The Lord is Their Inheritance
God tells Ezekiel He will restore the priesthood today’s Bible reading* and reminds him that the Lord is their inheritance.
He reminds them of His original charge and requirements of the priests. Obviously, they had forgotten. When God’s people took the land that God had promised Abraham, each tribe was given a portion of the land. Except for the tribe of Levi — the priesthood — those who were responsible for carrying out the sacrificial system.
He reminds them that the Lord is their portion. (Numbers 18:20. Deuteronomy 10:9; 18:1, 2. Joshua 13:14) God promised to take care of the Levites; they would eat from the people’s sacrifices and offerings. These sacrifices and offerings were from the best the people had to give.
“This will be their inheritance: I am their inheritance. You are to give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession. They will eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering. Everything in Israel that is permanently dedicated to the LORD will belong to them. The best of all the firstfruits of every kind and contribution of every kind from all your gifts will belong to the priests. You are to give your first batch of dough to the priest so that a blessing may rest on your homes.”
Ezekiel 44:28–30 (CSB)
Application
God takes care of His people. Oftentimes, He does this through His own people, as presented here and in the cross-referenced passages above.
The New Testament reminds us that Believers have an imperishable inheritance (portion) (1 Peter 1:3) and that we are co-heirs with Jesus and seated with Jesus in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 1:11–14) In fact, God the Father gave the Holy Spirit to us a down payment to guarantee our ultimate redemption!
The prosperity gospel peddlers want you to settle for things: money, cars, jewelry, etc. Yes, God may bless you with those things in order to bless others. But don’t fall for what the peddlers hold out as the ultimate blessings in exchange for donating to their “ministries”. Look for the imperishable inheritance. Remember that your heart is where your treasure is. (Matthew 6:19–21) Seek God’s Kingdom and righteousness as your first priority.
The Lord is your portion.
Why settle for the gifts when you can have the Giver?
* Chapters covered in today’s reading:
Ezekiel 41
Ezekiel 42
Ezekiel 43
Ezekiel 44