Come Into His Presence
by Gail M. Hayes, Pd.D

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. ---- Numbers 27:1

When I think of God's grace to His daughters, the five daughters of the Zelophehad always come to mind. There they were, without a father or brother and these girls understood that there was property to be had. During their time, property passed from father to son and if there was no son, it went to another male relative. These women had no close living male relative so they came up with a plan. What's interesting to me is that their father knew he had no close relatives and yet he made no appeal to Moses or the elders regarding the care of his daughters. If he had made a request, certainly, it would be recorded. I believe that our Lord allowed things to happen just as they did as an encouragement to His present day daughters.

These five sisters decided to go before Moses and ask for possession of their father's property. We can imagine that these girls were at first frightened about the prospect of coming before Moses and the elders. They had to be in agreement. Mahlah, whose name means sickness, probably did not want to go before the elders. The others had to coax her. Noah, whose name means movement, was ready. She came up with the plan. Hoglah, whose name means partridge, probably just wanted to fly away and told the others that she would go along with whatever the others wanted. Milcah, whose name means queen, told her sisters that they deserved the possession. Tirzah, whose name means delightful, was in agreement with whatever her sisters decided and delighted that they wanted to go.

When these women went before Moses, they went together as one, walking in unity. When the Bible mentions them, it mentions them as the daughters and then gives their individual names. When they went together, on one accord before Moses and the elders, the Lord granted their petition. In Numbers 27:5-8, we see how Moses brought their cause or request before the Lord. The Lord told Moses to give them their portion. What does tell us? This tells us that as His daughters, we need one another when we make our request to the Lord. If we are to find favor, we need to link arms with our sisters and make our requests. We no longer have to go before Moses because we have a Great High Priest who shed His blood to give us this privilege. We can come boldly before the throne of grace or unmerited favor and make our requests known to our God.

I believe the Lord set the daughters of Zelophehad in His word as an example of how His daughters obtain favor. There is power in our ranks...if we stick together. We must join forces with our sisters, whether we like them or not; whether they like us or not. If your sister cannot walk, reach down and help her stand. Then help her walk the straight and narrow path leading to His perfect will. If she cannot see, then help guide her to the paths of righteousness for His name sake. If she cannot hear, then whisper His word in her ears until she hears that still, small voice on her own. If she is hurting, then hold her in your arms as He flows the gentleness of His love through you. If she is bleeding, then dress her wounds with the power of His healing. If she is standing, walking talking, moving and loving, then link arms with her and march for the kingdom. We must learn to act as one unit here in the earth. Our Father will move for us when He sees our singleness of purpose. We are His daughters and there is not a devil in hell that can change that.

My sisters, today let's come into His presence together so that we can obtain the full measure of our inheritance. Let's come into His presence just as boldly as the daughters of Zelophehad came into the presence of Moses. Let's come as daughters of the King!

And Moses brought their cause before the LORD. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father's brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them. And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass to pass unto his daughter. ---Numbers 27:5-8

Copyright 2002 -- Gail M. Hayes, Ph.D. - All rights reserved under international copyright laws.

About the Author

Gail M. Hayes, Ph.D is the Executive Director and founder of Daughters of the King Ministries, Inc. and the Alliance of Women Leaders. She is also the host of Write It! Speak It! Live It! Writers Workshop and Proclaim! Christian Communicators Gathering.

When looking for a writer or speaker who ignites your spirit and creates an atmosphere of inspiration, motivation and contagious enthusiasm, you have but to look directly at Dr. Gail Hayes or Dr. Gail as others affectionately call her. Dr. Gail works tirelessly to help women discover, accept, embrace and walk in their God given purpose and identity.Contact her via email or visit our Web site at Daughters of the King.