lies& in oo~uence of the rebellion at Kadesh Arboth l[oe.b, and left only unma.rried girls (see the nut not.e). Apparently his da.ught.ers to represent him. meant to acknowledge that they had no com- Ver. 5.-Koees brought their oau.1e before pla.int against the Divine justice beca.nse of the Lord. Presumably by going into the their father's death, but only against the law taberna.cle with this matter upon his mind, because of the unnecessaey hardship which it a~d awaiting th~ ..1-evelation ~f the Divine inflict.ed upon them. will (cf. Exod. :X:Vlll, 19 ; eh. lW. 8). Ver. 4.-Give unto us .. a. possession Ver, 8.-It a man die, a.nd he.ve :no 10:n. among the brethren of our father. The On this particular case a general rule of much ,daughters of Zelophehad did not ask for any wider incidence was founded. The Mosaic 11ba.re of what h&d been their father's, but law of succession followed the same lines as they asked that the lands which would have the feudal law of Europe, equally dissllowing been assigned to their father in the settle- disposition by will, and disco~g, if not ment of CaIUIAll might still be assigned to disallowing, alienation by grant. Upon the them, so that their father's name might at- land was to rest the whole aocw fabric of tach to those lands, and be handed down Israel, and all the.t was ve.lned and per• mth them. The request assumes that the manent in family life and feeling waa to be " brethren" of Zelophehad would receive an tied as it were to the landed inherit.a.nee. inheritance in the promised land, either per• Hence the la.nd was in every case so to p11S8 sona.l.ly or as represen t.ed by their sons ; that the natne and fame, the frivilege and hence it seemsclea.r that Zelopheha.d was not duty, of the deceased owner might be a.a far of the elder generation, which had forfeited as possible perpetuated. Unto hill daughter. s.11 their rights and expectations in Can=, Not (or her maintenance, but in order that but o( the younger, to whom the inheritance her husband might represent her father. wa.s tra.n.sferred (eh. xiv. 29--32). This is In most cases he would take her name, and ,eon.firmed by the collSideration that these be counted a.s one of her father's family. women were not married until some time This had no doubt alresdybecome castomary after this (eh. :r:rrri. 11 ; cf. Josh. :x:vii 8, among the Jews, as among almost a.11 nations. I), and must, therefore, according to the Compa.ra the cases of Sheahan and Jarha .almost inva.riable custom, have been quite (1 Chron. ii. 34, 85), of Jair (eh. :u::x:ii. 41), _young at this time. It is reasonable to sup- and subsequently of the Levitical "sons of pose that the heads of separate families to Barzillai" (Ezra ii. 61). The question, how- whom the la.nd was distributed would be at ever, would only become of public importance this time men of from forty .five to sixty at the time when Israel became a. nation of _yean; of age, comprising the elder half of the landed proprietors. . generation which grew up in the wilderness. Ver. 11.-A ata.tuto ofjudgment. C'fl? Eelopheha.d would have been among these, but that he wa.s cut off, perhaps in the riji!n7. Septuagint, $11,awl'a qii1m,1c, A plague of serpents, or in the plague of the statute determining a legal right.
HOMILETICS. Vera. 1-11.-The certainty of the promised inlurritance. The c~e of Zelophehad'e daughters is no doubt in keeping with that favourable considerat1~n of w~men, .as capable of claiming rights and holding a pol!ition of their own, i.yh1ch certamly dis• tiDguished the Mosaic legislation, and affected for good the Jewtsh charact.er. But .the one thing which we may spiritually discern here is the security of the heavenly -inheritance and the faithfulness with which it is Divinely reserved for them that have received the promise. Zelophehad died, and that through sin, but. since _he was not of the disinherited, therefore his name did not cease, neither we.a his portion taken away from among the people of the Lord. Consider, therefote-' !. TB.AT ZELOPHEHAD1 AS ONE OF 'l'HE YOUNGER GENERATION, HAD A PROMISE 011 .A.N INHERITANCE IN CANAAN TO BE BIB (i. e. HIS FAll!lLY's) FOR EVER. Even BO we, in that we belong to " this generation" ( cf. St. Matt. xxiv. 34), which has r1:?eived the promise of eternal life, and a kingdom which cannot be mov~ (Heh. XlL 28), are without question heirs of salvation, and look forward to a portion amongst the faithful. lL THAT ZELOPBEllAD HIMSELF DIED IN THE WILDERNESS, AND THAT BY BEASON OF SOME BIN WE KNOW NfJT WHAT. Even so we die without having received the promised glory; in all probability we shall all so die; and death ie the wages of sin, ~nd the body is turned to corruption because of sin. 111. Tlli'r THE DJCA'l'H Oll' ZELOPHEll.&.D SEEMED TO DAB HIS CLAIM TO ANY Ill• CH. XXVII, 1-11.] THE BOOK OF NUMBERS. 366-
HERITANCE AMONGST HlB BRETHREN, SEEING HE HAD NO SON TO TAKE HIS PLACE ANO NAME. Even so death seems at first sight, and in the eyes of the unwise, to cut off hope and to separate from the living, and to deprive those that "are not" of the- reward to which they looked. And this was thought to be the case even by them that believed in the first days (1 These. iv. 13, sq.). IV. THAT BY THE WILL OF Goo, HIS NAME AND INHERITANCE WERE PRESERVED IN ISRAEL BY MEANS OF BIB DAUGHTERS. Even so, neither death nor failure in this world will be permitted to deprive us of that inheritance in a better world which the mercy of God reserves for us, not because we have deserved it, but because he has promised it. Consider again, with respect to the daughters of Zelophehad- l. THAT THEY RECEIVED THE REWARD OJ!' FAITH 1 IN THAT THEY DOUBTED NOT THAT THE LORD'S PEOPLE WOULD RECEIVE EVERY MAN HIS PORTION IN THE LAND 011' PROMISE; although they were yet on the other side of Jordan. It is in perfect faith of the fulfilment of God's promises that we must so ask as to receive. II. THAT THEY RECEIVED THE REWARD OF C0UBAGE1 IN THAT THEY BEING WOMEN WITHOUT ANY NATURAL PROTECTOR, BROUGHT THEIR CAUSE OPENLY BEFORE MOSES, AND so BEFORE Goo. It is with boldness, not confounded by our own weakness, that we are to make our requests known unto God (Eph. iii. 12; Heb. x. 19), assured that no one is unimportant with him, and no cause disregarded by him.