Today’s Reading: Joshua 13
As Joshua divides the land amongst the tribes of
Israel, we read that he
gave no allotment to the tribe of Levi. This is because the Lord, the God of Israel,
had promised that He Himself would be their allotment. In the
original Hebrew this reads, “Yahweh
Elohim-of Ishral” is their allotment (or portion). This was not a
"gag gift" or a "booby prize." This was the greatest
allotment of all. The Levites were not to receive the deed to land,
but rather the unique and incredible opportunity of fellowship and service to
God, Himself. This was their prize.
The Bible is full of references to the
inheritance believers have in Christ. Ephesians 1:11 says, "In [Christ] we have obtained an
inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works
all things according to the counsel of his will." Like the Levites,
our inheritance is not something physical or material. You can’t
touch it. Our inheritance is far greater than anything of this
material world. Our inheritance is Christ. According to
the Apostle Peter, we have been born again "into an inheritance that can never
perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you." (1 Peter 1:4)
One day, we will take possession of our portion,
our heritage, our full inheritance. We do not
have the full enjoyment of it at present. But we walk in hope of our
eternal inheritance, knowing that one day our true heritage will be
realized. The same God who was the allotment of the Levites
- Yahweh Elohim-of Ishral – is our future inheritance. And
there is nothing greater than the opportunity to spend eternity with the God of
Light and Love.
Revelation 21 gives us a brief but beautiful glimpse of our
future inheritance: “Behold, the
dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they
will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He
will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no
more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for
the former things have passed away.” Amazing! God
will be with us. We will be with Him. He is our
portion. He is our prize!
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the
strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:26)
No comments:
Post a Comment