There are big differences between the blessings promised to the heirs of God and the blessings given to those who are not heirs of God. Jesus said, “He (God) causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Mat 5:45).” This kind of blessings is not the same with the kind of blessings that we receive as heirs of God. Actually, we do not only receive blessings, but also are blessings to others.

Such differences are well illustrated in the stories of Abram and Lot in Genesis. Lot was Abram’s nephew and was not an heir of God’s covenant. Yet, he was blessed through Abram, and differences came when he stopped staying with him.

Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together (Gen 13:5-6).

So, when quarreling arose, Lot departed Abram and lived in the land near Sodom. And the moment he left Abram, he began to lose his blessings. In Chapter 14, we read that the king of Elam (the region east of Babylon) and other kings allied with him came and defeated the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah carrying off all the people and goods including Lot and his possessions. As the news reached Abram, he and his 318 men went in pursuit to attack them, and brought back all the people and goods including Lot and his possessions. This is a good example of being a blessing.

Abram saved Lot and the people of Sodom, but he had still no child of his own. As he was feeling so miserable, God encouraged him by letting him count the stars. So, Abram, for the first time, believed God and his promise.

Then, in chapter 18, we come to see the meaning of Abram’s existence as a blessing made clear. Three men appeared and visited him, and one of them was God Yahweh himself. He said:

Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him (Gen 18:17-19).

This is so deep that we must meditate upon it. Those who are serious about being heirs of God need to know this truth. Lot was saved again because of Abraham, but he lost all his possessions, even his wife, daughters, and relatives. He ended up living in a cave with two of his daughters who were not married.

At this point, we go to the stories of Esau and Jacob. They teach us many things about being heirs of God. Unlike the case of Abram and Lot, these two sons of Isaac were the true descendants of Abraham, so both were eligible to be the heirs of God’s covenant. In fact, Esau was such an heir by birth, but he was rejected, and Jacob was chosen as the heir. Why? This implies that we who are legally heirs of God through Christ may not actually be living as such in spite of all the privileges and blessings promised to us. We find the following words in the letter to the Hebrews:

See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears (Heb 12:16-17).