Woman's Rights: Upheld and Established by Christ

Does the Bible suppress women?  That's the common thought today.  The feminist movement tells us that we must cast off the chains of its gender oppression and break through the glass ceiling of Christianity’s totalitarian patriarchy.

That's what makes Numbers 27:1-11 stand out like Lady Gaga at a convent.  In this passage five women come to Moses to inquire about the status of their father's inheritance.  Their  father had died without a son.  So in a patriarchal society, what would become of them?  They were concerned that when the Promised Land was divided among the tribes of Israel they might lose their property rights.  Then, in losing the rights to their estate, they themselves could essentially be lost.  Were this any other nation, these women would likely find themselves auctioned off along with their land or left out in the streets without any means of survival. 

But of course, this wasn't any other nation.  The case was presented to the Lord, and the Lord guaranteed that the inheritance that rightfully belonged to their father would be granted unto them.  The Lord then established a rule in Israel that “If a man dies and has no son, then you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter.”

That the women were even given an opportunity to come to Moses to pose their case is significant.  What nation at this time would have given a band of ladies the time of day, let alone their day in court?  But Moses not only granted them an audience, he guaranteed them what no other nation would have even imagined: proper access to their father’s territory.

To be sure, we cannot forget the spiritual implications of this story.  God had promised Abraham and his children the land of Canaan, which was fundamentally a promise of full redemption in and lot in His eternal kingdom.  Ultimately these ladies were seeking no less than their share of that redemption.  God’s granting their request reminds us that His grace is extended towards all sinners who look to him in faith, be they male or female.

That noted, we should not skip over lightly how this passage speaks to our age of the rights and high esteem God grants women.  The Bible does not speak begrudgingly of women.  Neither does it put them in a place of slavish subjection.  As a matter of fact, the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the only standards that exalt femininity and treat women with maximum esteem.

Without Biblical guidance women are robbed of their due rights and status.  William Cary watched with great horror as the Indians buried women alive along side their deceased husbands. When Muslim women take to the streets, their burqa’s proclaim the shadow of a life they must live.  And you need only to look at the women in our society who, having climbed the corporate ladder all their lives to find success and fulfillment, now live with the agonies of loneliness and barrenness—the tombstone of feminism’s depriving effects.

Christians certainly do not have a perfect record in these matters.  However, we can say that wherever society has been built on the truth of Scripture women have been enjoyed greater esteem and social privileges.  Ancient Israel was merely one example.

When the matter is considered closely, we find that only Christ affords women their due respect and place.  Those whom he created the fairest of the species, receive the fairest treatment and honor.