Inheritance

In the old covenant there were important principals about Inheritance. Although the Inheritance of land for the Israelites was designated specifically for them by the Lord, perhaps the same concepts of Inheritance might apply to each follower of Christ as the Lord designs. What if a believer had a very specific, designated Inheritance from the Lord? I do not see land promised in the Bible for Christians, but certainly if the Lord told you that you had an Inheritance of land, then I would apply the principals that were repeated over and over in Numbers, Deuteronomy and Judges regarding the Israelites’ Inheritance. When the Lord repeats principals many times in the Scriptures, I believe He is emphasizing truths that must be strictly heeded. Of course, one can argue these principals are truths only under the old covenant. However, what if He has given you a personal prophetic word about an Inheritance He wants to give you? If that is the case, then I am personally learning from these principals so I might have His instruction on how I must believe and obey so I might fully inherit the land with the peace from foes and prosperity He promises. I, personally, am discouraged with ineffective labors every day and am seeking His higher ways.

Here are some of the key principals of Inheritance (there are multiple scriptural references for these, please see citations at bottom):

1. An Inheritance is multigenerational (for you, your descendants and relatives).
2. An Inheritance is good land with water from heaven, an abundance of good things, and no lack.
3. To obtain an Inheritance you must first be on a potentially extremely scary battlefield with enemies much greater than you. You trust the Lord fights for you and drives out your enemies ahead of you (in modern day this might apply to lenders who extract interest on the land and thus are a controlling oppression).
4. You will have harassment and thorns in your side if enemies (such as lenders in modern day) are not completely driven out (Numbers 33:55; Joshua 28:12-13).
5. An Inheritance is not earned by man’s labors but given by the Lord. An Inheritance is completely free from debts because the land is taken from others and given to you by the Lord.
6. You must have a spirit like Caleb and Joshua where you hear the Lord designate your Inheritance, you do not wilt and flee, and you have confidence the Lord will drive out your foes and give you the land (Genesis 28:10-15; Numbers 13:27-33; Numbers 14:3-4, 24, 30, Deuteronomy 31:6-8; Joshua 1:5-9, 14:6-15).
7. You will have rest from your enemies and peace in your land only after the Lord – with you in the battlefield facing your enemies - drives out your enemies ahead of you and brings it into your possession (Deuteronomy 3:20, 12:9-11; 25:19).
8. You must love and obey the Lord to possess as well as retain your Inheritance and not be uprooted from the land.

In short, Inheritance is an undeserved gift of God’s abundant grace and cannot be acquired or retained through man’s labors or striving but is instead acquired through overcoming fierce opposition by obeying and relying on the Lord. Possessing an Inheritance requires you to face very fearful situations with enemies looming greater than you. You must trust in the Lord to fight your battle for you. Inheritance can only be possessed and retained through man being obedient to and dwelling in Jesus Christ with complete trust and dependence on His securing victory for you.

Our (my) sin is to think we can work in jobs and strive and strive to keep our land, which you cannot. I have recently learned He can, and will, almost pull it away from you to make you realize you never ever earned it by your skills and labor. For me this has been a petrifying experience that has persisted many months. I am being honest because I believe others are facing fierce opposition threatening defeat for them as well. In His mercy teaching me, I now read the following in a new light:

“For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper…. And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. “
Deut 8:7-9, 18 (NKJV)

“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God: Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
“The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. And the Lord will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them. “
Deut 28:1-14 (NKJV)

It is not the Lord who gives me power to succeed in business and have property, it is solely God’s power which gifts the good land of Inheritance and, thus, wealth for me. The good land of Inheritance is a land that overflows with good things and no lack because of the Lord commanding blessing on you. It is His gift. Provision does not come from my skills and labors (which can still result in little fruit), it is provided by the Lord overwhelming my modest efforts. A farmer who relies on rain from heaven (and not irrigation) understands this. Job understood this. The Israelites possessing the Promised Land understood this. The Lord’s blessings come upon and overtake me. My efforts are small, His efforts are grand beyond imagination.

My contribution is obedience to the Lord and being strong and of good courage in the face of enemies. Although I recognize that all good things I possess are by His grace and provision, when my business suffered tremendously this year I realized He alone has the power to give, and to remove. I felt the petrifying fear of possibly losing the home and place of my business I had cultivated over the last decade. My home is like a very personal work of art to me with creativity from His inspiration and goodness. Although I don’t believe my physical efforts and diligence in my business have changed, my daily toils have proven in vain and yielded no income. Only when I was “at the end of my rope”, did I truly give up and cast all my cares on Him. I put my home “on the altar” and was willing to sacrifice and leave it. Then He started teaching me.

I believe He kindly led me to these principals of Inheritance to not only help restore my hope but also to greatly increase my dependence on Him. After floods of tears and countless dark nights, I came to the crossroads of discerning if my home is indeed my Inheritance or not. At first I believed He would either give me the Inheritance of my home or He wouldn’t, much like a coin toss. Then the last few days He has grown my tentative hope to a point where I have boldly questioned Him and asked Him if my home is indeed my Inheritance, in which case He will press it into my bosom through miraculously increasing my business with rain from heaven. Again, I know I don’t deserve my home and am not promised my home in the Scriptures. There is nothing in the new covenant that I can find that says God will give a believer a home. In fact, many in the early church lost their possessions and were persecuted. This is true across the world today. But if He does give me a clear word that my home is indeed my Inheritance, then I would fear to disobey His principals about Inheritance.

It is such a critical crossroads of discernment and faith whether to stand for your Inheritance or throw in the towel and run away from your troubles and enemies vastly larger than yourself. Obeying His destiny for you is imperative lest you remain in your land but suffer harassment and thorns in your side or, worse yet, be uprooted from your abode and driven to a land where you have even more enemies. The fear of what might happen if I don’t have a spirit of Caleb and Joshua and believe the Lord with courage for His Inheritance for me is great. The fear of the repercussions of not standing strong in faith (notice those who did not believe their destiny died in the wilderness) is greater than the fear of losing a home which might be replaced at some time. An Inheritance is multigenerational, for your descendants and relatives. This likely includes brothers and sisters in Christ who are indeed your relatives in Him. He always has a greater purpose beyond you for an Inheritance. An Inheritance is even referred to as “the Lord’s Inheritance”, not just yours. These are deep principals of hearing Him, believing Him, and relying on Him that He alone will fight your battle for you. Are you really hearing correctly? Do you know without doubt what your Inheritance is? Are you double-minded about something the Lord wants you not be tentative about and to boldly possess by trusting Him to perform a miracle? Are you obeying His voice as you stand strong and He drives your enemies out ahead of you? Are you acknowledging the land is really Yeshua’s Inheritance? These are the questions I ask myself and have been spending much time with Him so that I may not flee from an exceedingly scary battlefield that makes me wilt and despair at times.

I have traveled through the valley of the shadow of death and He is bringing me into the light of His understanding. In His teaching me about Inheritance, I now have a new perspective on my giant enemies and want to see His victory just as Caleb and Joshua did.

“I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.”
Josh 24:13 (NKJV)

“So the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. The Lord gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.”
Josh 21:43-45 (NKJV)

Reference:
Genesis 28:10-15
Numbers 13:27-33; 14:3-4, 8-9, 24, 30-38; 21:2-3, 34-35; 26:53; 27:8-11; 32:21-22; 33:52-55; 34:2; 36:6-9
Deuteronomy 1:8; 1:26-39; 2:7, 25, 33; 3:18-22; 3:25, 28; 4:20-29, 35-40; 5:32-33; 7:1-2; 8:1-18; 9:1-5, 26-29; 10:12-20; 11:7-15, 22-26; 12:9-11; 15:1-6; 25:19; 28:1-14; 29:23-29; 30:1-20; 31:3-8; 34:4
Joshua 1:1-9; 6:1-5; 10:8, 32, 40-42; 11:6-15, 20-23; 13:1-6; 14:6-15; 17:16-18; 18:2-3; 19:49-51; 21:43-46; 23;3-16; 24:2-28