So when these five sisters heard news of their father’s death they went before the most influential leader in their community to ask for justice. At this time, the law stated only men could carry on the inheritance of their fathers. As it turns out, Zelophehad only had daughters, and all of his possessions would be lost based on the structures of the law. Instead of accepting the injustice of their culture, Mahlah, Noa, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah made their case in the sacred tent of meetings before Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the entire community.
So Moses brought their case before the Lord, and the Lord said to him, “What Zelophehad’s daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father’s relatives and give their father’s inheritance to them.” (Numbers 27:5-6)
Even greater than their bravery was the Lord’s ruling. He told Moses to give the sisters their inheritance. The Bible goes on to tell us that the law was changed moving forward. Women were now able to receive family inheritance. This was monumental for not only the five sisters but for all women in the nation of Israel. It recognized women as members of society who deserved justice in the same way men did. God never intended for women to be stripped of their value and worth.
Not That Judas
The personality or actions of someone have a way of either tainting or building up a name. Judas is one of those names. For obvious reasons, there is a deeply negative connotation associated with the name Judas. For that very reason, I don’t imagine you have ever met a person named Judas.
This is probably also one of the reasons why we are far less familiar with Judas, son of James. He also goes by the name of Thaddaeus or Labbeus but that doesn’t seem to help his case all that much.
The less well-known Judas was actually fundamental in the establishment of the early church. He was one of the twelve apostles who went throughout the known world preaching the gospel. He traveled to Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Libya to share the good news of Jesus. Judas fulfilled the Great Commission during his time and likely suffered martyrdom in AD65. According to tradition, Judas died by an axe, and his body was later brought to Rome.
We don’t have a lot of information regarding Judas, and not everyone sees eye to eye on the information we do have. What we do know is that Jesus chose him to be one of his disciples, he faithfully followed the teachings of Jesus, and he played a significant role in starting one of the greatest movements in history.
Dorcas: A Second Chance at Life
Some of the most notable accounts in the Bible of someone being raised from the dead have Jesus at the center. But a lesser known account involved the apostle Peter and Dorcas. She was one of two females raised from the dead in Scripture. The first female was Jairus’ daughter, who was raised from the dead by Jesus.
Dorcas, also known as Tabitha, is unique because she’s one of the few resurrections we read about after Jesus was resurrected. There are many parallels between the resurrection of Jairus’ daughter and Dorcas. In both accounts, there was a loved one who pleaded for a miracle to be performed. Jarius ran up to Jesus begging for him to bring his daughter back to life. Two fellow disciples heard of Peter’s arrival and ran to Peter asking for him to resurrect Dorcas.
Much like Jesus had, Peter arrived on the scene to find women weeping and mourning. He prayed over the woman and said, “Tabitha, arise.” He lifted her out of bed and she was alive.
It would be enough of a testimony of God’s power for Dorcas to have been raised from the dead. But what’s more noteworthy even than her resurrection is the impact she had on the people around her. The bible describes her as a woman who was always doing good and helping the poor. This is why the people in her town were so distraught over her unexpected death. The bible highlights her resurrection, because of the changes it spurred on among others in her town.
And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. (Acts 9:42)
