fullness.

Yes, the land would be owned by a near male relative or split between other members of the tribe of Manasseh. So the land itself would be taken care of, but it did nothing to bring a lasting remembrance to the name of the one who had died. 

Yet, why should a family’s name be essentially forgotten if the inheritance passed away from their children? Indeed, why did it have to be taken from the children at all simply because they were female? What kept daughters from experiencing the favor of God’s provision and promise?

These are the types of questions that surfaced when the daughters of Zelophehad had the courage to step forward and seek their father’s inheritance…

“And they stood before Moses, before Eleazar the priest, and before the leaders and all the congregation, by the doorway of the tabernacle of meeting, saying: ‘Our father died in the wilderness; but he was not in the company of those who gathered together against the Lord, in company with Korah, but he died in his own sin; and he had no sons. Why should the name of our father be removed from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession among our father’s brothers.’”

—Numbers 27:2-4

It was not physical wealth alone that prompted these daughters to go before the leaders to seek the inheritance that would have been due to their father. They also did not want the memory or legacy of their father—indeed, their lineage—to be overlooked. They wanted God’s provision and promise to pour out on them and the memory of those who came before!

This is why they were bold enough to question the current inheritance law. 

Yet, Moses and the leaders did not give them a quick answer. They were wise enough to seek God and His will for the situation. And God answered. He was in favor of the daughters of Zelophehad maintaining the inheritance!

“And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ‘The daughters of Zelophehad speak what is right; you shall surely give them a possession of inheritance among their father’s brothers, and cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them. And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: “If a man dies and has no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter. If he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. If he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the relative closest to him in his family, and he shall possess it.”’ And it shall be to the children of Israel a statute of judgment, just as the Lord commanded Moses.”

—Numbers 27:6-11

God changed how inheritance was passed from that point on because five women had the courage to contend for their inheritance. 

However, there was one thing that the daughters of Zelophehad had to do. One that would demonstrate their firmness of purpose and maintain the integrity of the inheritance. Each daughter was to marry within the tribe of Manasseh… to anyone they desired within the tribe, but to one of their tribe, nonetheless. And the daughters of Zelophehad agreed. They were not going to disobey the elders or God in this…

And because of their choice, the inheritance they received would remain in their father’s tribe and his memory would be maintained… while they themselves, received the fullness of inheritance God desired. One that, not long before, had been out of reach.

In God, they found their inheritance! 

• Those Who Were Freely Given Inheritance

We all remember the story of Job. Of how he was a man of God who had been richly blessed with finances, children, and favor… and how he went through trial after trial that, for a season, lost him all those blessings, including his health. Yet, after that, and the growth it brought to his understanding of God, Job was blessed with a double portion! 

Amongst the restoration of Job’s blessings were the children born to him and his wife: seven sons and three daughters. Interestingly, it is the daughters who are spoken of the most, and it is their names that are recorded in the scripture.

“The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. And he also had seven sons and three daughters. The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.

“…Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. And so Job died, an old man and full of years.”

—Job 42:12-17 (NIV)

Yet, even more interesting than this is the fact that Job gave his daughters an inheritance along with their brothers! He freely gave them an inheritance. He loved them and gave abundantly, just as the Lord had given to him.

We Have an Inheritance

We are children of God. We are the story of the prodigal son, who returned to the Father. 

As heirs of the Most High God, an inheritance has been set aside… and while our eternal dwelling with God is the greatest portion of that inheritance, even while we are on earth, we have access to our inheritance.

Not simply finances, though that is a part… but in many other areas. We have an inheritance that includes:

• Direction from God
• Love that is deeper and stronger than any other
• God’s best and highest plans for us—to provide a future and a hope
• Strength and peace beyond human ‘reason’
• Every need provided for
• AND SO MUCH MORE

Inheritance in God is more than we can imagine! It is now and it is on through eternity. 

It is not determined by things like social position, or whether we are son or daughter, or even by who may be considered the ‘best’ child of God. It is not earned—though, like the daughters of Zelophehad, we may need to contend for it if we are lacking in deliverables. Instead, the inheritance God has offered us is freely given. Ready for us in Christ our Savior—as we return and accept Him we lay hold of the fullness of inheritance He has for us!

We have a GOOD FATHER Who LOVES US. He has prepared an inheritance of great value and love for every generation. It is time for us to receive it!