Our Inheritance

​As you read through Joshua chapters 13-19, which describes all the allotments that were given to the various tribes of Israel, what is interesting to notice is what is said about the tribe of Levi.  “But to the tribe of Levi Moses gave no inheritance; the LORD God of Israel is their inheritance” (13:33).  The tribe of Levi is where the priests of Israel were to come from.  Every priest in Israel was required to come from the tribe of Levi (Num 18).  Thus, they were to have no land of their own, no allotment in the land of Israel.  Rather they were to be supported by the tithes and offering given by the people of Israel.  Their job was to minister to the people on behalf of God and speak and teach the word of God to them.  Thus, they were to delight not in the land, not in material possessions, they were to delight in God.  In 1 Peter 2:9, scripture tells us that all believers “are a chosen race, a royal priesthood.”  Believers are priests of God in that, much like the Levites, God has chosen us to be his own possession.  God has chosen us to be the ones who minister to the world on behalf of God and preach and teach God’s word—the gospel—to the world.  We have been placed here for a purpose.  Thus, this world is not our home.  We are simply passing through.  For this reason, we are not to seek to find our delight in the things of this world, rather the Lord God is our inheritance.  Christ is our prized possession.  The apostle Paul clearly understood this when he wrote, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil. 3:8).  Paul was willing to give up all the things of this world because it is all rubbish in comparison to the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus.”