INHERITANCE
Abraham already knew this custom of transmitting goods at death (Gen. 15:3, 4). Only the children of the legitimate wife had the right to inheritance.
The children of a concubine were excluded from her. Ishmael, the son of the slave woman, could not inherit with the son of the free woman (Gen. 21:10).
Abraham sent away, with gifts, the children he had with his concubines (Gen. 25: 5, 6). Instead, all of Jacob’s sons received equal rights. Daughters sometimes inherited with the same right as sons (Jb. 42:15).
According to the law of Moses, a man’s assets were divided, upon his death, among his children. The firstborn received double what the others received (Deut. 21:15-17). If there were no sons, the inheritance went to the daughters (Num. 27:1-8), who in such case could not marry outside their tribe (Num. 36; Tob. 6: 10-13).
If circumstances required that someone from another family marry a sole heiress, the children born from this marriage bore the name of her maternal grandfather (1 Chron. 2:34-41; Ezra 2:61). If the deceased had had no children, the inheritance went to her/his brother/s; if there were none, it went to the nearest relative (Num. 27:9-11).
The Greek and Roman administrations introduced new usages and customs, and the terms testament and testator became familiar among the Jews (Heb. 9:16, 17). In a spiritual sense, we are heirs of God, having become truly children of Him by the adoption of the Spirit, which causes us to cry “Abba!” (Father, lit. “dad”, Rom. 8:17).
Abraham had already received, by faith, the promise that he would be “heir of the world”, which is also reserved for us (Rom. 4: 13-16). The believer was previously subject to the slavery of the OT Law, but now, as Paul says, “you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, also an heir of God through Christ” (Gal. 3:18; 4:1- 7 cp. Gal. 4:30, 31).
Christ, the only begotten Son of the Father, is by right, the heir of all things (Heb. 1:2) By his grace we are also joint heirs with Him (Rom. 8:17; Eph. 1:11). Being justified, we have become in hope heirs of salvation and eternal life (Heb. 1:14; Tit. 3:7).
God himself guarantees us this inheritance by giving us the seal and pledge of his Spirit (Eph. 1:13-14), confirming the promise with a solemn oath (Heb. 6:17-18).
In his goodness, God now already reveals to us “the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints” (Eph. 1:18), and makes us “fit to share in the inheritance of the saints in light” (Col. 1 :12), promising us “the reward of the inheritance” (Col. 3:24), because “he has given us rebirth… to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Pet. 1 :3. 4). It should be noted that God himself is the inheritance of believers (Deut. 10:9; 18:2; Josh. 13:14; Ps. 16:5-6) just as we are his inheritance (Deut. 9:26, 29; 1 Kings 8:53; Ps. 2:8; 33:12).
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