Inheritance

(Today's Reading - Joshua 19-20; Luke 6:27-49)

My grandmother passed away a couple of months ago. Her husband had passed many years earlier, so she was the owner of their estate at her passing. My father was one of nine children, so the estate was to be divided between all the children equally. (No small feat) My grandfathers solution to the problem was to sell everything at auction and divide the proceeds equally. Each child would receive an equal portion of the proceeds from the sale and this would eliminate the problem of one child feeling that another had been given something more valuable. That is how they decided to do it. It was their stuff, so it was their choice.

Today's reading contains the details of how the land was to be divided between the tribes, the children of Israel. As we have been reading, the land was taken through many battles as the inhabitants were defeated and the land was captured. In Joshua, each time the description of what the tribe was to receive was given, it was called an "inheritance". This was the inheritance of the tribe of the Simeonites...The boundary of their inheritance went as far as Sarid...These towns and their villages were the inheritance of Zebulun... you get the idea. An inheritance...

This land had been "owned" and occupied by people for years. How was this land, captured through battles considered an inheritance? Imagine going to your next door neighbors house and driving his family off their land, moving into his house and saying.... "this is my inheritance". Strange? Well, maybe. Let's consider a couple of things before we write off Joshua as a nut. If we believe that the Bible is Gods' word, then we accept it as truth and if His word says that this land was an inheritance... then it was an inheritance. That is a simplistic approach, but a true one. As the old bumper sticker said... "God said it, I believe it and that settles it". While that is true, it not very satisfying. I didn't like it when my dad would say, "because I said so" and I don't like this reasoning much better.

I want something better than "because I said so". Here goes... for someone to receive an inheritance, the owner of it must give it to them... "The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it" (Psalm 24:1) If everything belongs to God, then He may give it to whom He chooses as an inheritance. As our Father, anything we have... our homes, our children, our food, our clothes... are an inheritance from Him. If we gain that understanding, it changes the way we look at "our" possessions. Children are an inheritance from the LORD. They are a reward from him. (Psalm 127:3) So, for the children of Israel, the land was a gift from God and therefore an inheritance... He owns it and can give it to whom He chooses. Our happiness, our joy depends on our gaining understanding of this principle.

I am reminded of the parable of the talents found in Matthew 25...  For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. We have been entrusted with "His" property. We are to be faithful stewards of what He has placed in our care. How far does that extend? To everything we possess. As a husband, I am to be a faithful steward of my wife. As a father, I am to be a faithful steward of my children. I am to be a faithful steward of everything that God has placed in my care. The children of Israel were to be faithful stewards of the land that they inherited from God. As long as they were... they were blessed and things went well for them. When they were unfaithful, they were punished. Faithful... received blessings; unfaithful... blessings taken away.

What's my point in all this rambling? Our view of stuff changes what we do with it, how we care for it. If we believe that all we have is an inheritance from God, we will use it in service to Him and our fellow man. If we believe it is ours and we own it through our own craftiness, then we feel free to use it as we see fit. God chose His words carefully. He knew that if the people understood that it was His land to give and that their "ownership" of it was a gift from Him, it would change everything. In the same way, when we recognize that all that we have is from Him, our perspective changes. Each breath (take a deep breath here) is from Him. He owns the air that just went into your lungs. Take a moment and let that thought fully develop.

His people were and are to live differently because they understand things differently. The Christian world view is different from the non-Christian world view. His people, those who receive an inheritance, are to use what they have to honor Him. Sure He said it and that settles it... but a deeper understanding of the matter changes everything.

Love God, Love People

Dale