Christian Stress Management: Lessons from Women in Bible Genealogies: Daughters of Zelophedad

When God told Moses to take a census the following was documented:

The sons of Joseph were Manasseh and Ephraim
Manasseh begot Machir
Machir begot Gilead
Gilead begot Jeezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Shemida, Hepher
Hepher begot Zelophehad
Zelophehad did not have sons but he had daughters whose names were MAHLAH, NOAH, HOGLAH, MILCAH and TIRZAH. (Numbers 26:33)

So what did these 5 women do to have their names included in this genealogy and be remembered for as long as the Bible is read?

The daughters of Zelophehad came and Stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest and the leaders of the Israelites by the doorway of the tabernacle of meeting and said, "Our father died in the wilderness but he was not together with those who had gathered against God together with Korah. He died in his own sin and he did not have sons. Why should our father's name be removed from those of his family because he did not have a son? Give us a possession among our father's brothers." (Numbers 27:1-4)

Moses did the wise thing and brought their case to God.

God replied by telling Moses, "The daughters of Zelophehad are saying the right thing and you shall give them a possession of inheritance among their father's brothers and make their father's inheritance to pass to them." (Numbers 27:6-7)

These daughters of Zelophedad can they teach us the following 21st century lessons even if they lived they lived thousands of years ago?

Present your problem to all parties

The Daughters of Zelophehad presented their case to all the parties which were concerned with their issue because they went to stand infront of:
a. Moses who was their spiritual leader and the man who spoke to God on their behalf
b. Eleazer the Priest
c. The Israelite elders

Therefore if you have a problem, try and present it to all the concerned parties at once so that you can receive a solution as soon as possible. If you present your problem to only one party, they can say that they have to check with the others first and then get back to you.

In their case, they were very fortunate that Moses decided to present the case to God and when He replied, Moses, Eleazer and the Israelite leader had no choice but to accept God's verdict.

Presenting your problem to one or several parties requires courage and the daughters of Zelophehad demonstrated great courage going to stand before Moses and all the leaders of the Israelites to demand an inheritance.

God rewarded their courage by telling Moses to make sure they received their inheritance and even changing the inheritance laws so that other daughters of fathers without sons would also inherit a share of their father's property. (Numbers 27:8)

Therefore if you have an issue that you feel you need to speak out about, fight fear and speak up for yourself and those who may not have a voice to talk for themselves.

How does a Christian fight fear?

Unite for strength

The Daughters of Zelophehad went together as a group. No doubt 5 women appearing together at the doorway of the Tabernacle of the Meeting caused more of an impact than just once woman coming alone to ask for her inheritance.

Therefore if you are suffering from a certain problem, unite with others who have the same issue and present your petition together because Though one person can be overpowered, two can defend themselves and a cord of three strands is not easily broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:12)

Present your problem effectively

The Daughters of Zelophehad presented their case very effectively because they included the following parts:

History
The Daughters of Zelophehad begun by explaining why they were there alone by saying that their father was absent because he had died in the wilderness. They also explained the circumstances surrounding his cause of death.

Therefore when presenting your problem always give a brief background so that all the parties can get on the same page.

Problem
The Daughters of Zelophehad laid out their problem by asking, "Why should our father's name be removed from those of his family because he did not have a son?"

Therefore after presenting your problem always summarize it in one sentence or question.

Solution
The Daughters of Zelophehad also spelt out the solution by saying, "Give us a possession among our father's brothers."

Therefore after presenting your problem to God in prayer always finish by stating the solution you would prefer.

These three steps of history, problem and solution can be used when you are presenting your problems to humans and also to God in prayer.

When used for presenting your problems to God, use Bible verses as your history. For example when the Israelites angered God by asking Why has God brought us here to die from war? (Numbers 14:3) God replied and told Moses "I will strike them with pestilence and disinherit them." (Numbers 14:12)

However when Moses interceded for the Israelites before God, He spoke the words that God had spoken to him when he was on Mount Sinai for God had told him, The Lord, the Lord God is merciful, gracious, longsuffering and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin but by no means clearing the guilty for He visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generation. (Exodus 34:6-7)

As a result of presenting their case and using the history of these Bible verses, God told Moses "I have forgiven them according to your words but .... they shall certainly not see the Promised Land." (Numbers 14:20-23)

Therefore when you are presenting your problems to God in prayer, it is a good idea to quote Scriptures as your reference for history and also solution to your problem. The Promises of God are a good place to begin when praying for your needs.

The Promises of God