"And so you will inherit a double portion in your land..." (Isaiah 61:7)
To us “inheritance” mostly just means money, or sometimes a second hand car. Maybe, if you’re unlucky, a box of collectable magazines. So it might be hard for most of us to think what inheriting a double portion in land actually looks like. Owning land in this world is a complicated thing to start with. It seems to carry with it all sorts of border kerfuffles, and in many cases throughout history, wars.
However, here God is not enforcing our land according to borders with each other. He wants us to share in his property freely. After all, God is our heavenly Father and the whole of the heavens and the earth are his “land” to pass down. God is not splitting the bill on our inheritance either. Where usually only the oldest sibling would receive the double portion, God treats as all as the first born. Now, the trouble comes when we see that land is finite, and that is where I like to think of this inheritance as a use it or lose it situation.
We know that we are offered an inheritance in land, but what does a double portion mean? Well, land is not just a dead thing to be owned. Land is designed by God to be used, and used well. Think of the land we inherit as a potato. If you are given one potato that’s great! Everyone loves MASH! But after the first delicious plate you have run out of potatoes.
But, if you take the potato and instead plant it you will find that it becomes like a seed. The yield you gain is increased and the portion is multiplied. By using the potato, rather than just eating it, you can recieve a multiplication in your inheritance. Now imagine If we treated our inheritance of land from God this way. By using the land given to us by God, rather than consuming it, we may receive a multiplication in all things.
So think about today, How much greater the portion of our lives can be? How are you using your double portion? What are you holding onto for a rainy day?
We invite you to join us as we journey slowly and prayerfully through Isaiah 61 - line by line over forty days.
