Are you reading the book of Genesis in January? I ask because if you’re following a plan to read through the Bible in a year, you would have begun on the first of this month. And most plans open with Genesis.
I’m not opposed to any of these arrangements, but it takes me longer than a year to cover the whole Bible. When I finish, I start over, but with a different version. Some, like the NASB, are rigorous, while others, like the NLT, are smooth and simple.
At the moment, I’m going through the book of Psalms and when I was going through Psalm 37, I began to pick up on a phrase.
“Inherit the land.”
At first, I didn’t think much of it, but then I saw it again a few verses later. And yet again! In fact, the psalmist used this phrase five times. Here are the verses:
Verse 9 – “For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.”
Verse 11 – “But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity.”
Verse 22 – “Those the LORD blesses will inherit the land, but those He curses will be destroyed.”
Verse 29 – “The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever.”
Verse 34 – “Hope in the LORD and keep His way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.”
Psalm 37 is a big psalm; it has 40 verses in total. But even for a composition that size, five references to inheriting the land is still a lot. It looks like the psalmist David wanted to emphasize this point!
But what’s the point?
He’s not speaking as an attorney, so we can disregard the intricacies of estate planning and inheritance laws. (Whew!)
Each verse stresses the moral and spiritual qualities of the inheritors. They hope in the Lord, they’re meek, they’re blessed by God, they’re righteous, and they keep His way.
As I was reading this psalm, a beatitude spoken by Jesus popped into my mind.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” – Matthew 5:5
It’s the same phrase. “Earth” and “land” are acceptable English translations of the original words (‘erets in Hebrew and ge in Greek). So Jesus made the same point David did.
To back this up further, the Greek translation of the Old Testament uses the identical words in Psalm 37:11 for “meek”, “inherit”, and “land” as Jesus does in Matthew 5:5. They’re on the same page!
So let’s broaden our previous question. What does inheriting the land mean for David and the Lord Jesus?
David composed his psalm either during the rulership of King Saul or during his own reign. Regardless of the specific time, one thing was certain: Israel was free. The Israelites were far removed from slavery in Egypt. They were no longer wandering in the Wilderness. They dwelled in the Promised Land as God’s people. They answered to no one other than the Lord Himself.
Well, that was the idea anyway! The people didn’t always live up to their calling.
In contrast to the Israelites of those days, the Jews of Christ’s day lived under the jurisdiction of Rome. Judea was a sliver of an enormous Gentile empire, and this irked many Jews. They yearned for God to restore the full land to His people and reestablish the privileges and authority they once enjoyed.
In Psalm 37, David wrote about righteous living under the governance of the Lord God. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke about living in the kingdom of God. And though each mentions other rewards, inheriting the land is one they hold in common.
An inheritance is something we get after someone dies. Within ancient Israel, God intended for properties to stay within families so they could stay secure. At the death of a patriarch, those who would inherit the land would receive their share.
Jesus understands the kingdom of God as spiritual in its inception. As it expands, it embraces the material, but it begins with the spiritual. And like any heir, we inherit the kingdom only upon the death of the owner. Jesus died so we could inherit the kingdom of God in its fullness. Made righteous by His sacrifice, we will inherit the land, the kingdom in its total extent.
Inheritance looks toward the future, but righteousness is a present-day reality. As we live in harmony with the ways of the Lord, we assure ourselves of the joy of inhabiting a land greater than we can imagine. Today, we walk with Jesus by faith. One day, we will see Him face to face and will enter the realm where everyone, everywhere, does His will. Praise the Lord!
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