Questions to Explore
1. With background knowledge about ancient Egypt, describe and discuss how your life in the twenty-first century would compare with that of a poor girl like Miriam, or a rich girl like the Pharaoh’s daughter living in ancient times.
2. Do you know about, or are you a member of, a group of people who are a cultural minority in this country? What can you do to share your culture with others, and how can you help those who are different be welcomed in church, school, and neighborhood? The Hebrews did not feel welcome in the foreign land of Egypt and were persecuted. Is this the last time this has happened in the history of the world? Why do people often feel threatened by those who are different?
3. Why were all the boy babies ordered to be killed instead of the girls, or why not both? (See Exod 1:8–10.)
4. What things can you do now or learn to do in the future that will help heal and comfort those in need?
5. Daughters and sons are mentioned in Exodus 3:22. Why are the children mentioned as the Israelites were leaving Egypt?
Suggested Topics of Discussion for Teachers and Parents of Older Students
1. This lesson would provide the opportunity to discuss abortion and infanticide of unwanted babies. Are babies killed today because they are not the preferred sex, untimely, or deformed?
2. How have childbirth practices changed over the years?
3. Unfortunately, the evil of slavery has existed in most times and places throughout the history of the world. You can find additional information about the history of slavery. In ancient times, captives from wars were often made slaves of the conquering nation. Is slavery still practiced today? What people are vulnerable to being made slaves? Inform yourselves about the issue of human trafficking which is being practiced today in all parts of the world.
4. This chapter offers the opportunity to discuss circumcision: the practice, the history, and the purpose.
5. Child labor has been a reality for most of the history of the earth. Where are children still forced into hard labor today? When did laws first appear to prevent this abuse of children?
6. Is there a division of labor in the country where you now live based on nationality of workers?
7. If students are interested in archaeology, many resources are currently available to increase background knowledge, and every year more discoveries are made. The Hebrews occupied a large city called Tell el-Dab’a, which is the Rameses written of in Exodus 1:11. On modern maps, it is found in the eastern edge of the Nile delta at Avaris. A workers village has not been found at this location, but this story draws from information about a workers village at Deir el-Medina across the Nile, which is from about the same time period.
Five Sisters Who Asked for Their Inheritance
Numbers 27:1–11; Joshua 17:3–6
Alone in the Wilderness
We huddled together in the frigid desert, staring into our meager fire. What a sight we were, the five daughters of Zelophehad—Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah—sunken in deep, silent sorrow. Many dozens of small lights surrounded us far into the horizon, each warming a family, some of them laughing together.
Tirzah, the youngest sister, interrupted our thoughts. “I don’t even remember mother anymore. Now father’s memory is also fading away, and we buried him only a few days ago.”
“The older generation is almost all gone now including Miriam and Aaron.” said Mahlah, the oldest, and the sister who reminded us of the traditions. “We are the new Children of Israel.”
“Daughters, forty years ago, it seems like yesterday,” we could remember Father’s words. “Moses sent spies into the land of Canaan, the Promised Land. They returned carrying a huge cluster of grapes, but reported that giant people, whom we would never be able to conquer, inhabited the land. We were all afraid, except for Caleb and Joshua.” At this point in the story Father always sighed. “Because of our lack of trust, God said all people twenty years or older will die in the desert and not see the Promised Land. That was the reason God declared we would wander in this wilderness for forty years.” Father’s words remained with us.
“I can see the fire hovering in the sky above the Tent of the Tabernacle. That means we will be setting out again in the morning. We will also leave our father’s grave site,” observed Hoglah, the realist among us. “Yahweh, have mercy on us! What does the future hold?” The last remark struck our hearts cold, and again we were gripped with sorrow.
A fire by night that hovered over the Ark of the Covenant, or a cloud by day, was the sign of Yahweh’s leadership of the Children of Israel through the wilderness. A life of wandering was all we sisters have known, a life of nomads because we were all born in the wilderness. We could not imagine staying in a place long enough to plant a tree or a vine and see it grow to produce fruit.
The blast of trumpets woke us the next morning. “Pack up quickly, we are moving on toward the Jordan River,” men shouted at us. Without our father, they think we can be bossed around.
“All this talk about the Promised Land,” we complained among ourselves as we painfully got onto our feet. “We have only heard rumors our entire lives. Will we ever finally stop wandering?”
One of us gathered the fresh growth of manna that miraculously fell like rain every night around the camp. The little white flakes of vegetation were fresh and sweet every morning. “How many more ways can we cook manna?” Noah asked. “Remember the time we ate our fill of meat when flocks of partridge suddenly blew in from the west?”
“Now stop the complaining,” Mahlah warned. “It never brings any good.”
“Oh, yes, remember the snakes. The people complained, and they wished to have stayed in Egypt,” said Milcah who was not fond of snakes. “We know what Father told us about Egypt. He was still a boy during the Exodus, but he remembered the terrible times when the Israelites were captives. The Egyptians were cruel slave masters.”
“Well, the people forgot to be thankful, so venomous snakes appeared. They bit many people who died horrible deaths,” added Mahlah.
“So much death, must we always talk about death? I am tired of the fighting, the plagues, and our mothers who give birth, only to see their children die,” sighed Hoglah.
“But Yahweh sends mercy, too. Remember when Moses made a snake out of bronze and raised it high on a pole. Everyone who looked at that bronze snake and repented would live,” Noah added a lighter note.
We took down our tent and loaded up our wagon, which we had to pull ourselves. Our poverty was evident compared to the other travelers. We did not have a donkey or oxen to pull our load, as many families did. With heavy hearts, we joined the procession that started creaking forward. We took one more glance back at the small mound where our father was buried, never to see him again.
“Hey, get moving. We are sorry your father died, but you can’t hold up the caravan,” the men behind us shouted. “We are moving toward Moab.”
Every day we made progress toward the Jordan River. Sometimes we lugged the wagon uphill, other times we braced our backs against the front of the wagon to keep it from rolling downhill. Travel by itself was hard enough, but frequent fighting would also occur with the
