Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph: and these are the names of his daughters; Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, 3 Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them that gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah; but died in his own sin, and had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he hath no son? Give unto us therefore a possession among the brethren of our father. 5 And Moses brought their cause before the LORD. Num 27:1 -5
A Yoruba adage transliterated says “Refusal to talk when you should, marks the commencement of ill fate”. Silence may not be golden at all times as it could connote being satisfied with the status quo. Many of us did not know the importance of being able to talk appropriately as young career managers and we paid for it dearly.
We cannot but commend the gut of these daughters of Zelophehad. Five of them stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the princes and all the congregation. What a boldness! They did not stand before mere men but before all the people that mattered in Israel. They were even wise in the choice of the place of meeting, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
From the history of the Jews, ladies were not expected to speak up. They were to learn from men around them! According to their culture, these women would not have been judged as lacking ambition if they kept quiet with the thought that they were just marking time and that they would soon be married and their father’s name would be irrelevant to them.
They however decided to go beyond normal. These women may have seen the pains on the faces of their parents before dying that they were not happy that they had no male child. So they spoke out, loud and clear and where it mattered and to the people that mattered! Why should not having a male child terminate their father’s name and inheritance?
What would many people do? Grumble, mumble and complain with hush tone where the people that matter may never even notice! Many a spouse have gone crazy by keeping quiet too long! If you are not happy at the treatment from your partner, speak up! An open rebuke is better than secret love! Pro 27:5
We don’t have a right to complain of injustice if we’ve got no gut to speak against it! If these women had kept complaining in silence, they would have died silently and unknown. Their father’s name would have gone with them to the grave. Their own children would have been incapable of enjoying what would have been their rights. However, for daring to be different, they would be ever remembered for challenging the status quo. They presented their case in a very humble way that appeals to all senses to reason along with them. Their query was thus: should a man who did not participate in the rebellion against God have no portion in Israel because we, the offspring are all female? Are we not human beings?
Abraham pleaded his case very well in Gen 18 and that saved his nephew, Lot’s family. The whole reason why we are asked to pray without ceasing is for us to know that we have access to God 24/7. To refuse to present your case no matter how terrible before God is the height of all folly!
Many of us would have watched home videos where someone that is reciting some incantations is abruptly stopped by the other person who immediately counters with his own incantations. In the occult, the person that keeps speaking would easily mesmerise the quiet one. Keeping quiet is deciding not to resist the devil. If you don’t, then how would he flee from you?
Homes have been scattered because of couples that would not speak out. The spouse is just expected to know how you feel… lie! Men in particular are not as sensitive as women think they are or they should be. If the jokes coming from your man is more than you can bear, sister, please speak up. He may think he’s lightening your mood whereas his words are lightning, shattering or threatening your relationship!
Paul had to speak up on the reason why he was being persecuted which led to the confusion between the Sadducees and Pharisees.
Presentation matters.
The daughters of Zelophehad could come to Moses and the elders of Israel and accuse them of injustice and not being fair. That of course could have earned them instance “justice”- death! There was the preamble telling the leaders their background briefly. After presenting a laudable argument, they then ended with the request.
One would appreciate that Moses and others did not intentionally scheme them out. Their story moved Moses to intercede on their behalf. Their case was presented to the Lord.
Would we call this a case of divine oversight? Was God unjust by the rules Moses gave earlier? Could God have made a mistake? God is ever fair. He knows all our needs but we still need to present these to Him. Mathew 7:7 implores us to ask so as to receive, seek in order to find and knock so that doors would opened to us. Otherwise, God would lose relevance in the sight of mankind for we easily forget whatever good is done to us while it is much easy for us to remember negative experiences in details.
One man whose folly was failure to ask for mercy or plead his case is Eli.
1 Sam 3: 18 And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good.
Speaking out is not just when you say something. God’s words are not aimless and ours should not be. How could Eli who made a pronouncement on Hannah’s prayer not cry to God for mercy? Why did God reveal what would happen if not for him to ask for mercy and do something about his children?
By saying “he is the Lord, let him do what seems good to Him”, Eli closed his mouth and his destiny was sealed! When David was confronted with similar judgement, he cried out for mercy and got it!
What you say reflects what you believe.
“For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says”. Mark 11:23
It is not enough to have a belief! You must speak about it. You must bring it out! Someone asked me why it is becoming a problem for many good believers to get good Christians to marry. If good believers don’t speak about their faith, if fantastic Christians don’t win souls, where would many believers come from?
We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak 2Co 4:13
The “Christian” that has nothing to say is not a believer! While I share the wisdom of waiting for the full manifestation of your testimonies before you share it, I nevertheless don’t think it is the best to tell others of our woes and foes more than our breath and life! If you don’t know how to share a testimony of the goodness of the Lord yet you can swing emotions and make men pity you by telling them what you’ve gone through, there is a problem!
If you don’t know the importance of speaking, ask about people who have been gagged before. When you keep a man silenced, you’ve shut down his life! The devil would do his best to gag Job and all oppressed people. Regardless of what the evil one has done, if you still have your voice, congratulations! You can speak to mountains, you can shout / scream for help, you can even praise God like Paul and Silas did when in bondage in Acts 16.
If evil men are allowed to speak louder and shout on the top of their voices to drown the voices of good men, evil is permitted to triumph! With your mouth, you can dictate the pace of your life. No more gag! Scream where you have to, your future depends on what you say! Pro 18:20,21
Speak with focus
Mr Foodmaster came in and responded positively to the invitation of the elders eating pounded yam in a communal way. Mr Foodmaster sat down, washed his hands and started eating. When Mr Focus came in and was given similar invitation, he responded that he came to request for the special dress owned by the eldest of the family which is always won for special occasion. Foodmaster quickly interjected, “that’s what I also came for”. The owner of the dress said he would give it to Mr Focus since his request was earlier.
How many of us have great idea but lost focus only to see the same idea blossoming in the hands of the person that speaks about it before us!
Keep Speaking until your aim is achieved
If Martin Luther (the German reformer) and Martin Luther King (the US great man whose dream came to past in the US having a black president) spoke only once and kept quiet thereafter, they would not have died as heroes to be studied by millions of people for hundreds of years! Coca-Cola is not tired of speaking. Advertisers spend millions to speak. What is your response to the yearning world?
You have the word of life in your mouth as a child of God. Without God speaking words in Genesis 1, nothing created would have existed. What are you creating with your words?