Poop
“This is the inheritance Moses had given when he was in the plains of Moab across the Jordan east of Jericho. But to the tribe of Levi, Moses had given no inheritance; the LORD, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, as he promised them.”
Today’s Text: Joshua 13:15-33 (Living Life Daily Devotional)
What would I want more: an inheritance of land or the inheritance of the LORD?
When the LORD made His official covenant with Abram (before changing his name to Abraham) and promised to give him the land of Canaan, the LORD began by saying: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward” (Genesis 15:1).
The heart of God’s covenant with His people is summarized by His promise: “I will be your God, and you will be My people”—not the promise of land or any other kind of material blessing, per se.
When we strip away all the layers of theology, what that promise means ultimately is that when we walk in faith with God, He will always take care of us. He created us, and He knows, better than we do, what we need to live, and not just to live, but to thrive.
The people of God today—that is, the church—are like the Levites. That is what the Apostle Peter was talking about when he wrote -
As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
— 1 Peter 2:4-5
Our inheritance is Christ. And when we walk in faith with Jesus—that is, serve Him and His body, the church—He will always be with us, and He will always take care of our needs—better than we can take care of ourselves without Him.
The Levites were not poor! In fact, they were quite well off. And they did have property that was allocated to them—forty-eight cities, six of which were designated as Cities of Refuge. Unfortunately, they too got caught up in the materialism of the world.
Our material abundance is dung without Christ, because He is the source of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—the fruit of the Spirit. Without Christ, there is only dung.
Our individual salvation through faith in Christ provides us with strength that comes from the Holy Spirit, so that we may persevere through the many challenges inherent in a world broken due to sin.
But the salvation of communities and societies is the key to maximizing shalom (human flourishing)—both for individuals and for communities. Given that, we can think of our witness in the following way (if it helps): the more people are saved and discipled, the greater our shalom will be.
We can think of it that way, but we must realize, recognize, and understand that our true reward is Christ, and Christ alone.
Father, You are the Maker and Creator of heaven and earth. You are the Author of shalom. You also are the author of our salvation. Your salvation is Your shalom. Let every material possession without You feel like dung to us, for that what it effectively is. But let us seek after You, our Shield and our very great Reward. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
