The Lord Is Our Inheritance and We Are His
Parashat Re’eh, Deuteronomy 11:26–16:17
Rabbi David Wein, Tikvat Israel, Richmond, Virginia
Sometimes when I meet new parents, I tell them I have good news and less good news. The good news is: it gets easier, you get more sleep, you learn things. The good news is also that your baby is in what my friend calls the potato phase. Wherever you put a potato, there it stays.
But there’s one thing they don’t tell you in the hospital. Right now you’re in the potato phase. But in a few years, this child will develop a will of their own—a strong opinion about bedtime, leaving the playground, brushing their teeth, and every other transition you need them to make. That’s the less good news.
So, what do I do as a dad? Well, I’ve tried many things, and here is what I say:
“Hey, let’s go upstairs and hide so mommy can come find us.”
“Use the bathroom correctly and get a sticker. Seven stickers and you get a toy car.”
“I bet I can put my shoes on first!”
“Can you brush your teeth please?” “No.” “Well, Daddy wants to brush his teeth.” “I wanna brush my teeth!”
Parenting, at least in these moments, isn’t just about getting my son to cooperate. It’s about his heart formation, his development, and our relationship. Sometimes there is a reward, and sometimes there is a game, but this is what they all have in common: we are doing it together.
That helps us understand what the Lord is doing with Israel in this week’s parasha. Like every good father, he’s not merely trying to produce obedience. He’s forming a people who will learn to trust him. And nowhere do we see that more clearly than in the unusual inheritance of the Levites. “But don’t neglect the Levi staying with you, because he has no share or inheritance like yours” (Deuteronomy 14:27 CJB).
Several times in this week’s parasha the Levites are mentioned, to the tune of “they have no inheritance as you do, so take care of them.” They have no land per se. But that doesn’t mean they have no inheritance. Later in the parasha, after instructing Israel not to worship other gods like the other nations do, we find this:
You will not do things the way we do them here today, where everyone does whatever in his own opinion seems right; because you haven’t yet arrived at the rest and inheritance which Adonai your God is giving you. (Deuteronomy 12:8–9 CJB)
Israel, you are no longer in the potato phase. Now it’s time l’shmoa—to listen, understand, and obey—so that you may enter the rest and inheritance God has prepared for you.
The Hebrew word for “rest” (menuchah) echoes the word “Noach,” whose name points toward comfort after the curse (Genesis 5:29). Israel’s rest in the land is the beginning of the reversal of Eden’s exile—a move toward a place of security where God dwells among His people. Here’s the continuation of the passage from the parasha:
But when you cross the Yarden and live in the land Adonai your God is having you inherit, and he gives you rest from all your surrounding enemies, so that you are living in safety; then you will bring all that I am ordering you to the place Adonai your God chooses to have his name live — your burnt offerings, sacrifices, tenths, the offering from your hand, and all your best possessions that you dedicate to Adonai; and you will rejoice in the presence of Adonai your God — you, your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves and the Levi staying with you, inasmuch as he has no share or inheritance with you. (Deuteronomy 12:10–12 CJB)
Even though the Levite has no land inheritance, all of Israel inherits the land and the rest and the security and the place where God dwells. Everyone inherits the joy of God’s presence. Moreover, the Levites did receive tangible provision through the tithes (Numbers 18:23–24). But tangible provision was not the whole of their inheritance. “But the L’vi’im have no share with you, because the office of cohen to Adonai is their inheritance” (Joshua 18:7).
Their inheritance also included their priestly vocation—the honor of serving, worshiping, and ministering before Adonai. It’s like saying that the relationship my son and I share is itself part of his inheritance. But there’s even one more definition of inheritance for the Levites. This is from next week’s parasha:
The Levitical kohanim, all the tribe of Levi, are to have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They are to eat the offerings made to Adonai by fire as His inheritance. They will have no inheritance among their brothers—Adonai is their inheritance, just as He promised them. (Deuteronomy 18:1–2 TLV)
God is their inheritance. He is with them. The one who brings rest and security, who dwells with them, he is the inheritance of the Levites. And although the Levites experienced this uniquely through their priestly calling, the entire nation ultimately shared in the greater inheritance—God himself dwelling among his people. And this inheritance is incorruptible. So, therefore, the Lord is your inheritance.
The time with my son, the joy and the teaching—that is his inheritance. But I am also his inheritance. Yes, we are saving up for his future, but that could all go away. What my son ultimately inherits from me isn’t primarily something tangible. It’s my presence. It’s the joy of learning together. Our greatest inheritance isn’t money, or any reward that can fade. It is God himself.
Blessed are the no-longer-potatoes, who listen and learn, for they shall enter his rest.
Blessed are those who submit their own will to the Father, for they will enjoy the presence of God.
But here’s the thing: not only is the Lord your inheritance, but you are his.
But you, Adonai has taken, and He brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt to be a people for His own inheritance, as you are this day. (Deuteronomy 4:20 TLV)
In Messiah Yeshua this is expanded to the nations. The Son is given the nations, all the earth, as his inheritance:
I will proclaim the decree:
Adonai said to me,
“You are my son;
today I became your father.
Ask of me, and I will make
the nations your inheritance;
the whole wide world
will be your possession.” (Psalm 2:7–8 CJB)
And so, Scripture reminds us that before we ever inherit anything from God, God chose us as his inheritance. He delights in his people. We are our beloved’s inheritance, and he is ours. The One who gives rest. The One who dwells among his people. The One who, through Messiah Yeshua, welcomes all nations to be his inheritance.
So, if I as a mere human father delight in walking with my son through every stage of learning, kal va-chomer, how much more does our heavenly Father delight in teaching, being present, and leading his children into the inheritance that is ultimately himself?