No Inheritance

A lot of times, we think portions of Scripture are irrelevant and boring. I have had multiple people say to me that Joshua 11-24 has nothing of value to receive in reading it. Why bother reading it? Well, you have to remember that all Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16-17).

So, as the book of Joshua transitions into the "division of the land" starting in Joshua 13 (and may seem a little boring or historical), there is an interesting little verse that quietly stands out. All the tribes are ready and waiting for their inheritance. They want to receive the portion of the Promise Land that belongs to them.

You can picture how it goes. Each tribe, clan, and family is waiting, hoping, praying for the perfect piece of land. One that will support and bless their families for years to come. Joshua starts giving the land out according to what Moses had already perscribed. And then we get to Joshua 13:14, "But to the tribe of Levi he gave no inheritance, since the offerings made by fire to the Lord, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, as he promised them." Its a small simple verse. One that is easy to miss when reading through the allotments of the land. And yet its incredibly profound.

You see the Levities' inheritance was not like the rest of the tribes' inheritance. They didn't get any land. They didn't get any property for themselves. Instead, their inheritance was the Lord. Their inheritance was a ministry unto the Lord. The Levities were to be set apart to and focused upon the Lord.

I don't know about you but my first thought is "Wow, the Levities got ripped off." Everyone else gets land and they get a ministry. But when you really think about it, they got the greatest inheritance of all. They got the ministry of the Lord. The Levites got to be in God's presence serving the Lord night and day without having to worry about how to take care of any land or possessions. What a freedom. What a blessing. What a release of burden.

Your personal ministry should never be a burden - it's an inheritance!

Would you be content with the Lord as your inheritance? That's a great question to ask. Are you concerned with acquiring more "stuff?" Or, are you concerned with acquiring more of the Lord? I want to have the heart of a Levite in this Next Chapter. I want the Lord to be my inheritance - to be my portion!

"The Levitical priests - indeed, the whole tribe of Levi - are to have no allotment or inheritance with Israel. They shall live on the food offerings presented to the Lord, for that is their inheritance. They shall have no inheritance among their fellow Israelites; the Lord is their inheritance, as he promised them." (Deuteronomy 18:1-2)