Recent law changes in certain nations have changed the already existing status quo that prevented people from doing certain things. A status quo usually refers to an existing law or structure that regulates social, political, religious and military affairs. A status quo is deeply enshrined in laws and changing them takes legislation to change or amend the entire law regarding such policies. For example the Saudi Arabia ban on women driving prevented women from driving in Saudi Arabia. Through activists, this ban was lifted in 2018. Till date, there are several laws that impede the rights of women in different areas of the world. Women rights are human rights and we hope and pray that women would be able to live their full potentials without human laid barriers to prevent growth. If the 21st century woman still faces barriers, imagine the women who lived before modernity. In fact, many female advocates have issues with the treatment of women in Biblical history. But, the Bible also presents exceptional women who did extraordinary things. Even in the face of seemingly barriers, women in the Bible had different opportunities to actively contribute to the bigger picture of the Bible story. During the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt to the promised land, some five women took a bold decision that led to a generational change. The daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, belonged to the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. The names of the daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah. They came forward (Numbers 27:1) Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah were the daughters of Zelophehad, a man from the tribe of Manasseh. These five ladies were not comfortable with that law on inheritance: a man’s properties are inherited by his son. Therefore if the man has no sons, it passes to the next male relative. For all the time the Hebrews travelled through the wilderness, no person was bold enough to complain against this law. I believe the daughters of Zelophehad were not the first females affected by this law. They were just the first to have boldly spoken about it. Numbers 27:1-4 documents this: “The daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, belonged to the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. The names of the daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah. They came forward and stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders and the whole assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said, “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among Korah’s followers, who banded together against the Lord, but he died for his own sin and left no sons. Why should our father’s name disappear from his clan because he had no son? Give us property among our father’s relatives.” The daughters of Zelophehad were specific with their request: they wanted property among their father’s relatives. Zelophehad’s daughters did the right thing by advocating to the right people. They did not protest, they did not destroy properties, they did not insult the leaders but they respectfully presented their case to the leaders and the whole assembly. Where you present your case goes a long way to influence the outcome. Moses brought their case before the Lord, and this was God’s verdict: “What Zelophehad’s daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father’s relatives and give their father’s inheritance to them. “Say to the Israelites, ‘If a man dies and leaves no son, give his inheritance to his daughter. If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers. If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers.” (Numbers 27:7-10). Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah would probably have been ordinary women in their community but their boldness to stand for the right cause changed the status quo. Even God supported their requests and a new regulation governing inheritance was issued. Imagine if these five women had been held back by fear. The laws would have been the same. They would have lost their inheritance and all the women would have continued to suffer silently because of the inheritance law. Many of us have issues that we are battling with. Some of these issues are best handled when we speak with the right people. I pray that God grants us wisdom to present our cases to the right people. If you are going through any spiritual battle, the best person to present your case to is the Lord. The Lord calls us to come to Him with our burdens and he will give us rest from all our weariness. There’s no status quo too enshrined that God cannot change. Scientific reports, family traits, pacts, ancestral battles etc. are all changeable before the Lord. May we be bold enough to go before the throne of God and obtain mercy to change our situations. Like Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah, we shall rewrite history and change the status quo. God is our advocate!
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