The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. Indeed I have a beautiful inheritance. Psalm 16:6
The normal transfer of wealth during Biblical times is from father to son. A woman participates in the family wealth only through her husband. God uses this custom as an illustration of what He bestows on us. The picture of inheritance, from the Hebrew nachalah, is hinted at in its first use – all the way back in Genesis.
Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, “Is there any portion or inheritance left to us in our father's house? Genesis 31:14
Rachel and Leah declare that they have no inheritance with their own father, but it is now with their husband. They leave any attachment to their past behind and cling to Jacob, who becomes Israel, and with whom their future rests.
God the Father has given all things to His Son. He is the first-born and the heir. We, the church, have an inheritance through the Son as His bride. What we leave behind is of no true value to us, only what lays ahead in our new family.
It can be tempting to look back, clinging to various portions of life before Jesus. Some of those pieces are good. But the real inheritance is through my Bridegroom and the life that He calls us to with Him.
In Him we have obtained an inheritance. Ephesians 1:11
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