Dear ministry partners,
In my daily devotions I’ve been going through the book of Joshua this week. The mantle of leadership for Israel has passed from Moses to Joshua, and it seems there are two themes running through the book: conquest and allotment. Joshua and Israel fight one battle after another, with the Lord giving victory. And following victory, the land is parceled out to the various tribes of Israel. All this is in fulfillment of God’s promise to Moses, but earlier than that all the way back to Abram. In Genesis 12:7, as Abram was in the land of Canaan, God appeared to him and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” This promise was repeated numerous times, and in the book of Joshua we find the fulfillment.
The land was extremely important to the people of Israel. It was part of their identity, a sign of God’s faithfulness and them being His people. Joshua allots certain regions for each of the tribes that will remain in that tribe and clan and family as their “inheritance.” So do we have an inheritance, as God’s people, the spiritual Israel?
In Ephesians 1:11-14 we read:
“In him 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, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”
In Christ, because of our union with Christ by God’s grace (cf. Eph.1:3-10), according to God’s sovereign plan, God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. There is a shift in the New Covenant from an emphasis on the physical to an emphasis on the spiritual. And we who hope in Christ (v.12) and believe in Him (v.13) have been “sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,” the guarantee of our inheritance. The Spirit indwells us as Jesus promised in John 16, and He is the One who will guard and keep us until we receive what God has promised. So what has God promised? Many things, but most importantly, He has promised us life eternal in His Son. Our inheritance is not a land, it is not even so much a “place,” (i.e. heaven), but it is a Person. We are promised an eternal relationship with Jesus Christ, and unity with God through the Son. Paul makes this point repeatedly (Rom.8:17, Col. 3:24), as do Peter (1 Pet.1:4) and others. Our “promised land” is a promised person, and through Him we become heirs of all God’s spiritual blessings. We must shift in our minds from longing for a place to longing for a person, and recognize He is the fulfillment of all our desires. There is much more in the Bible about inheritance, God’s promises, and our final “rest,” but I hope these brief thoughts stimulate your worship of God for His faithfulness to grant you an inheritance in fulfilling His promise for His glory and your good.