Buried in Your Inheritance
Scripture Reading — Joshua 24:29-33
They buried [Joshua] in the land of his inheritance …
—Joshua 24:30
Everybody dies. But not everyone is buried in a grave. War, fire, hurricanes, and tsunamis may leave little or no remains for loved ones to bury.
When Joshua and Eleazar died, their burial in the promised land signaled the end of their earthly pilgrimage with God. The burial of Joseph’s bones signaled that Israel’s journey to Canaan was complete. Like their ancestors, they were buried in ground consecrated by God’s promises. Burial in a grave took their bodies away from their families, but death would not remove them from fellowship with God.
We will all die, but we will not all be buried in the same place. Some will be buried in a cemetery—and others in a variety of other places. But all who begin their pilgrimage with God on this earth and then die—they will be remembered by God, no matter what happens to their present bodies.
When their earthly journey comes to an end, no matter when or how that happens, all who have followed Christ on this earth will be buried in him. Their baptism says so (Romans 6:3-4). Christ’s grave, consecrated by his resurrection power, is our inheritance. When we are buried in that inheritance, we will remain with Christ until the day when death will reign no more, and we will rise to a new life.
Are you one who claims that inheritance?
Thank you, Lord, for preparing a place for me to remain with you when my earthly journey has ended. In Christ, Amen.
About the author — Arie C. Leder
Dr. Arie C. Leder is the Martin J. Wyngaarden Senior Professor of Old Testament Studies at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He previously served as pastor at Ebenezer Christian Reformed Church, Trenton, Ontario, and with Christian Reformed World Missions in Latin America. He teaches courses on the Pentateuch and on historical books of the Old Testament.
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