Dear Daughters Zelophehad
Five strong pillars of valiance,
No fear inside, a confident radiance,
As the five of you stood before Eleazar and Moses,
Knowing that women weren’t even numbered in the census,
So in wisdom you made your plea,
You had faith but everyone could see.
First, you cleared father’s name,
Said he was not a rebel,
Removed all the false blame,
Five daughters are all he had,
And he died in the wilderness,
No sons to inherit the father’s land.
Moses listened and he had compassion,
Took the matter to God for a divine action,
And Lo! The Creator of the universe said,
“The daughters of Zelophehad, are right”, the laws retread.
A new chapter you wrote,
‘Cos you took a step forward,
Dared to claim your right,
Rather being a coward.
Well informed of the law and history,
You stood up strong,
like a sturdy oak tree.
Thank you for teaching me to be brave,
To step out of my comfortable cave,
To have faith and not let fear enslave,
And swim boldly against the strongest wave.
Your faith bought about a difference,
A hope for other women to go beyond their fence,
To respect authority and believe in God’s provision,
You are called delicate but remember you are not weak; A deeper envision.
Love,
The Timid Woman
Growing up, I was pretty much introverted and aloof. I never found it necessary to voice out my opinions or suggestions fearing that I would be put down because I am a girl. Yes, India has evolved over time with respect to ideologies and culture however, the female gender is still considered powerless in this land. I was asked to sit a certain way, walk in a certain style and talk in a gentle tone while boys never had all these rules. To top it all, my family was part of a traditional Pentecostal church where wearing jeans on a Sunday was considered blasphemy. Do as the pastor says, was the rule there. I had questions that I was not allowed to raise, I had opinions that were silenced. “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” is a saying that often thrown at me whenever I wanted to go against something. However, it was only the opinions and questions that were mine, I never had the courage to present them; I wanted someone else to—mostly my parents, for that matter. I remember this particular sermon where our senior pastor stated that women are not supposed to preach, it is a gift given to men only. I was appalled by that statement and, mind you, I was only nine-years-old at the time. I distinctly remember asking my father about it and though, he wasn’t fully appreciative of pastor’s statement he did not bother talking to him about it. Why are women considered second-class? Why are their opinions silenced? Does the wrath of God fall upon women who preach?
When I wrote this poem, I had so many different emotions–anger, disappointment and a pint of happiness. The passage Numbers 27: 1-11 encapsulates the challenges that women faced and what they had to do in order to affirm their rights with dignity.
Zelophehad has five daughters, Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah; he has no sons. Zelophehad was part of the generation of Israelites who departed from Egypt under Moses’ leadership and died during the forty years in the wilderness.
To my surprise, most people in my church were not familiar with this portion. While men in the Bible are celebrated and often quoted in sermons, women are often associated with a sin or as an example to point out a flaw. Call me a feminist—I was agitated by this pattern. I wanted the courage that these five daughters had to boldly approach authority and ask for justice.
Imagine the scene: Moses, the priest Eleazar, and the chieftains were present. Enter the five sisters to claim their rights. Together, they go out of their tents, without being called by anyone, to the place where only the high-ranking men congregate, to the place where the Tablets from Sinai rest in the Ark, to the place of holiness and authority, to a place where women did not have authority. These men must have been overwhelmed when they saw such a startling, unprecedented situation. But wait, it does not stop here. They not only come forth, but also they speak with determination: “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not one of the faction, Korah’s faction, which banded together against God but died for his own sin; and he has left no sons. Let not our father’s name be lost to his clan just because he had no son! Give us a holding among our father’s kinsmen!”
Whoa! Such boldness is truly divine.
Let us dissect their statement. These women knew their law and history. They used the fact that their father was not involved in Korah’s rebellion as evidence to support his–and their–claim to the land. They know that the continuity of family name depends on inheritance of the land; and they realise that the current law is not adequate, for it does not take into account the unusual circumstances of a man without sons. They possess the acumen to recognise this omission–in God’s law. But because they consider God’s law to be just, or to aim to be just, they show no hesitation in pointing out the unfair nature of the present situation with complete confidence and supporting their claim with compelling arguments.
Ah, the dilemma that Moses and Eleazar had. I am sure nobody, especially women, must have pointed out unfairness in the law to them. Being men, the so-called superior beings, how did they never realise this omission?
The achievement of Zelophehad’s daughters was a landmark in women’s rights regarding the inheritance of land, from those days up to now. So, Women of God—Arise in faith and conquer. You are not less, you are not weak. Women have and will make history. Five women revised a law. If they could do it then, you can do it now.