Remember Our Inheritance

The Israelites looked forward to their inheritance from God.  It was so important to them that when it was threatened, they were ready to do whatever it takes to hold on to it.

Then the heads of the clans of Gilead--descendants of Makir, son of Manasseh, son of Joseph--came to Moses and the family leaders of Israel with a petition. They said, "Sir, the LORD instructed you to divide the land by sacred lot among the people of Israel. You were told by the LORD to give the grant of land owned by our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. But if they marry men from another tribe, their grants of land will go with them to the tribe into which they marry. In this way, the total area of our tribal land will be reduced. Then when the Year of Jubilee comes, their portion of land will be added to that of the new tribe, causing it to be lost forever to our ancestral tribe." (Numbers 36:1-4 NLT)

Their concern was valid.  The inheritance would be passed down from generation through the men, in the family.  But what happens when the parents only have daughters?  What will happen to their inheritance then?  So, Moses inquired of the LORD.

So Moses gave the Israelites this command from the LORD: "The claim of the men of the tribe of Joseph is legitimate. This is what the LORD commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: Let them marry anyone they like, as long as it is within their own ancestral tribe. None of the territorial land may pass from tribe to tribe, for all the land given to each tribe must remain within the tribe to which it was first allotted. The daughters throughout the tribes of Israel who are in line to inherit property must marry within their tribe, so that all the Israelites will keep their ancestral property. No grant of land may pass from one tribe to another; each tribe of Israel must keep its allotted portion of land." (Numbers 36:5-9 NLT)

So, how about you?  Is your inheritance from God important to you?  To what extent will you go to hold on to it?  Do we remember our inheritance from God?

Remember God’s Grace

When they were ready to cross the Jordan, God instructed the Israelites to divide up the land according to the numbers in each tribe.

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Give these instructions to the Israelites: When you come into the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as your special possession, these will be the boundaries...(Numbers 34:1-2ff NLT)

The Levites, though, were not to be given land to plant and harvest.  They would be given places to live, but their real inheritance was tied to their work for God.

While Israel was camped beside the Jordan on the plains of Moab across from Jericho, the LORD said to Moses, "Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites from their property certain towns to live in, along with the surrounding pasturelands. These towns will be for the Levites to live in, and the surrounding lands will provide pasture for their cattle, flocks, and other livestock. (Numbers 35:1-3 NLT)

What I find most interesting, though, was the additional instruction the LORD gave to the Israelites.  They were told to set aside six cities for a special purpose.

The LORD said to Moses, "Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. "When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, designate cities of refuge to which people can flee if they have killed someone accidentally. These cities will be places of protection from a dead person's relatives who want to avenge the death. The slayer must not be put to death before being tried by the community. (Numbers 35:9-12 NLT)

These cities would save people who were marked for death because they had killed someone.  It insured that they receive a fair trial first.  That way, if it was an accident they would not be punished the same way as if it were on purpose.  I guess technically, though, a person who killed on purpose could flee to one of these cities, too.  He would be protected from the death penalty as long as he stayed in the city of refuge.

"But if the slayer ever leaves the limits of the city of refuge, and the avenger finds him outside the city and kills him, it will not be considered murder. The slayer should have stayed inside the city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest, the slayer may return to his own property. These are legal requirements for you to observe from generation to generation, wherever you may live. (Numbers 35:26-29 NLT)

God’s grace is a gift.  It keeps us from getting what we deserve for the wrong we have done.  It is a “city of refuge” of sorts.  Jesus provides that covering and that protection from the wrath of God.  This is why we all need Jesus.  He is our city of refuge.

How about you?  Have you run to our city of refuge (Jesus) to protect you?  Are you thankful for God’s grace?

Remember God’s Design

Both times that God told the Israelites to count their numbers, one of the tribes was excluded from the count: the tribe of Levi.

This is the record of the Levites who were counted according to their clans: The Gershonite clan, named after their ancestor Gershon. The Kohathite clan, named after their ancestor Kohath. The Merarite clan, named after their ancestor Merari. The Libnites, the Hebronites, the Mahlites, the Mushites, and the Korahites were all subclans of the Levites. Now Kohath was the ancestor of Amram, and Amram's wife was named Jochebed. She also was a descendant of Levi, born among the Levites in the land of Egypt. Amram and Jochebed became the parents of Aaron, Moses, and their sister, Miriam. To Aaron were born Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. But Nadab and Abihu died when they burned before the LORD the wrong kind of fire, different than He had commanded. The men from the Levite clans who were one month old or older numbered 23,000. But the Levites were not included in the registration of the rest of the people of Israel because they were not given an allotment of land when it was divided among the Israelites. (Numbers 26:57-62 NLT)

The Levites were counted, but for a different reason.  They didn’t count the Levites who were 20 years old or older.  That’s because they were not going to war.  Instead, they would be set-apart for God’s work with the tabernacle and with the animal sacrifices.  They were doing God’s work to remind everyone in Israel what it meant to walk together with God. 

They kept the Ark of the Covenant along with the terms of the covenant: the Ten Commandments.  They were the keepers of the Law.  They cared for the tabernacle of God and they performed all the duties involved with animal sacrifices and other offerings to God.  Levites had a sub-group from the line of Aaron who functioned as the priests.  All of these responsibilities were given to them so they would remind everyone in Israel to stay faithful to God.  Their inheritance was not land, but the responsibility of doing God’s work.  God sustained them through the tithes and offerings of the other eleven tribes.

How about you? Do you remember God’s design for our lives?  Do you have people who remind you?  Do you have a church home where you recalibrate, refocus, and remind yourself what it means to walk together with God?  Do you support that church?

Remembering Their Inheritance

"From the whole community of Israel, record the names of all the warriors by their families. List all the men twenty years old or older who are able to go to war." (Numbers 1:20-43, 46; 26:2-51)

It may seem strange at first to see that the Israelites counted the number of people twice, once in Numbers Chapter 1 and once in Chapter 26.  It makes more sense, though, when we realize that Chapter 26 is 40 years after Chapter 1.  Only Joshua and Caleb were alive and counted in both lists.  Other than that, not a single person counted the first time was alive to be counted the second time.  God’s promise had come true.

Tribe (or 1/2 Tribe)	Before	After
Reuben	46,500	43,730
Simeon	59,300	22,200
Gad	45,650	40,500
Judah	74,600	76,500
Issachar	54,400	64,300
Zebulun	57,400	60,500
Ephriam (Joseph)	40,500	32,500
Manasseh (Joseph)	32,200	52,700
Benjamin	35,400	45,600
Dan	62,700	64,400
Asher	41,500	53,400
Naphtali	53,400	45,400
Total	603,550	601,730

Not only had God fulfilled God’s promise to make the people as numerous as the stars in the sky. (There were millions of Israelites at this point.)  God had also sustained them at these numbers while they spent 40 years in the wilderness.  This fulfilling and re-fulfilling of the promises helped build their faith in another promise God had made: they would inherit the land.

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Divide the land among the tribes, and distribute the grants of land in proportion to the tribes' populations, as indicated by the number of names on the list. Give the larger tribes more land and the smaller tribes less land, each group receiving a grant in proportion to the size of its population. But you must assign the land by lot, and give land to each ancestral tribe according to the number of names on the list. Each grant of land must be assigned by lot among the larger and smaller tribal groups." (Numbers 26:52-56 NLT)

So how about you?  Does God’s faithfulness in your past build your faith in God about the future? How?

Remember God’s Promises

When the Israelites were preparing their children to enter the land that the LORD had given them, they started with God’s promises.

Then the LORD took Abram outside and said to him, "Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That's how many descendants you will have!" And Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith. Then the LORD told him, "I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as your possession." (Genesis 15:5-7 NLT)

Abram was promised descendants so numerous that they could hardly be counted.

The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go down to Egypt, but do as I tell you. Live here as a foreigner in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. I hereby confirm that I will give all these lands to you and your descendants, just as I solemnly promised Abraham, your father. I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars of the sky, and I will give them all these lands. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed. I will do this because Abraham listened to Me and obeyed all My requirements, commands, decrees, and instructions." (Genesis 26:2-5 NLT)

Abram’s son, Isaac, was promised descendants “as numerous as the stars in the sky,” just like his father.

Now that Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again at Bethel. God blessed him, saying, "Your name is Jacob, but you will not be called Jacob any longer. From now on your name will be Israel." So God renamed him Israel. Then God said, "I am El-Shaddai--'God Almighty.' Be fruitful and multiply. You will become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants! And I will give you the land I once gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I will give it to you and your descendants after you." (Genesis 35:9-12 NLT)

When Isaac’s son, Jacob, was given the name “Israel,” God’s promises to his father and grandfather were repeated again.  He would be come a great nation – even a nation of nations.  These promises were fulfilled by the time they were set free from their oppressors in Egypt.  When the children were hearing stories about their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, they could look around the camp and see millions of people all around them – just like the stars in the sky.

How about you?  Can you look around and see God’s faithfulness in your life?  Where have you seen God’s promises come true?