Barry Metz 5/21/17

Great is Thy Faithfulness1

Joshua 12–13 (ESV)

You know when you’re driving along on a road trip and you cross from one state to the next you can’t really tell that you crossed a border unless you see a welcome sign or someone in the car points it out, for example: “Hey guys, we’re crossing into Louisiana!”, for example. Well I’m here this morning—and this is full disclosure here—I’m here this morning to tell you that we’ll be crossing an outline border during the message. We’re going to start the message in Joshua 12. And Joshua 12 falls under one outline point. And we’re going to finish the message with Joshua 13. And Joshua 13 falls under another outline point. And sometime during the message I’ll nudge you verbally and say, “Hey guys we’re crossing into Joshua 13.” Now I have to admit that this is a very “un-monumental” way of introducing a sermon but I do think it will help you understand why the message will feel like it has two movements today!

Now if some of you are still waking up to the idea that it’s Sunday, and you haven’t had enough coffee and this less-than-monumental sermon introduction has left you confused, let me try to clear things up with a slide. Here’s the outline for the book of Joshua that we’ve been using, taken straight from the ESV Study Bible:

Today we’re going to be in Joshua 12 and Joshua 13. Looking at the slide, you can see that those chapters fall under two different outline points.

And again I feel certain you’ll feel that movement as we walk through the message. We’re going to talk about taking the land first and then we’re going to shift gears and talk about dividing the land. And at the right point, I’ll pause at the right place and tell you we’ve crossed the border.

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If you were with us last week, we covered the southern campaign and the northern campaign to capture the Promised Land in Joshua 10 and 11, respectively. This morning in Joshua 12, it’s as if the author says, “Ok we’ve covered the various campaigns to capture the Promised Land. Now here is the supporting evidence—the raw data of what I’ve written about in the previous

1 Davis

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chapters.” 2 What we’re going to find in Joshua 12 is a list of defeated kings. The chapter could rightly be thought of as an “appendix of sorts” to the entire II. Taking the Land section of our outline.

So again what chapter 12 is, is a list of the kings defeated in the conquest.

Now let’s quickly overview the chapter. The chapter begins by focusing initially on the two kings defeated east of the Jordan River (verses 1-6). Sihon and Og are their names. Now why does our author include kings east of the Jordan River in the list of defeated kings? Because two and a half of the tribes—the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad and the ½ tribe of Manasseh--will end up living east of the Jordan River. Including the two kings defeated east of the Jordan is all about national unity.

And then beginning in verse 7, the focus moves west of the Jordan to the 31 kings that were defeated there.

Let me summarize what I just said with this map up on the screen:

I don’t know how well you can see this but how many black dots are there east of the Jordan River? Two. As I said, there were two kings defeated east of the Jordan River, Sihon and Og.

And how many black dots are there west of the Jordan River? Well we won’t take the time to count them but there should be 31.

{And while we have the map up there, and thinking of the land west of the Jordan River only, where do you see no black dots, no kings defeated? Along the coastland, right? Chariot territory, right? Philistine territory, right? More on that idea when we get to chapter 13.}

So this is what Joshua 12 is all about—it’s a list of defeated kings.

Follow along as I read Joshua 12:1…

2 Howard

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12 Now these are the kings of the land whom the people of Israel defeated and took possession of their land beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise...toward the east….in other words these are the kings east of the Jordan River who were defeated….from the Valley of the Arnon…at the very bottom of the map….the Arnon valley splits the Dead Sea in half… to Mount Hermon….the northernmost location noted on the map….you can see the triangle at the top of the map……. with all the Arabah eastward….the Arabah is the Jordan river valley…everything east of the Jordan River.

Verse 2 describes Sihon’s territory….he lived in Heshbon and ruled from Aroer…his territory extended from the Arnon river in the south to the Jabbock River in the north …you can see those two rivers on the map.  Verse 3 describes a little sliver of land east of the Jordan that goes from the Jabbock River up to the Sea of Galilee that Sihon ruled over also.

How was Sihon defeated? Numbers 21:21-30 and Deut. 2:26-37 describe what happened. Moses sent messengers to Sihon and asked permission to pass through his land.3 Moses promised to stay on the highway.4 And he offered to pay for any food and water that the people drank. It all seemed so very reasonable. But Sihon wouldn’t let Israel pass through his territory.5 Why? We saw the same thing last week--because God hardened his heart.6 Sihon and his armies came out to fight and they were soundly defeated. The Israelites devoted to destruction everything that breathed except the livestock. Well verses 4-6 describe the second king defeated east of the Jordan River—Og king of Bashan who lived at Ashtaroth. You can see Ashtaroth on the map. Og was one of the remnant of the Rephaim,7 a group of giants, like the Anakim we encountered last week. There are no eyewitness accounts of King Og the giant but the scriptures tell us parenthetically that his bed was 13 feet long and 6 feet wide.8 Yes Deuteronomy 3:11 tells us that.

3 Deut. 2:274 Although it is possible that derek hammelek was nothing more than the common designation for a public road that ran through a particular region, most scholars use ‘King’s Highway’ as a proper name for the major international route that traversed the entire length of Transjordan’s plateau. Specifically, this roadway ran from Damascus to the Gulf of Aqaba, connecting many important towns in between (e.g., Ashtaroth, Rabbath-ammon, Dibon, Kir-hareseth, Bozra).5 Numbers 21:236 Deut. 2:307 One of the pre-Israelite peoples of Palestine mentioned, together with the Zuzim and Emim, in the time of Abraham as having been defeated by Chedorlaomer (Gn. 14:5). They are also listed among the inhabitants of the land God promised to Abraham’s seed (Gn. 15:20). At the time of the conquest the Rephaim seem to have inhabited a wide area, but were known by different local names. In Moab the Moabites, who succeeded them there, called them *EMIM (Dt. 2:11), and likewise in Ammon, where they preceded the Ammonites, they were known as *ZAMZUMMIM (Dt. 2:20–21).

They were a formidable people, being compared in stature with the Anakim (*ANAK) (Dt. 2:21), and LXX renders the name by gigas, ‘giant’ in Gn. 14:5; Jos. 12:4; 13:12, and 1 Ch. 11:15; 14:9; 20:4, a rendering adopted by AV in Dt. 2:11, 20; 3:11, 13; Jos. 12:4; 13:12; 15:8; 17:15; 18:16; 1 Ch. 20:4. (LXX translates it Titanes in 2 Sa. 5:18, 22.)8 Deuteronomy 3:11

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You can see Og’s territory on the slide. Well Og and his troops came out to fight against Moses and the Israelites. You can read about it in Numbers 21:31-35 and Deut. 3:1-17. And again Israel soundly defeated Og and his troops.

Well verse 6 summarizes the defeat of the two kings…..6 Moses, the servant of the LORD, and the people of Israel defeated them…Sihon and Og….And Moses the servant of the LORD gave their land for a possession to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 

Now I think in general—we’ll see if you agree with me—these enemies, Sihon and Og generally don’t typically make it onto one’s ‘Top 10 Enemies of Israel’ list. Do you agree? If you asked a group of people who knew their Bibles pretty well, “Who are some of the most memorable enemies of Israel in the Bible?,” do you think anyone would mention King Sihon or King Og?

But yet it’s interesting that both of them make it into the praises and prayers of Israel. My point, I suppose, is that these two kings are probably more significant than you or I would know.

Let me drive that home. Keep your hand here in Joshua and turn to Psalm 135…we’ll pick up in verse 8… Psalm 135:8

8  He (God right?) He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and of beast; 

9  who in your midst, O Egypt, sent signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants….that’s the first 10 or so chapters of the book of Exodus right?

10  who struck down many nations and killed mighty kings, 

11  Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan…isn’t it interesting that the psalm only names Sihon and

Og?12  and gave their land as a heritage, 

a heritage to his people Israel. 

Which kings get mentioned? Sihon and Og

And then across the page in Psalm 136…Let’s pickup in verse 15…. This is one of those responsive reading psalms…

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15  but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea, for his steadfast love endures forever; 

16  to him who led his people through the wilderness,….Exodus and Numbers for his steadfast love endures forever; 

17  to him who struck down great kings, for his steadfast love endures forever; 

18  and killed mighty kings, for his steadfast love endures forever; 

19  Sihon, king of the Amorites, for his steadfast love endures forever; 

20  and Og, king of Bashan, for his steadfast love endures forever; 

21  and gave their land as a heritage, for his steadfast love endures forever; 

22  a heritage to Israel his servant, for his steadfast love endures forever. 

Again I think it’s interesting that Sihon and Og get the headlines in these Psalms. It’s time to add these guys to our ‘FBI Top Ten Most Wanted Enemy’ List.

Turn back to Joshua 12…As we come to verse 7 the subject shifts to the kings defeated west of the Jordan River. Verse 7 gives the northern and southern limits of the territory that the Israelites had taken. And then verse 8 “represents an overall sweeping view of the lands taken, mentioning six areas and six peoples."9

And then in verses 9-24 we come to a rather monotonous listing of the 31 kings that were defeated west of the Jordan River. Now what does a list like this do for us? John Calvin assessed it this way: “…there is very good reason for placing before our eyes (this)….living picture of the goodness of God”10 proving that God had been faithful to the covenant he had made with Israel. God did what he had promised. So Calvin says that a list like this—we’re talking verses 9-24—is a living picture of the goodness of God.

An author by the name of Davis writes this…. “The king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one—those words are not an excerpt from a dull archive; they are the lyrics of a song! Verses 9-24 constitute the stanzas for Israel’s version of “Great is Thy Faithfulness”. God’s ancient word has been faithful!11

(invite Anne up to play Great is Thy Faithfulness in the background)

9 Howard10 Davis11 Davis

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9 the king of Jericho, one;   the king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one; 

  10 the king of Jerusalem, one;       the king of Hebron, one;   11 the king of Jarmuth,   one;       the king of Lachish, one;   12 the king of Eglon, one;       the king of Gezer, one;   13 the king of Debir, one;       the king of Geder, one;   14 the king of Hormah, one;        the king of Arad, one;   15 the king of Libnah, one;       the king of Adullam, one;  16 the king of Makkedah, one;       the king of Bethel, one;   17 the king of Tappuah, one;       the king of Hepher, one;   18 the king of Aphek, one;       the king of Lasharon, one;   19 the king of Madon, one;       the king of Hazor, one;   20 the king of Shimron-meron, one;     the king of Achshaph, one;   21 the king of Taanach, one;       the king of Megiddo, one;   22 the king of Kedesh, one;       the king of Jokneam in Carmel, one;    23 the king of Dor in Naphath-dor, one;        the king of Goiim in Galilee, one;    24 the king of Tirzah, one:                  in all, thirty-one kings. 

Now with this list in front of us, there’s another point we can make.12 There’s something really valuable about thanking God for specifics. God has been faithful to us in specific ways and we need to thank him specifically. One author says it this way… “Itemizing God’s goodness—that is always the method of biblical faith. It is as faith gives thanks in detail (not generalities) that

12 From Davis

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faith is nurtured, encouraged, and takes on fresh heart to expect more mercies. Hence we should get rid of some of the tripe in our prayers like, ‘and thank you for your many, many blessings’ (We should) name one or two of those blessings instead.”13

There is  something to be said for giving thanks in detail….. let me spend a minute doing that… Father, you’ve been faithful to us all throughout the many seasons of life.You’ve saved us—we’ve been saved from the penalty of sin and the power of sin and we’re

confident that you will one day faithfully save us from the presence of sin.You’ve faithfully called us out of darkness and into your light.You awaken us in the morning more often than not with thoughts of you. You feed us with the spiritual food we need. You’ve placed our feet on solid ground. We have a sure word in the Word of God.You’ve given us the Spirit of God to lead us and guide us and strengthen us.You’ve opened our eyes to the truth.You’ve given us a love for truth. You’ve put us in a local church where we can serve and use our gifts. Thank you for giving us a sure word.Thank you for adopting us into your family and giving us the Spirit as a down payment assuring us of the blessings to follow.Thank you for causing us to taste and see that you are good.Thank you for giving us desires to read your word and walk with you.Thank you for filling our hearts with hope.Thank you for daily bread.Thank you for more sunny days than rainy days.Thank you for faithfully protecting us from physical harm, emotional harm, and spiritual harm.Thank you for faithfully forgiving us our sins.There is something to be said for giving thanks in detail….. It is as faith gives thanks in detail (not generalities) that faith is nurtured, encouraged, and takes on fresh heart to expect more mercies.

Well as we come to Joshua 13, we’re crossing an outline border here….Here’s your reminder….

13 Davis

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As we come to chapter 13, we come to a whole new emphasis in the text, an entirely new outline point, III. Dividing the Land, subject matter that runs from chapter 13 through 21.

Chapters 13–21 deal with the distribution of the land as God’s gracious inheritance to his people, Israel.14 In fact the word inheritance shows up 12 times in Joshua chapter 13. To drive home how important these chapters are, they are sometimes called the book’s “center of gravity” because of their historical and theological significance.15 I mean Israel is getting their inheritance! We ought to cheer! Abraham was told he would be given a land. And that was over 500 years before this moment. And now Abraham’s descendants are finally receiving what God had promised many years before!

Before we look at Joshua chapter 13 in detail, it’ll be helpful to survey what the Old Testament scriptures say about the concept of ‘inheritance’. And because we believe that the scriptures tell a developing story—that there is a beginning and an end and movement in between16— then we want to highlight how the concept of ‘inheritance’ in Joshua contributes to the larger story line and how it points forward to the final concept of inheritance as it impacts you and me.

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The word inheritance can be used legally or theologically. Legal inheritance— probably the way we most frequently use the word inheritance- - refers to actual property or goods received after a family member’s death.17 (Again that’s probably the way we typically use the word inheritance; someone dies and leaves property to their surviving loved ones.) When used theologically, the word ‘inheritance’ means to “receive an irrevocable gift” with an emphasis on the special relationship between the one who gives the gift and the recipients. Now what does irrevocable mean? It can’t be revoked. It can’t be taken away. And when the term inheritance

14 Jackman, D. (2014). Joshua: People of God’s purpose. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 136). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.15 Jackman16 These words from ‘Bound for the Promised Land’ by Orin Martin, page 3117 Brown, W. E. (1996). Inheritance. In Evangelical dictionary of biblical theology (electronic ed., p. 374). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.

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is used theologically, the one giving the inheritance doesn’t have to die.18 So that’s a distinction between a legal use of the word and a theological use of the word inheritance.

The two Hebrew words that are translated ‘inheritance’19 in the Old Testament occur only rarely in Genesis and Exodus and are most frequent in Numbers and Deuteronomy. And why is that? It’s because there, they look forward to the allotment of land in Canaan as an inheritance from God.20 Though all kinds of property were passed down from parents to children in a Jewish family—and there were all kinds of guidelines about how that was to be done21-- land is most often the focus of inheritance discussions in the Old Testament scriptures. And almost always the focus of the inheritance concept goes back to God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12 and God’s fulfilment of that promise.

The scriptures teach that God is really the one who owns the land and individual Israelites were really tenants. 22 And when land was given to a family as its inheritance, it was to remain in the family forever. The inheritance was irrevocable. If an individual had to sell his land for financial reasons, then a near relative was to come in and redeem what was sold to keep it in the family. If there was no near relative to keep the land in the family, then the original owner, when he became prosperous, could buy back the land he had sold. But if none of that worked out, then at the year of jubilee which occurred ever 50 years, the land automatically reverted to its original owner. The inheritance was irrevocable. So the inheritance of land stayed in the family forever.23 And that was a big deal to God. It was his design that the inheritance was irrevocable. I’m purposely hammering the word irrevocable because our inheritance in the New Testament is irrevocable!

Now when we get to the New Testament, the concept of inheritance gives way to a decidedly spiritual and theological meaning. And just as Joshua led the people of God into their inheritance in the Promised Land, Jesus opens the way for us to our inheritance. In fact it’s because we are in him we have an inheritance. I’m going to return to that idea and try to flesh it out completely at the end of the message.

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One other thought here as we think about the inheritance chapters before us in Joshua—and again we’re talking about Joshua chapters 13-21. Admittedly these chapters make for difficult

18 Brown, W. E. (1996). Inheritance. In Evangelical dictionary of biblical theology (electronic ed., p. 374). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.19 Nahal and yaras20 Nixon, R. E. (1996). Inheritance. In D. R. W. Wood, I. H. Marshall, A. R. Millard, J. I. Packer, & D. J. Wiseman (Eds.), New Bible dictionary (3rd ed., p. 505). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.21 Numbers 27:1-11; Numbers 36:6; Deut. 21:15-17; Lev. 27:14-25 22 Lev. 25:23; Joel 1:623 Lev. 25:25-28

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reading. One author says it this way…. “Watching war movies always tends to be more exciting than participating in land surveys. Insomnia naturally thrives on accounts of dry river beds and crumbling walls. Somehow chasing a Canaanite out of the hill country is far more stimulating than plodding over his former land counting villages and tracing borders.”24

But there is a reason why we don’t appreciate these chapters like we should. We’re detached from them25; we’re reading about someone else’s inheritance and we don’t really have any interest in their inheritance. But don’t you know that if you and I were receiving land personally—this is the inheritance for the Metz clan-- as an inheritance we would be engaged to the max.

My mother left us some money when she passed away and it was exciting when we received it. We were so grateful. Perhaps we will have the privilege of leaving something to our children ….our cat…a couple of extra bags of cat food, some pieces from the inside of a baleen whale’s mouth that I got up in Alaska…. and drum roll please….it doesn’t get any better than this-- my father’s 1938 Aggie ring and my 1978 Aggie ring. As I think about that moment….them getting the cat, the extra cat food, etc. I can just see them quaking with excitement, can’t you?

Well let’s turn our attention to Joshua chapter 13. Here’s how the chapter breaks down….

Look at verse 1… Now Joshua was old and advanced in years, and the LORD said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to possess. 

Two thoughts here.

First, the conquest is officially over but there is yet very much land to possess. There is much fighting left to be done. “On May 1, 2003 President George Bush landed a navy jet on the flight

24 Davis25 This idea from Davis

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deck of the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. He then stepped to the podium aboard the ship to deliver a speech. Behind him hung an enormous red, white, and blue banner proclaiming “Mission Accomplished”.26 Bush announced in his speech that day the end of major combat operations in Iraq; the mission had been accomplished. But here we are 14 years later and we’re still involved in helping to keep the peace.27 This idea—that there is much land to possess-- informs the book of Judges and even I Samuel which detail continue warfare between Israel and its enemies in the land. Think David and Goliath.

Secondly, Joshua and Caleb were the oldest people in the congregation at this point in the journey. When they went to pay for their meals at a restaurant they got the senior discount no questions asked. Well God basically says to Joshua, “Before you ride into the sunset there’s still work to do!...There’s very much land to possess!

The phrase used here of Joshua—old and advanced in years—is also used in the scriptures to describe Abraham (Gen. 24:1) and David (I Kings 1:1). And in their case that phrase ‘introduces a flurry of activity that will mark the final “chapter” of their respective lives.’28 I wonder if God’s basically saying that to Joshua here: “Joshua this is the last chapter, make it good!”

Those of us in our sixties and seventies and eighties, let’s make the last chapter good! Let’s ask God to make our last days more fruitful than our first days!

Verse 2-6a are a bit complicated geographically--and part of it is that some of the places mentioned are north of most of our typical Bible maps-- but pretty much everyone agrees that the territories in question that still needed to be conquered include: 1) the territory belonging to the Philistines and their southern allies (vs. 2-3), 2) the Phoenician coastland to the north (vs. 4) and the 3) northern mountain country of modern day Lebanon (vv. 5–6).29

Here is a Bible atlas map noting the limits of Israelite settlement and the land yet to be conquered.

26 Ziese27 Ziese28 Ziese29 Howard, D. M., Jr. (1998). Joshua (Vol. 5, pp. 295–297). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

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The darker color represents the limits of Israelite settlement.

Well God is not going to leave them to conquer the rest of the land on their own, vs. 6b I myself will drive them out from before the people of Israel. Only allot the land to Israel for an inheritance, as I have commanded you. In other words even though it hasn’t been conquered, allot it anyway… 7 Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance to the nine tribes and half the tribe of Manasseh.” 

“The Lord’s promise of verse 6 (“I myself will drive them out”) was conditional upon Israel’s willingness to act on the command. There was no conditionality within the will and purpose of God, but there was nothing automatic about the fulfillment of the promise if Israel failed to activate it by faith and action. The parallels to the New Testament believer are clear and exact. In the gospel of Christ God has “granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4), but those promises have to be believed and acted on in obedience. Electricity flows through the national grid, but until an appliance is plugged in and switched on, none of its potential can be realized.”30

So in verses 8 through the rest of the chapter, the author details the inheritances given by Moses to the tribes of Reuben (vs. 15-23), Gad (vs. 24-28) and the half tribe of Manasseh (vs. 29-33). I’ve note them on a map.

30 Jackman, D. (2014). Joshua: People of God’s purpose. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 139). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.

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Reuben at the bottom, then Gad further north, and then the ½ tribe of Manasseh furthest north.

Two times in the chapter, verses 14 and 33, the author addresses the Levites who receive no physical land inheritance.

Look at verse 14 14 To the tribe of Levi alone Moses gave no inheritance. The offerings by fire to the LORD God of Israel are their inheritance, as he said to him. Notice that—the offerings are their inheritance.

And then look at verse 33 33 But to the tribe of Levi Moses gave no inheritance; the LORD God of Israel is their inheritance, just as he said to them.   Notice that—Yahweh himself is their inheritance.

We’ll return to this thought as we discuss the idea of inheritance more in a few moments.

So by the end of Joshua 13, the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and 1/2 of the tribe of Manasseh have their inheritance. “They are now to make it their own, to settle it, to govern it, and use it in accordance with God’s instructions.”31

I’d like to close this morning by tracing the concept of inheritance through the scriptures. I think it will be really meaningful to you.

31 Jackman

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The Garden of Eden is the start of the story. Adam and Eve are given a beautiful garden and they are given God himself; God walks in the garden with them. The language of inheritance is not used in Genesis 2 because Adam and Eve live in the perfect place and have a perfect relationship with God. Nothing could make their situation better. They had it all.

And in kind of a loose sense we could say that Eden was the kingdom of God—“God ruling over his people in his place”32 That’s going to be our working definition of the kingdom of God.

After Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden, God called Abraham and promised him descendants, blessing and a special land. As Abraham’s descendants began to multiply in Egypt, the land became the promised inheritance. And the Promised Land, given by God to Abraham and his descendants as their inheritance, was in a sense designed to be the Garden of Eden, Part 2. We talked about this in our first message from Joshua—how the repeated descriptive phrase “a land flowing with milk and honey” (again that phrase was used to describe Canaan) was more a theological point than an agricultural point. In other words God had a new special place (a place tantalizingly like Eden) where he would dwell with his special people. And parcels of the Promised Land would become their inheritance and he would be their God there. And this too would be the kingdom of God—“God ruling over his people in his place.”

Listen to Exodus 15:17 (this is Moses’ praise song after the deliverance at the Red Sea after the exodus)

You (God) will bring them in and plant them on your mountain, the place O LORD which you have made for your abode 

the sanctuary O LORD which your hands have established.

Moses was reveling that God was going to bring the people into the Promised Land and plant them on HIS mountain, the place where He was to abide amidst his people. And his mountain, his place was a sanctuary. And this would be the kingdom of God-- God ruling over his people in his place.

So an Israelite’s inheritance was essentially the land. But it’s clear that for some Israelites their inheritance was more than the land—it was the God who gave the land. Isn’t that the story of the Levites? What was to be their inheritance? Their inheritance were the offerings (we saw that in Joshua 13:14) but really their inheritance was the Lord himself (Joshua 13:33). But was it just the Levites who

32 Martin, Bound for the Promised Land

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were to have this understanding? Was it just the Levites who were to have this understanding that God himself was their inheritance?33

Hadn’t God called the Israelites to himself as a kingdom of priests in Exodus 19:4-6?  I bore you on eagle’s wings and brought you to myself. If you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession…. God could have said…you shall be my inheritance….for all the earth is mine….and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Was it just the Levites who were to have this understanding that God himself was their inheritance?

It seems that David had this understanding that God himself was his inheritance…

Turn to Psalm 161  Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. 2  I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; 

I have no good apart from you.” And then verse 5….

5  The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. 

6  The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. 

7  I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. 

8  I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.  Who is David’s inheritance? Isn’t

his inheritance the Lord?9  Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; 

my flesh also dwells secure. 10  For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, 

or let your holy one see corruption. 11  You make known to me the path of life; 

in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. 

Clearly David knew that God himself was his inheritance. In his presence was fullness of joy! And there were others who saw this.34 We won’t take the time to look at the things they wrote in the scriptures.

With the coming of Christ and the beginning of the church age the concept of inheritance develops further. But ‘place’ seems to take a back seat to ‘person’—our inheritance as believers is all about our being related to Christ. I guess we could say that being ‘in Christ’ is the place that matters.

How do the scriptures communicate our inheritance as believers? Hebrews 1:2 tells us that Christ, the Son of God is the heir of all things. And it’s Christ who has won an inheritance for those who put their trust in him. When someone puts their trust in Christ, Romans 8:17 tells us, they become a child of God

33Moises Silva34 See Ps. 73:25-26; Ps. 142:5; Is. 58:14; Lam. 3:24

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Barry Metz 5/21/17

and if a child of God then an heir—an heir of God and a fellow heir with Christ. So we are joint heirs with Jesus Christ for all that he will receive.

The object of Christian inheritance is all that was symbolized by the land of Canaan, and more. We as joint heirs with Christ inherit the kingdom of God (Matt. 25:34; 1 Cor. 6:9-10; 1 Cor. 15:50; Gal. 5:21; Eph. 5:5). We inherit the earth, Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.    We inherit full salvation (Heb. 1:14; 1 Peter 1:5), blessing, glory, incorruption (1 Cor. 15:50). We inherit eternal life. (Luke 10:25). And our inheritance is reserved in heaven---it’s imperishable, it’s undefiled, it’s unfading ( 1 Peter 1:4)

How do we know that this is all true? We have been sealed with the promised Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it….to the praise of his glory (Eph. 1:14)

And it probably goes without saying but our inheritance includes the new heavens and the new earth, the final version of the kingdom of God-- a place where God will rule his people.

21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “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. Our inheritance is a wonderful place with the most wonderful person, God himself.

4 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.” 

O brothers and sisters feel the weightiness of your inheritance! Let it fill your heart with hope!

Let us pray.

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