Pursuing the Promise

This morning I am reading about an interesting bit in Joshua where the daughters of a sonless man, receive his inheritance of land.  Here are the verses - Joshua 17:3-4 NIV:

[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."

Now I should note, that if the book of Joshua is somewhat in order timewise, the request above came when Joshua was old, and most of the battles to occupy the promised land had been completed.  I thought this was an interesting bit, just for its uniqueness, but as I dug a bit deeper I realized that this is really about diligence, perseverance and pursuing that which the Lord has promised.  

The truth is that these sisters had made their request years ago, before Moses died (See Numbers 27:1-11).  When they made their request, Moses took the request to the Lord, and He commanded that their request be granted. This was before they entered the promised land.  The tribes on the east of the Jordan were required to help their fellow Israelites drive out the people from the lands to the west of the Jordan, before they were allowed to fully settle their lands (See Joshua 1:12-15).  Thus, it was many years between the original request and the final receiving of the inheritance.  

Additionally, their receipt of an inheritance was brought up as an issue, in case they married outside their tribe (See Numbers 36:2-13).  Moses had to inquire of the Lord once more to get His decision, and again the Lord spoke into the situation and said the daughters of Zelophehad indeed had to marry within their own tribe, and actually extended that regulation, as it pertained to the inheritance of land to all of the tribes.  The daughters obeyed this command, and thus were rightful in their claim for the inheritance.

So why am I reading this and reflecting on these obscure but related verses this morning?  Good question!  As I noted above I believe it has to do with  perseverance pursuing the promise!  Some of the promises of the Lord take years to be fulfilled, and our hearts and minds need to stay engaged and we need to continue to hold onto the promises, even reminding ourselves and others of these promises.  As is the case for these daughters, they received the promise and held onto the promise until the final day when the lands were being allotted.  They had maintained their rightful claim, they had waited patiently and they had never let go, or given up.  Their pursuit was significant enough that it made it into the scriptures 3 separate times (a 4th time they are listed in 1 Chron), and their pursuit of the promise resulted in a changing of the ways of all the Israelites. 

Another thing to note is that Joshua was fully aware of this regulation, as were all the other leaders, but the daughters had to go and make their request again.  I am not faulting the leaders, or Joshua, as I don't know the proceedings or process they were following, but I will note that the daughters weren't going to rely on the leaders remembrance of their promise, they were going to pursue that promise themselves until they saw it fulfilled, and because of that determination, they did receive their full inheritance.  

This morning I am encouraged to look at my life, to review the promises of the Lord and to see if I have abandoned any for lack of perseverance, or diligence on my part.  I am encouraged that the Lord's promises do sometimes take time, and see their fulfillment in unanticipated ways, or through my own perseverance.  I  am encouraged that my heart determination can affect my experience of God's promise.  I am reminded of Paul's dogged determination as he described His pursuit of the Lord in his letter to the Philippians 3:12-14 NIV:

[12] "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. [13] Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, [14] I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Amen and Amen!