God instructed Moses to carry out a census of the men of Israel old enough to go to war. After counting Israel by tribe, there was determined to be 601,730 men of fighting age. It was determined that the larger tribes would receive a larger inheritance, and the smaller tribes a smaller inheritance. The Levites were numbered at 23,000, but would receive no inheritance. It is noted that no one from the census in the Wilderness of Sinai were present in this census, because they did not believe they could take the land. only Caleb and Joshua were left, the two spies who believed they could take the land.
A special case arose, of the daughters of Zelophehad. Their father had died in the wilderness and had no sons, so his daughters had no regular claim to an inheritance. Moses took their case before the Lord, and the Lord instructed him to give the daughters an inheritance. From that time forward, if a man dies and has no son, his inheritance would pass to his daughter.
God wanted to establish that Israel was just as strong now as they were when they last approached the promised land. Although all the doubters were dead, Israel remained powerful. Also, a provision for women to be given an inheritance was made that began a move toward equality. God establishes here that faith is much more important than gender. God is looking for people to believe his word and His promises. Whether it is a man or a woman, God is looking for faith.
Devoted To You 