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
“Before attempting to forge a Christian view of simplicity it is necessary to destroy the prevailing notion that the Bible is ambiguous about economic issues. Often it is felt that our response to wealth is an individual matter. The Bible’s teaching in this area is said to be strictly a matter of private interpretation. We try to believe that Jesus did not address himself to practical economic questions.
No serious reading of Scripture can substantiate such a view. The biblical injunctions against the exploitation of the poor and the accumulation of wealth are clear and straightforward. The Bible challenges nearly every economic value of contemporary society. For example, the Old Testament takes exception to the popular notion of an absolute right to private property. The earth belongs to God, says Scripture, and therefore cannot be held perpetually (Lev. 25:23).
The Old Testament legislation of the year of Jubilee stipulated that all land was to revert back to its original owner. In fact, the Bible declares that wealth itself belongs to God, and one purpose of the year of Jubilee was to provide a regular redistribution of wealth. Such a radical view of economics flies in the face of nearly all contemporary belief and practice. Had Israel faithfully observed the Jubilee it would have dealt a death blow to the perennial problem
of the rich becoming richer and the poor becoming poorer.”
Richard Foster (b. 1942) in Celebration of Discipline (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1998) 81-82.
As I dig into Foster’s exploration of the biblical teaching on economic matters I want to declare Jubilee. In plain terms that means, reset. Let us reset our thinking to matching biblical ideas.
What from what Foster proclaimed today convicted you. What needs to reset in your thinking? God’s Word contains explicit teaching for us. The wealth of the earth belongs to Him.
And He has instructions for us. Will we follow them? He is not trying to rob us but help us with His words. He cares about everyone. We tend to only care about ourselves. The instructions are for our collective good and His glory.