Читать книгу Their Father’s Heirs - Cynthia Ekoh - Страница 5

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Today was Milcah’s eightieth day of life. Zelophehad, her father, stood with his wife, who was more relieved than excited, at the entrance of the tent of meeting. They were offering to YHWH a year-old lamb for a burnt offering to mark the end of her eighty-day isolation after the birth of their daughter. For her purification, she gave her preferred and difficult-to-get bird, a dove, as she always did. Zelophehad also gave an extra offering, surprising his wife. For months they had struggled to obtain a year-old male lamb without any blemish or defect for today. In addition, Zelophehad had complained so much about their dwindling livestock and so she was surprised to see the young bull handed over to her husband by his nephew. He had deliberately kept his wife in the dark about this second offering. Not because she had any problem with them giving all their livestock to YHWH, but to forestall her criticism of his motive. He had arranged with his nephew to quietly bring the young bull way behind them. From the corner of his left eye he could make out his wife’s expression of surprise and concern. He suspected his wife knew exactly what the extra offering was for. The priest motioned for his extra offering with a knowing look at his daughter that said “I understand your plight.” “Well for the love of God. This is my fourth daughter and not one son yet! It is certainly not a crime for me to be obviously desperate.” Zelophehad brooded and let off a sigh working on his facial expression. He did not want the priest to know what just went through his mind or think that he came before YHWH with an attitude other than piety. He was going through this ritual for the fourth time, each time with growing desperation but he was still hopeful. Ironically, his brother Baruch would be presenting his fourth son in a couple of days on his fortieth day of life, half the length of time they had to observe for his daughter. It seemed every time he was having a baby, his brother Baruch was right behind him just like when they were children. Only this time he could not show off greater strength as the big brother. Surely this was the true test of a man’s strength, thought Zelophehad, wishing it were possibly to switch babies like they used to exchange their wooden swords as boys.

Belonging to the fast-growing tribe of Manasseh, one of the wealthiest tribes, Zelophehad worried that he might not be able to keep his portion without a son. Since Egypt, every tribe had continued to grow and increase in number and in substance, but at this time the greatest gain was with the tribe of Manasseh. They had started out as the smallest in number but were growing so fast that the last census had them at over thirty thousand not counting their women and children. They were not the largest tribe but their growth was most significant, happening at a time when the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, Gad, and even Ephraim were losing large numbers of their men. Their increasing numbers was one thing that baffled and concerned him greatly. He knew that a lot of his people would castigate him or even curse him to sleep for calling what they think is a great blessing a concern. But when they left Egypt, they had been only six hundred thousand men in number and his tribe had been a little less than half the number they were now. His wonder was how they kept on increasing every day despite the harsh conditions and several wars in the wilderness. His concern was how such a large herd of people would be safely ushered into the promised land and when they get there, would the land be enough to go round. Moreover it was getting more and more difficult for them to move these days. They were able to actually sow and harvest because the time spent at their stops has increasingly lengthened.

The God of their fathers was definitely making good the blessings pronounced by Jacob on the twelve patriarchs many years ago. As a beneficiary of the noble patriarch Joseph, a sizeable portion of the nation’s inheritance belonged to his tribe and he definitely did not want to lose out. He was a fourth-generation descendant and took great pride in his tribe. He was a firstborn just as his father, Hepher, was to his father, Gilead, the firstborn of Makir. As a matter of fact his name meant firstborn. The firstborn child was very important and the desire of every parent is that it be a male. Sons were a man’s greatest assets in Israel. They were the ones to preserve their family name and inheritance for generations. They watched the gate. They went to wars. They died with pride in defense of their people and the land. The measure of your strength and capacity as a man was in the number of sons you have. Just the other day, Moses had commanded that all the firstborn males in the camp be counted. Zelophehad had been so mortified when one of the censoring Levites came by his tent asking if his newborn baby was a male. He did not need a reminder that yet again he had failed to bring forth an heir from his loins, someone to represent his house. With a very low voice he had respectfully told the Levite that his newborn baby was not a firstborn and left it at that.

His wife believed that he worried too much and almost daily reminded him that they had the most beautiful daughters in Israel. His wife was a wonderful, godly woman who sought nothing but his happiness. She has borne him four beautiful daughters but he needed to prove the authenticity of his manhood. Zelophehad had never failed any test of masculinity in his life. As a firstborn male in his family he had many privileges that his brothers did not. Growing up he had been the family’s showcase. Oh how he loved those days as a boy, when he was always given the preference among his six brothers. Whether gifts, meals, opportunities, the first gets it first and most often gets the best. In Israel, every firstborn male whether of man or animal belonged to YHWH. And this identity automatically made them special, distinguishing them from their siblings. As a firstborn male, he had to be redeemed with a costly sacrifice. He smiled as he remembered taunting his brothers with that. Every time they contended with him in spiritual matters, he used to say to them, “I am redeemed, you are not, so let the redeemed of the Lord speak.” To top it all, he gets a double portion of his family’s inheritance. However, right now he did not feel that superiority. How he envied his brother Baruch who has had four sons in the same space of time he’s had his four daughters. Seemingly it appears like a pitch of beauty against brawn with him and Baruch.

Before their father Hepher died, he had called him and blessed him as the firstborn. One of the things he said to him was that his brothers were now his sons. His father’s dying pronouncement had him wondering if it was just about him inheriting his father’s role as the head of the family or was there more to it prophetically. His brothers were all grown men with families of their own. Even though he was the firstborn and head of their family, the truth was that the age gap between them was not significant. His mother had literally had babies every year. As boys and as young men, one could never tell who was the oldest or the youngest until they were told. His two sisters, the twins, who were between him and his second brother, Makir, were the ones that were mistaken for the babies of the family. Zelophehad was finding it harder as the days went by to exert himself as the head to his brothers. Not because he did not understand his role as the head of their family or did not want to live up to the role, but because he felt disqualified. Once upon a time he had been so confident and sure of himself. Where was that young man? The young man that knew he was a leader by divine design and never hesitated to be first whether in trouble or triumph. Maybe he had taken it for granted that just as he was first in everything it was also his birthright to be the first to show strength in procreation. Baruch, his youngest brother, had four sons, and each of his other brothers had more. He knew that it was only a matter of time before his brothers would begin to resent him. If he ended up without an heir, it meant that his portion of their family’s wealth would be lost. No family or tribe likes depreciation of any form. Every family and tribe wants only increase. He did not want to be responsible for taking away from his family but rather wanted to live up to his name. He did not want to be a father to his brothers either, as his dead father had suggested. He desperately wanted to be a father, but a father only to the sons from his loins. He and his brothers grew up competing and contending with one another anyway, so he could not see them looking to him as their father now. He wanted only to lead as he had always done growing up and that was his focus right now. Zelophehad returned from his reverie as he heard the priest call out, “Son of Hepher , the Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” He shook himself, mouthed, “Amen,” and took his leave, wishing the priest had said “give you sons” rather than “peace.”