“He put up with them through forty years of wandering in the wilderness. Then he destroyed seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to Israel as an inheritance.”
Acts 13:18-19 (NLT)
Paul reminds God’s people of something we forget when we’re wandering: our strength doesn’t save us. Israel multiplied in Egypt, they became strong, some translations even say they prospered, but their number did not deliver them. God did. With His powerful arm and His signs, God made it indisputable that He is the one who saves. And God did not just release them from slavery, He led them out of it.
Acts 13:18 says God “put up with them” through forty years in the wilderness. Deuteronomy 1:31 helps us hear what that means. God cared for them like a father cares for a child, even while enduring their conduct and their complaining. He put up with their disobedience, their errors, their sin. It did not make Him proud, but He was faithful to His word.
Then Acts 13:19 says God destroyed seven nations in Canaan and gave Israel an inheritance they did not build, plant, or earn. God’s people walked into cities, vineyards, and crops they did not deserve. That is why all I can hear in this passage is salvation. An inheritance you cannot earn is exactly what God gives. Our inheritance as sinners who put their faith in Jesus is eternal life.
Romans 5 says God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. While we were still God’s enemies, He restored our friendship with Him. 1 Peter says we have been born again by God’s great mercy and given a priceless inheritance kept in heaven, beyond decay. Romans 10 says if you believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and confess His name, you will be saved. So if you’re wandering today, rest in Him. We do not get saved by our works, and we do not stay saved by our works. We have endless treasure in Christ, and our Father will walk with us through the wilderness, but we must be willing to listen. Then we can walk into our inheritance instead of trying to create our own.