Our Inheritance

In earlier centuries, part of a family’s wealthy management, not matter how small the wealth, was an inheritance passed onto the children.  Many seniors even today ensure there is some money to pass on to their children, when they die.  That seems to be changing in the 21^st Century.  Parents put aside money for their children, for their education and perhaps to provide a start, when they marry.  After that, children are left on their own and their parents’ retirement money is used to accomplish all those things they didn’t experience, when working.  This is not the case with our Heavenly Father, Avinu Shebashamayim.

The inheritance provided us, as followers of Adonai Yeshua, the Lord Jesus, is not monetary. First, Scripture discusses two inheritances, for two different groups of people.  For the Jewish People (believers and non-believers), God’s inheritance consists of a nation and of land.  We read of this in Genesis 12:2 – I will make of you a great nation, I will bless you, and I will make your name great; and you are to be a blessing, and Genesis 15:18-20 – That day Adonai made a covenant with Avram: “I have given this land to your descendants — from the Vadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River — ¹⁹ the territory of the Keni, the K’nizi, the Kadmoni, ²⁰ the Hitti, the P’rizi, the Refa’im, ²¹ the Emori, the Kena‘ani, the Girgashi and the Y’vusi.  The sign of this covenant and its inheritance was and still is circumcision, as we read in Genesis 17:10b-12 – every male among you is to be circumcised. ¹¹ You are to be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; this will be the sign of the covenant between me and you ¹² Generation after generation, every male among you who is eight days old is to be circumcised, including slaves born within your household and those bought from a foreigner not descended from you. However, is this inheritance only for the Jewish People, His Chosen People?  This too is answered in the Tanakh, the Hebrew Scriptures, as we read in Isaiah 60:21 – All your people will be tzaddikim (righteous); they will inherit the land forever; they will be the branch I planted, my handiwork, in which I take pride.  ²² The smallest will grow to a thousand, the weakest will become a mighty nation.  I, Adonai, when the right time comes, will quickly bring it about and, in Jeremiah 33:7-9, we find I will cause the captives of Y’hudah and the captives of Isra’el to return; and I will build them up as I did at first. ⁸ I will cleanse them from all their sins, through which they offended me; and I will pardon all their sins, through which they offended and rebelled against me. ⁹ Then the name of this city will bring me joy, praise and glory before all the nations of the earth that hear about all the good I am doing for them; they will be overcome with fear and trembling at all the good and peace I am securing for it.  Are you confused?  Doesn’t this speak only of Judah and Israel?  In what part of this passage do we find non-Jewish believers?

At this point the New or Renewed Covenant has not appeared.  In Jeremiah 31:31, we read: “Here, the days are coming,” says Adonai, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Isra’el and with the house of Y’hudah.” So, Jeremiah announced the coming of a New Covenant – for Israel and Judah. So where do non-Jewish believers fit in?  And here we come to the mystery of God’s Word – creating heavenly citizenship for Gentiles.

We travel next to Ephesians 3:6, Rav Sha’ul, the Apostle Paul made the following, startling pronouncement: that in union with the Messiah and through the Good News the Gentiles were to be joint heirs, a joint body and joint sharers with the Jews in what God has promised. (highlighting added) Reading of the Gospels shares with us the New Covenant comes with the shed blood of our Messiah, on the cursed tree.  Through His salvific action the promise of Salvation was offered to non-Jewish believers in Yahweh’s Son.

Sha’ul expands on this understanding in Romans 11, when he writes, in verse 11 and on – In that case, I say, isn’t it that they have stumbled with the result that they have permanently fallen away?” Heaven forbid! Quite the contrary, it is by means of their stumbling that the deliverance has come to the Gentiles, in order to provoke them to jealousy. ¹² Moreover, if their stumbling is bringing riches to the world — that is, if Isra’el’s being placed temporarily in a condition less favored than that of the Gentiles is bringing riches to the latter — how much greater riches will Isra’el in its fullness bring them! This admonition is to those who would (and did) claim the Jewish people have been replaced by the Gentile church as God’s Chosen People.

Then Sha’ul makes the connection between Jewish and Gentile believers quite clear, in verses 17 and 18 – But if some of the branches were broken off, and you — a wild olive — were grafted in among them and have become equal sharers in the rich root of the olive tree, ¹⁸ then don’t boast as if you were better than the branches! However, if you do boast, remember that you are not supporting the root, the root is supporting you.  Finally, a warning to Gentile, non-Jewish believers, who do believe they have replaced the Jewish people, in verses 19 to 21: So you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” ²⁰ True, but so what? They were broken off because of their lack of trust. However, you keep your place only because of your trust. So don’t be arrogant; on the contrary, be terrified! ²¹ For if God did not spare the natural branches, he certainly won’t spare you!

Beloved, here is our inheritance.  As children of the Living God, both Jewish and Gentile believers are heirs to the promise of Eternal Salvation – eternity spent with our ABBA and with ADONAI YESHUA.  What a promise – HalleluYah!