Numbers 36: Why Does God Do Things Like This?

"Any daughter who possesses an inheritance from an Israelite tribe must marry someone from the clan of her ancestral tribe, so that each of the Israelites will possess the inheritance of his fathers."

Numbers 36:8

Well, that's not quite the way I would have handled the situation, but then again I've never been one to take the role of governmental leadership...  It certainly solves the problem at hand (the concern that a tribe's inheritance will transfer to another tribe if it's owned by a woman who gets married), but not without creating newer (and in my opinion bigger) problems of its own.

Personally, I would have changed the way that property rights are handled.  Instead of treating the woman's possessions like property of the husband, I would treat both of their possessions as shared between the two.  I understand why this wouldn't have worked in the situation described, though... the people weren't socially ready to accept the idea of women's rights.  I'm very much glad that I didn't live in that society.

This is, again, one of those cases in which it's plain that, while God Himself might be unchanging, He knows that we are and He only gives us what we're prepared to handle.  The most common reason why people explain to me that they don't believe in God is that they can't see how an all-loving God would allow such horrible things as abusive and possessive husbands, sacrifice of innocent animals, divinely sanctioned war, etc.

Ultimately, in situations like these, it's important to note that God is limited by the abilities of the people He's saving, not the other way around.

Question of the Day:

Have you ever wondered why the "Old Testament God" treated people so differently than the "New Testament God" does?  Take a closer look, and you'll see that He actually doesn't...  In both collections of books, He is a merciful Father who redeems any of His children who have run astray as long as they are willing to pay the price for their freedom, which is ultimately repentance.

Prayer of the Day:

Forgive me for all the wrong I have ever done.  Lord, You know my heart and my history better than even I myself know it.  Reach deep within me and extract everything You find that doesn't glorify Your name.  Purify me with Your cleansing fire, and deliver me from evil.  Help me to become a mirror of Your Spirit so that all my actions here on Earth may bring glory to Your name.  Amen.