The Parables of 4 Lost Prodigals      Luke 15:1-32

The Third and Fourth Prodigals: the Two Lost Sons. (continued)

The laws of inheritance in Israel were designed by God to favour the elder son, giving a double share which was probably done with the purpose of keeping a family's land holdings together and preserving the family farm intact:

Numbers 27:8-11 “And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter. And if he have no daughter, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his brethren. And if he have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his father's brethren. And if his father have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his kinsman that is next to him of his family, and he shall possess it: and it shall be unto the children of Israel a statute of judgment, as the LORD commanded Moses.”

Numbers 36:7-9 “So shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe: for every one of the children of  Israel shall keep himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. And every daughter, that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may enjoy every man the inheritance of his fathers. Neither shall the inheritance remove from one tribe to another tribe; but every one of the tribes of the children of Israel shall keep himself to his own inheritance.”

Deuteronomy 21:17 “But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.”

Now if there were more than two sons, the older son would receive two shares, with each of the other son or son’s one share each. And typically, the older son would be the executor and assume the role as family head after his father's death. Sometimes an older son would decide not to split up the family holdings between the brothers:

Luke 12:13 “And one of the company said unto Him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.”

And so dividing up a father’s estate before his death was not unknown, but it was strongly frowned upon to do so. In this case, the property would pass to the sons, but the father would continue on enjoying the use and advantages of his property until his death.

Luke 15:13 “And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.”

Luke 15:13 “And not many days after the younger son gathered all together,…”

The younger son quickly “gathered all together.” This indicates that he probably went out and sold some of what had received so that that he would have ready cash on hand. This was done because one’s inheritance was mainly in the form of cattle, fields and houses, all of which are not easily carried away if you are planning on moving away from home. Thus the Greek word for “gathered” here is sunago which literally means to collect valuables, as to turn them into cash.

Now the young man finds himself with a lot of money in his pocket, and then he sets out on a “journey into a far country” - as far away from his father, and as far away from his older brother, and far away from any sense of responsibility and moral restraint as he could. And while he is there he “wasted” or squanders all of his money. The Greek word for “wasted” is the word dee-as-kor-pid'-zo which means to dissipate, or to overindulge in sensual pleasures. The two English words “riotous living” comes from one Greek word “as-o'-toce” which means to live loosely through debauchery or lustful over indulgence:

 Ephesians 5:18 “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.”

Titus 1:6 “If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.”

1 Peter 4:4 “Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of     you.”

[CONTINUES]