Genesis 26:1-5 And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech, king of the the Philistines unto Gerar. And the Lord appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father. And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws (emphasis added, KJV).
Proverbs 13:22 tells us, “A good man leaveth an in inheritance to his children’s children.” Often people concern themselves with estate planning, trying to find ways to leave their earthly goods to generations to come. There are legal requirements that need to be met in order to do so successfully. As believers, we should leave an inheritance to our children’s children as well. Please understand that this goes beyond a natural family, and carries over to spiritual children as well. Those who have children in the natural realm are to make their family their primary ministry; however, they also may be spiritual parents to those outside of the nuclear family. Furthermore, those who have no natural children may have many who are spiritual. As long as the Lord tarries, there will be proceeding generations for us to leave an inheritance. Abraham serves as one of the greatest examples of one who has left an inheritance for generations to come; in fact, we are recipients of the inheritance as believers (Galatians 3:16, 29).
As we examine Genesis 26, we will notice that Isaac and his seed is blessed because of Abraham. It was not based upon what Isaac did; rather, it was based upon what Abraham had done. Abraham obeyed the Lord’s voice, kept His charge, His commandments, His statues and laws. In so doing, he left an inheritance, and blessed all the nations of the earth. Basically, the only thing that Isaac had to do at that point, was not go to Egypt and sojourn in the land. For us today, we needed to receive Jesus Christ in order to be partakers of the blessings of Abraham. Similar to Isaac, it is not based upon what we did. Verse twelve says, “Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him.” As we read on we find that the Lord continues to bless Isaac, and in verse twenty-four He visits him again, and tells Isaac, “I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply they seed for My servant Abraham’s sake” (emphasis added). God’s favor rested on Isaac for Abraham’s sake -all because he obeyed the voice of the Lord.
Joshua 24:2 And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood (the Euphrates river -not the flood of Noah) in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor; and they served other gods (emphasis added). Basically, Abraham had a father who was an idol worshiper; nevertheless, he changed the course for his family, and became the patriarch. The inheritance begins with the generation that obeys the Lord. In the first famine, Abraham went into Egypt (Genesis 12:10-20); whereas, Isaac could not. However, before Abraham’s promise could be fulfilled, he had to leave Egypt.
Egypt is also a metaphor for the world; so in one sense, Abraham had to leave the world in order to obtain the promise. On the other hand, in order to maintain the promise, Isaac could not go into the world (Egypt). He had to trust in the Lord for his provision -not the world. Likewise, we cannot trust in the world or the world system for our provision. We have to trust God. Abraham left the world for a much greater promise, and in so doing became the patriarch of the family.
The Father has a soft spot for orphans, which means that if you came from a family that did not serve God, He made a provision for you. As He will work directly in your life, the Father will also gather others who can mentor you, and become spiritual parents to you. Whatever your need is in relation to your walk, He will meet it.
This is not rocket-science, the greatest way to leave an inheritance is to walk the walk. If you want your children to spend time with the Father and pray, you need to spend time with the Father and pray. If you want them to read their Bibles, you need to read yours. If you want your children to obey the voice of the Lord, then you need obey the voice of the Lord. It is pretty straight forward. Of course there are the other elements involved such as teaching them the Word of God, and imparting to them what the Lord has imparted to you. Yep, it means spending time with them as well. Bottom line, obey the Lord and you will leave an inheritance for those who proceed you.
