HEBREW WORD STUDY –  MY PORTION FOREVER  CHALAQI   LA’OLAM   חלקי לעולמ  

Psalms 73:26: “My flesh and my heart fails, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.”

I remember attending a Billy Graham crusade when I was twelve years old. The only thing I remember of one particular meeting was Ethel Water’s singing His Eye Is On The Sparrow.  I remember it because I will never forget that thrill, that peace or that joy when I heard the words: “Because Jesus is my portion.”  I remember thinking what an odd word to use, portion. I did not quite understand what it meant, but my spirit did and my spirit is quickened to this day when I hear those words or even think about them.

What does that word portion really mean? In the Hebrew, it is the word chalaq which means territory, equal portions, and separation. I found in one case where chalaq is used for determining one’s fate. Asaph is saying that God is his portion or the one who will determine his fate.  I believe at the age of twelve, in my spirit I was telling God that I wanted him to determine my fate in life and that has been my prayer throughout my life.

Asaph is using the same word that is used in Numbers and Deuteronomy with regard to the portioning out of land among the tribes. Only eleven tribes received a portion of land to farm and feed their families. One tribe, the tribe of Levi, received no earthly, material portion. They were not to spend their days cultivating land but cultivating their knowledge of God and to lead the members of the other eleven tribes to an understanding of God. In return, the members of the eleven other tribes tithed a tenth of what they grew to the Levites so they could feed themselves and their families and be free to spend their time in the service of God.

Thus, Asaph, who was himself a Levi, was making a reference to this division of land when he said his portion was God. He was not seeking any material things from God, he only wanted to live out his calling, for God was His portion. He was, as a Levi, spent his life studying Torah and ministering to the people of the other eleven tribes who in turn brought a tithe to him so he could devote his life to God’s Word and ministering that Word to others.

Yesterday I held a pop up class for those on my Access site.  A notice was sent to all the subscribers of our Access site announcing a 45-minute open mic and video over the internet to discuss Adam and Eve. It was a live virtual classroom almost like I had when teaching in Bible College only it was done before a computer screen.  At the conclusion, some participants thanked me for my time. But at that moment I realized I need to thank them.  Although I enjoy driving a disability bus to offset my living expenses and I once taught English in a middle school and held various other secular jobs throughout my life to pay for my living expenses I never enjoyed these jobs as much as when I taught in Bible College or I was just sitting down and sharing the Word of God.  For at the age of twelve my heart sang out that Jesus would be my portion.  Whether compensated or not I do not live to earn my living expenses, for Jesus is my portion and I am only happy when I have the opportunity to spend every waking hour studying God’s Word in Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic and then sharing with others the treasures I discover from my studies. To spend my life studying God’s Word and then to actually have the opportunity to share my discoveries with others makes me the happiest and wealthiest man in the world even if I don’t have two quarters to rub together

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