The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers. Leviticus 25:23
“[The jubilee laws] declare that Yahweh is the owner of the land, and Yahweh would assure the people its place in it. Land was given to families and clans, and it would assure the people its place on it. It gave hope to the impoverished by offering a promise of return to their land and a place of equality in the community. It became an aid to prevent the breakdown of the family as a social element.
The laws seek to alter radically the structure of society to preserve economic equality among all Israelites. The equality of the settlement period had given way to wide class distinctions in the monarchial era, and now this exilic legislation sought to restore balance between classes. The jubilee sought to prevent wealth from remaining in the hands of a few.
By blocking speculation in landed property the laws ensured to the peasants class, which springs from the soil, the right to preserve its identity. Not only did the jubilee restore land and give hope to the impoverished; it also reminded the rich that one day their own slaves and poor around them could stand before them as equals and free landholders in society.”
Robert Gnuse in Thou Shall Not Steal: Community and Property in the Biblical Tradition (Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 1985) 36-37.
The OT jubilee laws declared God’s ownership of everything. This theme also prevails in the NT (1 Corinthians 10:26). This idea was intended to shape how God’s people related to possessions and to each other. God desires that we preserve equality, or in plain terms, that we aim not at getting ahead of each other but at helping one another. It means we handle money in a way that shows we love our neighbor as ourselves.
This is where the Scriptures shake our proverbial snow scene. God does not like it when His people accumulate material abundance for themselves. Consider the words of Isaiah 5:8-9. “Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field till no space is left and you live alone in the land.” The Lord Almighty has declared in my hearing: “Surely the great houses will become desolate, the fine mansions left without occupants.”
So, what should we do and how does it relate to generosity? If you have a place to live, enjoy it and practice hospitality. Next, remember that God sees everything. So, if you are blessed with material abundance, don’t add house upon house or field upon field. You don’t need two or three houses in a world where many have no place to live. Share with God’s people who are in need (Romans 12:13). Someday that might be you!
A few years back I had coffee with a friend who “owned” three houses, one in the Denver area, one in the mountains, and a third in Mexico. He proceeded to tell me about the problems in the two houses that he only lived in a few weeks of the year. As I recall, one had pipes freeze which led to massive damage and the other had intruders break in and trash the place. He went on and on about his troubles. I spoke the truth in love in reply.
I reminded him that we become slaves to whatever we think we own. He did not own those three homes. They owned him. I urged him to give two of them back to God. Over time, he did just that and found freedom. What about you? Are you acting like you own anything? You can only find freedom when you restore balance, or in biblical terms, when you share. In so doing, you give hope, preserve equality, and exhibit Christian generosity.