Word of Encouragement (12/27/2022)
Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you. 8 When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. 9 But the LORD's portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage. (Deut. 32:7-9)
There are a few things about God that we can reflect on this morning. The first is God’s sovereignty over all nations: “...the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind....” If God can divide mankind, it is because the whole mankind belongs to Him. The whole mankind belongs to Him because He created them. And if God can divide the land and distribute it among the peoples, it is because the whole earth belongs to Him. Again, the whole earth belongs to Him because He created the heavens and the earth and all that is contained in them.
We are reminded of the tower of Babel incident. When the people gathered at Babel and wanted to build a tower that reached all the way to the heavens to make a name for themselves (Gen. 11:4), God punished their insolence by confusing their language and dispersed them throughout the land (Gen. 11:7-8). We learn here that even this dispersion was not left to people’s random choices; it was according to God’s sovereign administration, leading each nation to the inheritance (i.e., the land), which God assigned to it. Again, we are reminded that all that we have is from God, and this is true even for unbelievers. The LORD is not just the God of Israel but also of all the nations of the world.
The weal and woe, life and death, of every nation and individual belong to God. Everything is under His sovereign control—from the movements of the stars and galaxies to the movements of subatomic particles. If this sovereign God should watch our back and be our Benefactor, how blessed we are indeed!
But can anybody just claim God to be his Protector and Benefactor? No, this is not something anybody can just claim by his own merit or by fervent petition. It is something that God must bestow. While everything and everyone belongs to God, this special favor is not given to everybody. It is given only to God's chosen people. This is the whole point of this passage, isn't it? It presents a stark contrast between Israel and the rest of mankind. God dividedmankind into different nations and gave to each a territory for its inheritance. But God took Israel for Himself and claimed it for His own portion, His allotted inheritance.
What we have here is an elliptical contrast (which means not everything is explicitly stated). It says that the nations received their territories as their inheritance. It says that God took Israel as His inheritance. But it doesn't say what Israel's inheritance is, does it? It is only implied. As other nations received their territory, Israel, too, received the Promised Land. But Israel had a greater inheritance, didn't it? The Lord said to Israel, "I will take you to be my people and I will be your God" (Ex. 6:7). This is the same as saying, "I will take you to be My inheritance and I will be your inheritance."
One’s portion/heritage is an object of his delight; he treasures it and cherishes it; he protects it and cares for it; he does not abandon it or give it up. Here, the LORD was speaking of the people of Israel. But insofar as they represented the elect people of God, this declaration applies ultimately to those who believe in Jesus Christ. Because we are His portion and inheritance, God has prepared heaven as our portion and inheritance. Its abundant riches are ours because God delights in us for the sake of Jesus Christ and loves to shower His love and grace on us. Whatever we have or don’t have in this world cannot be compared to the surpassing glory of our heavenly inheritance in Jesus Christ. For that, let us give our thanks. And let us also treasure God above all things as our Portion and Heritage.