I am your inheritance

Taken from a personal journal entry dated October 23, 2018

Then the LORD said to Aaron: “You shall have no inheritance in their land, nor shall you have any portion among them; I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel.

Numbers 18:20 NKJV

What does it mean to have God as an inheritance? There is something unique about the tribe of Levi. When the nation of Israel was reborn under Moses the twelve tribes had grown into a very large family, but they were only familiar with forced servitude to the Egyptians with no place to call their own. After escaping Egypt and returning to the land God promised Abraham, Moses distributed the land of Canaan and the nation of Israel became a nation on a map. Yet, in parceling out an inheritance, the tribe of Levi was intentionally excluded. Moses and Aaron were from Levi, so they and their families were affected. Instead of land, they were given something that the others were not — attending to the Presence — without which there would have been no escape from Egypt or distinction from any other nation on the earth.

At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister to Him and to bless in His name, to this day. Therefore Levi has no portion nor inheritance with his brethren; the LORD is his inheritance, just as the LORD your God promised him.)

Deuteronomy 10:8-9 NKJV

Where I live, my possessions and wealth are earthly things which distinguish me from others. I can empathize with the Levites, on one hand they were singled out and excluded. Imagine feeling being left out. What does this mean for the livelihoods of their children and grandchildren? Yet, they also had a unique inheritance: God himself and whatever belongs to Him.

Earlier God spoke a similar promise to Abraham:

After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

Genesis 15:1 NKJV

On earth, an inheritance is something received when someone dies. The dead person’s property is distributed according to his wishes. It’s not complicated. But there is one small problem: God doesn’t die, man does.

Just as the priests (and in a lesser sense all the Levites) were the special possession of the Lord, so the Lord was the special possession of the priests; and inasmuch as all the whole earth belonged to him, the portion of the priests was, potentially in all cases, actually for those who were capable of realizing it, infinitely more desirable than any other portion. The spiritual meaning of the promise was so clearly felt that it was constantly claimed by the devout in Israel, irrespective of their ecclesiastical status.

The Pulpit Commentary

A twelfth of Israel received no land, no physical inheritance on the earth. They were given the duties of the priesthood and the temple — or the Presence. From generation to generation the Presence and attending to all the details of the Presence belonged to this tribe. When Israel gave their offering, their wealth, the best from among the flock, the Levites were the recipients. What was given to God, was given to the Levites. The blessing on the nation both spiritually and physically would be the thermometer of the nation’s well-being. It was in their interest to not just enjoy their God-inheritance, but also to connect Israel to that same relationship.

The Old Testament stories are reminders, or shadows of the something more real — the substance which is casting the shadow. The Law was a tool for running a nation and preparing them for the reality which is found in Jesus Christ. Today, I am part of a Kingdom of Priests. I am a Levite. I’ve been asked to give up land, possessions, father and mother, sister and brother, and seek his kingdom first. Jesus said that all that belongs to the Father he has given to the son. And in Romans, Paul makes it clear that I am an heir, and a co-heir with the son. The people of God are no longer centered around the physical nation of Israel, we are centered around the Christ. “Where your treasure is, there is your heart also.” I’m not seeking land, I’m seeking God. And in this pursuit I still must ask, what does it mean to inherit God?

Relationship.

I can imagine the scene I experience after dying, then opening my eyes… and I see him. He looks at me and says, “Here I am. I am yours. I’m your reward.” What do I have? If I’m a Levite what do I have? But this thinking is really absurd since it is not about MY death, it is about my inheritance. Here. Now. Given to me by God. Since He does not die, he may give it when He wishes. As I was walking at lunch this week and meditating on this, the thought impacted me: God is giving Himself to me. What He is and what He offers. He is not human, or flesh. He’s something so outside of my ability to comprehend, yet he gives Himself to me. The first thing I feel, incredibly, is — vulnerability. His vulnerability. God becoming vulnerable to me. He opens the sensitive, hidden, valued, personal and individual part of His heart to me. Exposed. Able to be hurt or even devastated. If I have any doubt about God’s ability to be thrashed, I simply look to Gethsemane and the cross — He aligned as one with the man Christ and experienced that devastation. The natural view of God is that He has all power. Power gives one the ultimate ability to avoid being vulnerable. Yet with God, power means just the opposite — he has an ability to give himself, freely, sincerely, without being hidden, authentically. Power is exposure. Omnipotence is vulnerability.

This morning, I’m reminded that the distinction and duties of the Levites didn’t apply to all Israel. Yet they stand as a symbol to everyone who honors and loves God that — earthly success is not the end game, knowing and loving Him is. I’ve felt a unique call to pursue Him and feel very much like I’m an attendant in his sanctuary. I’m one whose inheritance is God, and I am his inheritance. There is a mutual belonging. Just like the health and well-being of the nation of Israel was seen in the ministry of the Levites — the better they did— the better Israel did, I have felt compelled to live out a similar vocation or duty to be fully devoted and given to him — in vulnerability. In the garden, the clothes were put on. In his presence, they come off again.