Inheritance - Part 10
Transferred Before Death

Inheritance is transferred from the father to the child before the death of the father, if done God’s Way. This way the godly fathers will help to prepare the heir for the government of the inheritance. This will build the child’s confidence and enhance his leadership skills to better fit (understand, experience) what was previously established by the father.

Abraham son Isaac became heir before Abraham’s death even though according to Genesis 21:2-5 Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born.

Genesis 21:5
And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. KJV

Notice in Genesis 24:1-67, the eldest servant of Abraham referred to Isaac as his master in verse 65 when bringing home Rebekah.

Genesis 24:65
For she (Rebekah) had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself. KJV

It seems that even Jacob knew Joseph had governing qualities even at a young age because Joseph was tasked by Jacob to give an account of Jacob’s sons and flocks in Genesis 37:1-17

Genesis 37:2
These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. KJV

And Genesis 37:13-14
13 And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.
14 And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. KJV

We do notice that the Children of Jacob were already doing their father’s business while he was alive in Genesis 37:2 and we see another example of this in Genesis 42:1-3.

1 Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?
2 And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.
3 And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt. KJV

Achsah, Caleb’s daughter, asked her father for more property (springs of water) with the land she and her husband already owned (received by inheritance) and Caleb gave her the additional blessing (more inheritance) in Joshua 15:18,19 while he was alive.

Joshua 15:18-19
18 Now it was so, when she (Achsah) came to him, that she persuaded him to ask her father for a field. So she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, "What do you wish?" 19 She answered, "Give me a blessing; since you have given me land in the South, give me also springs of water." So he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. NKJV

Jonathan was King Saul’s eldest son

1 Samuel 14:49
Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishui, and Melchi-shua: and the names of his two daughters were these; the name of the firstborn Merab, and the name of the younger Michal: KJV

King Saul thought Jonathan (his eldest son) would take over the Kingdom of Israel but saw David as a threat in 1 Samuel 20:30-31. In this case because of God’s Will for the nation of Israel the Kingdom was not King Saul’s to give unto Jonathan, per God’s Will in the mouth of his holy prophets the Kingdom of Israel and Judah was given to David by inheritance from God.

30 Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother's nakedness?
31 For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die. KJV

King David installs his son Solomon as the next King of Israel in 1 Kings chapter 1 while he was the King of Israel. Notice in verse 35 that King David said, “I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah”. This is important because no one dare speak a word against the commandment of the King. The Lord chooses and man appoints when the two are in harmony God’s Will can be preformed in the earth. We must combine the anointing (calling, giftings, spiritual endowment, etc…) with the authority of man (the public office, the laws of the land, the established government, etc…) upon the earth to successful overcome the works of darkness in this earth until the Lord returns to the earth to rid us of all wickedness and evil.

1 Kings 1:32-35
32 And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king.
33 The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon:
34 And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon.
35 Then ye shall come up after him, that he may come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead: and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah. KJV

After King Solomon sat upon the throne of Israel and Judah the time came that David was nearing the end of his life upon the earth. David then counseled (shared with) Solomon the major issues that were on his (King David’s) heart. David started with emphasizing the importance of God’s Law and God’s Ways, then proceeded to speak about the promise of God and his family, then King David spoke about some personal business of the kingdom that he felt was unfinished. These are considered the last words of a father to his son that inherits his estate refer to 1 Kings 2:1-10 for complete context.

1 Kings 2:1-4
1 Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,
2 I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man;
3 And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself:
4 That the LORD may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel. KJV

In 1 Chronicles 22:1-19 King David speaks of all the preparation he did for Solomon to build the house of the Lord. King David prepared for King Solomon to be successful in his assignment from the Lord.

1 Chronicles 22:5-6
5 And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the LORD must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.
6 Then he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build an house for the LORD God of Israel. KJV

Notice that King David was not suppose to build the house of God but he did everything he could just short of building it help fulfill the plan of God for his son, King Solomon.

King Jehoshaphat gave gifts to all his children but gave the kingdom to his first born in 2 Chronicles 21:1-3. Although this choice proved to be fatal to his other children (2 Chronicles 21:4) it is a reminder of what can happen when people in authority follow custom (tradition, common sense, etc..) instead of prayer to God (God’s choice, spiritual character, maturity in love and wisdom, etc…).

1 Now Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And Jehoram his son reigned in his stead.
2 And he had brethren the sons of Jehoshaphat, Azariah, and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariah, and Michael, and Shephatiah: all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel.
3 And their father gave them great gifts of silver, and of gold, and of precious things, with fenced cities in Judah: but the kingdom gave he to Jehoram; because he was the firstborn. KJV

Notice again that all of Jehoshaphat’s children received gifts from their father before he passed-on. They all inherited gifts (money) and property with some responsibility but Jehoram inherited all the responsibility of the Kingdom of Judah with the inhabitants of Jerusalem as the next King.

Now we will examine two examples in the New Testament where the heir knew about the business affairs of the father before the father passed-on. This shows us that in many cases the heir has already been trained to take over the estate after the father. This transfer of authority is often done when the father is old and unable to invest a lot of hard work into the business. It is wiser to establish the heir in the business while you are alive to address certain issues or concerns, then to wait until you die hoping that everything will workout for good.

The elder son was the heir apparent in the story of the Prodigal son according to verse 31 in Luke 15:11-32. In this example it was revealed to the eldest son (by the father) that he would be taking over the family business by inheritance. It must be noted that the father was also transferring the responsibility for the whole estate to elder son along with all the assets.

Luke 15:31
And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. KJV

The son of the man who owned the vineyard is the heir apparent according to the parable of Luke 20:9-16 notice verses 13 and 14. In this example the father, the son and all the workers in the business knew exactly who was intended (prepared) to take over the business by inheritance.

Luke 20:13-14
13 Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him.
14 But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. KJV