The Fault of Acquisition

“Moreover the prince shall not take of the people’s inheritance by oppression, to thrust them out of their possession; but he shall give his sons inheritance out of his own possession: that my people be not scattered every man from his possession.” (Eze 46:18 AV)

This would be a great opportunity to vent on churches that encroach on another’s Jerusalem.  Those churches which have resources others do not and use those resources to reach areas already being worked by churches who do not have the same resources.  I am a firm believer in the local church.  This is affirmed by the writers of the New Testament to refer to a church by its location.  When the word ‘churches’ is used in accordance with a location, it is almost always a province.  When ‘church’ is used in the singular, it is almost always used as it relates to a town or city.  But I digress.  That is not what our devotion is saying to us today.  The prince was not allowed to use his resources to buy up land that would compromise tribal and family borders.  The LORD instructed Moses and Joshua thoroughly on the importance of the inheritance.  A case in point would be the daughters of Zelophehad came to Moses and asked for an inheritance.  Their father had no sons and thus, could not keep it in the family.  By the wisdom of God, Moses instructed the family to divide the land, giving an inheritance to these daughters with the stipulation they could not marry without their tribe.  If they did, they would lose their inheritance.  This had the effect of keeping the inheritance within the family and tribe.  Imagine if a prince were allowed to amass property contrary to the law.  The borders of the family would soon disappear.

One cannot live with eight brothers and three sisters without comprehending the idea of boundaries.  Of all my years, I have had my own bedroom for no more than a total of four years.  As a lad, I shared my bedroom with no less than two brothers.  Then I shared an apartment with a bother, a house with a sister and her husband with two kids, and the same brother with whom I shared the apartment.  Then I met my wife and I haven’t had a bedroom I could call my own ever since.  Knowing boundaries is essential.  Knowing what can and cannot be touched helps one survive.  Knowing how much closet space is legally yours, how much shoe rack you can use, or keeping your space neat and picked up are all needed to make living with someone a survivable experience.  Trying to take more than is yours does not bode well, even if you are the elder and more capable of defending it against all threats, domestic and abroad.  I am sure a brother or two of mine got into it with me over the allotment of space.  We didn’t go as far as putting masking tape on the floor like that one episode of The Brady Bunch.  But I can identify.  Knowing what space is yours and what belongs to another means we respect the person of the other.

We all have a calling in life.  We have several callings in life.  There is the calling of being married or not married.  There is the calling of sanctification in Christ.  There is the calling of service in the LORD’s house.  There is the calling of our responsibilities in the family.  There is the calling of our civic duties.  There is the calling of what we do for a living.  The warning above is not to exceed the boundaries of our allotment or calling.  We are not to go beyond that which the LORD has assigned for us.  We are to stay in the calling which the LORD has called us to.  We are not to covet what belongs to others nor seek to do or be what others do or are.  This was king Saul’s greatest fault and that which caused him his downfall.  Early on in his reign, he did not wait for Samuel to arrive and offer the noontime offering.  Because he feared Samuel would be late, Saul offered the sacrifice when it was not his duty to do such.  He usurped a calling that was not his.  God took the kingdom from him because of it.  The point is this:  we were created by our Creator to exist in a predefined life.  We are forbidden to go outside that life and do what does not belong to us or possess that which does not belong to us.  This is a serious infraction and the LORD will take care of it.