Scripture Focus: Joshua 17:3-4
3 Now Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons but only daughters, whose names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah. 4 They went to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders and said, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our relatives.” So Joshua gave them an inheritance along with the brothers of their father, according to the Lord’s command. 

Reflection: Bold Women, Bold Men
By Erin Newton

Women were uncommon recipients of land inheritance in ancient Israel. The daughters of Zelophehad, however, are rewarded for their boldness. 

Without a brother, the customary practice would deny them receiving a portion of the land. They took a bold step in an unconventional direction. Their request could have easily been denied due to the practices of patriarchy. They asked and Joshua granted them inheritance just as it was given to their uncles.

Carolyn Pressler states, “Inheritance by women is an exception rather than the rule…Nonetheless, female passivity is not idealized.” They are not chastised for this request nor rebuked for having something to which typically only men have rights.

This confrontation contrasts with another group requesting a change in inheritance. The men of Joseph received land as was their custom. But they were numerous and needed more space. 

They asked and Joshua denied their request.

The men were not left without an answer; for Joshua offered other solutions with the resolve that God would help them succeed.  

These two stories describe people who were unsatisfied with their situation. Neither group expressed dissatisfaction in ways that were wrong or sinful. They simply had other expectations that benefited their family and community in greater ways. Both made requests outside of the traditional custom.

The common thread in both scenarios is the glorification of the will of God. The women received inheritance “according to the Lord’s command.” The men were encouraged that their efforts would be just like the battles before—empowered by God. 

Men and women sought a portion of God’s blessing. Men and women were granted a place within the Promised Land. 

For women, this story reveals the importance of being bold. Women are not commanded to settle for the customary practices that place them at a disadvantage simply for being born female. If passivity is not the ideal, boldness can take its place. 

For men, this story reveals the importance of being bold as well. It is a story of boldly asking for more when it would benefit their family and community. The answer demands more faith in the sovereignty of God. 

One group received a quick and simple “yes” and the other, a complicated “maybe but have faith” answer. This text does not overturn the patriarchal tendencies of the Old Testament. It does, however, reveal the unexpected and uncustomary ways in which God indiscriminately blesses his people. 

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
I will call upon God, and the Lord will deliver me.
In the evening, in the morning, and at the noonday, I will complain and lament, and he will hear my voice.
He will bring me safely back… God, who is enthroned of old, will hear me. — Psalm 55.17

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
Joshua 16-17 (Listen 5:13)
Ephesians 6 (Listen  3:17)

Read more about Inheritance of Rachel’s Daughters
Leah and Rachel show us the spectrum of marriage at that time. Rachel represents a fairytale…Leah reveals an ugly reality.

Read more about Trust and Pursue God’s Promises
Fully trusting in God’s promises gives us the hope, strength, and courage to pursue those promises.

Scripture Focus: Joshua 5.10-12
10 On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. 11 The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. 12 The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan. 

Reflection: From Survival to Cultivation
By John Tillman

Migrants carry their world through the world. Everything precious to their lives and future is strapped to them in a backpack or a duffel bag. They often carry large amounts of cash or precious items to use for bribes and to survive on the way. I barely trust plastic grocery bags to make it from the store to my car, but migrants travel thousands of miles carrying water, food, and necessities in these bags.

After the first Passover, Israel left Egypt with considerably more than backpacks, duffle bags, and plastic grocery sacks. They had flocks and herds and wealth. Their encampment was carefully organized with strict cleanliness and purity rules. They built the Tabernacle, a magnificent mobile garden of Eden that moved around the desert with them like a mirage.

But no matter how organized or clean a migrant camp is, it is still a migrant camp. There is no planting or harvesting. There is no cultivation. There is only surviving.

At their first Passover in the promised land the people ate food from the land. They tasted the fruit of the promise. They had previously been sustained by manna, the miraculous provision of Heaven. Now they would rely on a different miracle—cultivation. They began the process of going from survival mode to cultivation mode.

Cultivation is just as miraculous as manna. We plant and water, but it is still the Lord who makes things grow. The one in whom we trust is the same one who provided manna in the wilderness.

Cultivation has a different responsibility. Manna could not be saved or shared. They gathered only for themselves. In survival mode, nothing lasts until tomorrow.

Shifting from survival to cultivation, we both save and share. Cultivation creates bounty and resources intended to bless the community and invest in the future.

There is no shame in being migrants. The Lord sustains them—often through us. (Deuteronomy 10.18-19; 24.14, 17; 27.19) But God’s calling and promise are to cultivation. (Micah 4.4) It is through cultivation of faith that we have plenty to share with those in survival mode.

Are you in survival mode or cultivation mode? 

Do you pray only in crisis? Or do you plant prayers, allowing them to grow roots and sprout?
Do you forge scriptures into weapons to fight others? Or do you form scripture into a plowshare, dragging its blades through the soil of your heart, casting out stones and weeds?

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
“Because the needy are oppressed, and the poor cry out in misery, I will rise up,” says the Lord, “And give them the help they long for.” — Psalm 12.5

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
Joshua 5-6.5 (Listen 7:25) 
Colossians 2 (Listen  3:27)

Tuesday’s Readings
Joshua 6.6-6.27 (Listen 4:47), Colossians 3 (Listen  3:09)

Read more about Jericho’s Wall
God isn’t interested in destroying people we call our enemies

Read more about Over Jordan
When we cross over the Jordan with Christ, the land has no enemies to be defeated.