Our portion and his inheritance

'Levi has no portion or inheritance with his brothers. The Lord is his inheritance, as the Lord your God said to him.' (Deuteronomy 10:9)

'The Levitical priests, all the tribe of Levi, shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They shall eat the Lord's food offerings as their inheritance.' (Deuteronomy 18:1)

'Now there happened to be there a worthless man, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite. And he blew the trumpet and said, "We have no portion in David, and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse; every man to his tents, O Israel!"' (2 Samuel 20:1)

'He is the Lord our God... Remember his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, which he confirmed as a statute to Jacob, as an everlasting covenant to Israel, saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan, as your portion for an inheritance."' (Psalm 105-7-11)

'Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob, for he is the one who formed all things, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; the Lord of hosts is his name.' (Jeremiah 51:19)

'the Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem' (Zechariah 2:12)

'if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.' (Galatians 3:18)

'In him we have obtained an inheritance [...] In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, [...] who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it' (Ephesians 1:11-14)

'I do not cease to give thanks for you [...] that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his [i.e. Jesus'] glorious inheritance in the saints' (Ephesians 1:16-18)

A Biblical Theology of Inheritance would be an amazing thing to write. The most amazing thing about it is its two-way nature which is succinctly described in Jeremiah 51:19. What we are to him, he is to us.

We receive an inheritance. To the people of Israel it was the land of Canaan, although the priests experienced more they had YHWH himself as their inheritance which meant they could eat with him at the same table. This is just an expression of the intimacy of the relationship that they had with him. That was the true inheritance they received.

But that intimacy is not one way. YHWH had his inheritance or portion in Israel. In this language he expresses his care and commitment to them.

In the NT Christians 'are said to inherit a variety of spiritual benefits, including glorification (Rom 8:17), redemption (Eph 1:14), salvation (Heb 1:14), and life (1 Pet 3:7, cf Luke 18:18)' (p. 637, 'Inheritance' in The Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible). But all of these are found in God himself. So our down-payment, of the same kind as our full settlement is God, the Holy Spirit, himself. And Jesus finds his inheritance in us in the Holy Spirit. What a relationship!

I'll leave you with a couple more The Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible quotes:

'Descriptions of Israel as God's inheritance point to the intimacy that appropriately exists between God and the chosen people (e.g. Exod 34:9; Deut 4:20; 2 Sam 21:3; Jer 10:16)' (p. 637, 'Inheritance')

'Expressions such as "to have a portion in (someone)" mean to be affiliated with that person or to belong to that person's company or community (2 Sam 20:1; 1 Kgs 12:16; cf. John 13:8). Words translated "portion" can also be used with reference to that which is dear and close to a person; thus Israel is called the portion of the Lord (Deut 32:9), as Yahweh is likewise Israel's portion (Ps 16:5; 73:26; 119:57; 142:5; Jer 10:16; Lam 3:24)' (p. 1072, "Portion")