The Better Inheritance

“And Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.”

2 Chronicles 10:19

The days of division descend upon Israel. To fulfill the word of the Lord instating Jeroboam as a king, ten tribes rebel against Rehoboam. 

What is a king to do? Rally an army, of course, and fight to restore unity. Rehoboam does exactly that. He gathers 180,000 warriors to bring the kingdom back. However, the word of the Lord intervenes. 

“Go home, Rehoboam, you and all your warriors. Do not fight your brothers of the north. This division is My doing.”

Rehoboam, though foolish in his choice of counsel, has the good sense to obey God’s command. So the army disbands, and the southern tribes turn their attention to fortifying their cities.

And what of the north? Jeroboam’s first act as king is of terribly tragic consequence. Ironically, he fears losing what he did nothing to gain. He worries that the hearts of his new subjects will turn away from him if they must travel south to Jerusalem to worship God – the God Who gave him the throne.

Jeroboam accepts counsel, even more foolish than Rehoboam’s (1 Kings 12:28). He thinks he will protect his authority by establishing a new religion, so he fashions his own idols and altars. Knowing that the consecrated sons of Levi will never consent to practice demon worship, Jeroboam removes them from office and replaces them with anyone who can cut an animal’s throat and kindle a fire (v. 31).

What is a priest to do? 

“…the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest’s office unto the LORD.”

2 Chronicles 11:14

They pack up and leave. They go to the place where they can faithfully fulfill their priestly work. 

What do they leave? Their cities. Their pasture lands. Their possession. They hadn’t been allotted large tracts of land as the other tribes. All they had were these cities and small adjacent pastures where they could tend their cattle and raise their families, as they served God and His people (Numbers 35:1-5).

Last year in PNG, I gained a deeper appreciation for the importance of a family’s land. People will fight with frightening fervor over their ground. Their land is their heritage, their livelihood, and their children’s inheritance. Their identity – past, present, and future – is deeply rooted in that dirt they call home.

What would it mean to leave that and relocate? You’d be accepting unknowns about survival. How would you even find a new place to live? You couldn’t empty your bank account and go: your bank account has to walk along with you, needing fodder and pasture both during travel and at your destination. If you left your land, how would you provide for your family?

Yet these people made the decision. They left their possession. Why? 

“Better to abandon our homes than to apostatize. Better that we risk our children suffering hunger, than that we risk our children worshiping idols.”

They truly believed that the LORD was their inheritance (Deut. 10:9). They feared God more than they feared financial instability. They loved God more than they loved the stuff He’d given them. So they walked away, rather than be led astray by the idolatry of popular culture.

May we so love the Lord our God that our life decisions are culturally radical but Biblically normal. May we seek God supremely, refusing to bow to the idols. May we prove our profession, that the better inheritance worth clinging to is God Himself.

The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: Thou maintainest my lot…Thou wilt show me the path of life: in Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Psalm 16:5, 11