Inheriting The Land

by Chris Simmons

God promised that the descendants of Abraham would one day inherit the “promised land” (Genesis 12:1-3, 7). Their ability to remain in the inheritance would be dependent, however, on their ability to maintain certain spiritual conditions. In Psalms chapter 37, David describes those conditions and in doing so describes conditions which are also taught regarding those who will be able to obtain the eternal inheritance God has prepared. After considering our own inheritance, we need to study the four things that David said would enable us to “inherit the land.”

It is an inheritance unlike any other that we seek for that we had no other means of obtaining except for the grace and mercy of God. Peter describes it in this way, “blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you” (I Peter 1:3-4). It is an inheritance that comes through our obedience to His word (Acts 20:32) and our determination to be diligent, faithful and steadfast “until the end” (Hebrews 6:11-12). What do we need to learn from Psalms chapter 37? We need to learn that those who “inherit the land” are those who…

“Trust in the Lord” (verse 3). As opposed to trusting in ourselves, or in the things of this world, we need to trust in the Lord not only in terms of the existence of the inheritance but how it is to be obtained. This was a great problem for the Israelites in the wilderness. They failed time and time again to trust in the Lord and His ability to provide the promised land (Numbers 13:31; cf Hebrews 3:17-31) and in what He said they should do to obtain it. Thus, in Psalms 37:3, we are all exhorted to “cultivate faithfulness.” The Hebrew word means to “tend a flock; i.e. pasture it; intransitively, to graze” (Strong's Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary) and thus we see the need to provide for our faith what it needs to grow and mature. Namely, continual and repeated doses of the word of God (Romans 10:17) along with the exercise that is needed. Verse 3 makes the link between “cultivat(ing) faithfulness” and learning to “do good.” Our faith is cultivated only when we apply ourselves to know God’s word and then make a practice of doing it. It’s interesting to note Jesus’ reply to the apostles request to “increase our faith” in Luke 17:5. Jesus replied that if they wanted to see their faith grow, they simply need to go out and humbly “do all the things which are commanded of you.” “Doers of the word” are those who “cultivate faithfulness.” Ultimately, to “trust in the Lord” is to simply believe all that God has said and base the actions of your life upon it. Paul exemplified that during his perilous journey to Rome when he said in Acts 27:25, “therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God, that it will turn out exactly as I have been told.” The trust that Paul had in God directly affected the actions of his life. God had told him that he would “stand before Caesar” and therefore Paul did not need to doubt or seek his own deliverance from the danger.

“Delight yourself in the Lord” (verse 4). The inheritance only belongs to those who rejoice in their ability to serve the Lord and in their fellowship with Him. Paul wrote in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” We are to rejoice for what has been afforded to us in Christ. We “delight ourselves in the Lord” because our love for Him makes serving and obeying Him anything but an odious burden. John wrote in I John 5:3, “for this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.” The inheritance is reserved for those who take joy in the opportunity to serve and worship their Creator. Those who will “inherit the land” are those whose “delight in the Lord” is not circumstantial in nature. That is, the inheritance belongs to those who “rejoice in the Lord” when circumstances are good and when they are bad. The “heirs of God” (cf Romans 8:16-17) are those who “rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS.” This is the idea in the word “blessed” which is repeatedly used in what we refer to as the “beatitudes” in Matthew chapter 5. Many times this word is described as simply being “happy.” In our common vernacular, “happy” is generally circumstantial in nature and describes how we feel when our circumstances are favorable. “Blessed,” however, is a concept that transcends, and is unaffected by, good or bad circumstances in our lives. It comes from the Greek word “makarios” which describes a state of spiritual satisfaction that comes from one’s relationship with God and not from favorable circumstances. It is a divine characteristic (Ephesians 1:3; as opposed to earthly) that is needed if we are to receive the inheritance.

“Commit your way to the Lord” (verse 5). Those who will “inherit the land” are those who are truly committed in the Lord. The inheritance only belongs to those who have made up their mind and committed their lives to just one Master. Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, “no one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Commitment begins with a “mind set” on spiritual things or on the “things above” rather than on the things of the flesh or the things “that are on earth” (Romans 8:6-7; Colossians 3:1-2). Commitment follows with the dedication and prioritization of all the resources of our life including our time, material blessings, energy, talents – literally our very lives. Paul commended the churches of Macedonia for the generous contributions for the support of the saints in Jerusalem in II Corinthians chapter 8 but notes that the thing that preceded their giving of their financial means to the Lord was that they “first gave themselves to the Lord” (II Corinthians 8:3-5).

“Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him” (verse 7). The inheritance belongs to those who are patient and who endure or persevere. The idea of “resting in the Lord” has to do with “leaving the whole matter with Him without being anxious as to the result” (Barnes' Notes). We read in James 5:7-11 of the need to be patient until the coming of the Lord and to endure until the end if we hope to be the beneficiaries of God’s compassion and mercy. Jesus simply stated, “By your endurance you will gain your lives” (Luke 21:19). Hebrews 10:36 states, “for you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.” Failing to persevere and endure is part of what kept most of the Israelites from entering the rest God had prepared for them (cf Hebrews 3:12-4:3) and it will keep us from the inheritance God has promised as well if we fail to keep on keeping on.

The common part of all of these factors is that they all describe what we must do “in the Lord.” Unless we are “in Christ,” there is no hope of obtaining the inheritance (cf Romans 6:3; 8:1; Ephesians 1:3).