Monday, October 26, 2020

Leviticus 25:23-38 comments: no absolute right to private property as it all belongs to God

 

Leviticus 25:23 ¶  The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me. 24  And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land. 25  If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold. 26  And if the man have none to redeem it, and himself be able to redeem it; 27  Then let him count the years of the sale thereof, and restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it; that he may return unto his possession. 28  But if he be not able to restore it to him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubile: and in the jubile it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession. 29  And if a man sell a dwelling house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; within a full year may he redeem it. 30  And if it be not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city shall be established for ever to him that bought it throughout his generations: it shall not go out in the jubile. 31  But the houses of the villages which have no wall round about them shall be counted as the fields of the country: they may be redeemed, and they shall go out in the jubile. 32  Notwithstanding the cities of the Levites, and the houses of the cities of their possession, may the Levites redeem at any time. 33  And if a man purchase of the Levites, then the house that was sold, and the city of his possession, shall go out in the year of jubile: for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel. 34  But the field of the suburbs of their cities may not be sold; for it is their perpetual possession. 35  And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee. 36  Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee. 37  Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase. 38  I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.

 

We see that since the land belongs to God the Hebrews have no absolute right to private property. No land can be sold permanently. A person who has sold land out of poverty can have it redeemed by their relatives. The person who sold the land can redeem it by paying the person to whom it was sold according to the numbers of years since it was sold before the Jubilee. If, however, he was not able to redeem it then the land would still be returned to him.

The exception to the Jubilee is in verse 29. Houses were built into the walls of a town with walls. If the former owner could not redeem it then the person who bought it kept it. Perhaps there is a military reason for this exception. There also was a definite need to keep cities populated and to encourage ownership on the wall. That was the first line of defense when an enemy made it as far as the gate and the person who owned his house on the wall would fight hard to protect it.

Villages without walls were counted as open country. The property of the Levites even provided an exception to the exception. Houses owned by Levites could be redeemed at any time. The fields around their towns could not be sold.

God commanded the Hebrews to help the poor Hebrew or foreigner living among them to encourage them. This strengthened the bonds of their society. There were not to charge them interest on loans of money or food.

Proverbs 19:17  He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.

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