Passing Down Wealth: the Wisdom of Scripture on Inheritance
If you’re in a position to leave a financial inheritance to your family, good for you. As Christian grandparents, we want to bless our families with a legacy that honors God and provide practical help to our kids and grandkids so they can live their best life possible. Grandparents: we see you stuffing $20 dollar bills into everyone’s birthday cards, but let’s go beyond that and take a look at God’s word and what the scripture on inheritance says.
God, as a good father, assigning land to His people
Starting in Genesis 12:7, God establishes the practice of inheritance.
“Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.” NKJV
That’s why today, we follow God’s example and leave wealth to our family if we can.
Proverbs 19:14 ESV
House and wealth are inherited from fathers,
but a prudent wife is from the LORD.
Scripture on Inheritance: The Promised Land
As the Israelites came to the end of their journey in the wilderness, Moses sent 12 men to spy on the Promised Land. They all saw that the land was good, but that the people living there were strong. Ten of the spies gave in to fear and reported there was no way to take the land that God had promised them. This disbelief angered God. Only two spies were faithful: Caleb and Joshua. Caleb believed that God would deliver the land He had promised and encouraged the people go forward. God rewarded Caleb by giving him property for an inheritance.
Numbers 14:23-24 NIV
No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.
God also gave Moses instructions that “The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers”. Leviticus 25:23 NIV
As our Father, God gives us good gifts and he wants us to value them, too.
All land must be kept within the tribe
Once the Israelites made it to the Promised Land, it was divided up among the tribes. Much like your dad’s family lake house, the expectation was that it would stay in the family forever.
God’s instructions to Moses:
Numbers 36:9 NIV
No inheritance may pass from one tribe to another, for each Israelite tribe is to keep the land it inherits.
Numbers 27:8 ESV
And you shall speak to the people of Israel, saying, ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter.
No selling off the family cabin to out-of-towners. Ha ha
No matter who wants the land.
1Kings 21:3 ESV
But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.”
Ahad was king of Samaria and made an offer to Naboth to buy his vineyard next to the palace. But Naboth knew the law about keeping property within the tribe and would not sell. Even to the king.
Not even princes are exempt.
Ezekiel 46:16-18 ESV
Thus says the Lord God: If the prince makes a gift to any of his sons as his inheritance, it shall belong to his sons. It is their property by inheritance. But if he makes a gift out of his inheritance to one of his servants, it shall be his to the year of liberty. Then it shall revert to the prince; surely it is his inheritance—it shall belong to his sons. The prince shall not take any of the inheritance of the people, thrusting them out of their property. He shall give his sons their inheritance out of his own property, so that none of my people shall be scattered from his property.
Note: The year of liberty was when the servant would be free to go, but the property would stay “with the tribe”.
Sometimes you have to spend that money
1 Timothy 5:3-4 ESV
Support widows who are genuinely in need. But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them learn to practice godliness toward their own family first and to repay their parents, for this pleases God.
1 Timothy 5:8 NIV
Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
Right way and wrong way to obtain money
Proverbs 13:11 NIV
Dishonest money dwindles away,
but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.
Scripture on inheritance is clear that God isn’t going to bless money that comes from crime of dishonesty. It’s through working and managing money well that you gain wealth that God can bless.
Proverbs 20:21 ESV
An inheritance gained hastily in the beginning will not be blessed in the end.
As much as we love the idea of easy money there is some discipline involved in working for what we have. Just think of the sad stories you have heard about lottery winners who are broke within a few years. This discipline and appreciation for what we have are qualities that will help us keep the money we save.
Colossians 3:23-24 ESV
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
Character and Wealth are linked
Proverbs 13:22 ESV
A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous.
It is truly a blessing from God if you have money to leave as an inheritance. However, money can be a cold comfort without warm, loving memories of time spent together and a spiritual inheritance to go with it.
Proverbs 17:2 ESV
A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.
Job 42:15 ESV
And in all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job’s daughters. And their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers.
This commentary from the Blue Letter Bible website suggests the sisters had personal qualities that made them excel and deserve an equal inheritance with their brothers.
Luke 16:11 NIV
So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?
Scripture on inheritance: what’s more important than money?
Luke 12:13-21 ESV
Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
Here, Jesus was preaching in Jerusalem. He was talking about people’s value to God and how the Holy Spirit will help us. Then, this guy in the crowd, (there’s always somebody, right?) totally disregards the points Jesus is trying to make and wants help with his financial dispute. Anyway, it gives Jesus a chance to reinforce his lessons that life is about getting to know God, not our clothes and food and stuff.
Luke 15:12 ESV
The Prodigal Son
And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them.
This goes back to Proverbs 20 about easy money. This boy acted like his father’s owed him an inheritance and the son absolutely did not have the skills to handle it. It did not go well for him until he repented and returned home.
Our best inheritance is knowing God
Psalm 16:6 ESV
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
Money is nice, of course. But is does not compare with the eternal significance of knowing God and making sure our family members do too.
Psalm 37:29 ESV
The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.
In this scripture on inheritance, King David is describing the reward for God’s children in the coming age. There is a secure inheritance in the world to come. Similar to what Jesus talks about in Mathew 5:5 when He says “blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth”.
The best inheritance we can leave isn’t just a well-padded savings account (though, let’s be honest, it is a nice thought). True wealth is found in passing down faith, wisdom, and a legacy of love that outlasts any bank balance. The scripture on inheritance reminds us that an inheritance is more than money—it’s about leaving behind something meaningful that points our families toward God. So, whether your grandkids inherit a fortune or a well-loved Bible with your handwritten notes, rest assured—you’re leaving them something far more valuable than gold.
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