Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may confirm His covenant that He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. Deuteronomy 8:17-18
“Capital in the form of land was given to every family in the tribes of Israel. God arranged the economy in such a way that this capital could not be permanently squandered. If a family lost possession of its land, the land was to be returned to them in the year of Jubilee, which was to occur at 50 year intervals. This was not a redistribution of wealth as some claim, but a restoration of wealth…Jubilee was designed to make it impossible for the Israelites to convert their capital into consumption. Under this system, the sale of land was in reality a lease for the number of years remaining until the next Jubilee, and the price was determined accordingly. The land was to be the capital base for all future generations of the family.”
Jake Barnett in Wealth and Wisdom: A Biblical Perspective on Possessions (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1987) 78.
Within the larger vision of Jubilee, God generously made provision for every family to have land. The land functioned as the capital that gave them the ability to produce wealth. It came with a warning: the people must not to forget who supplied the power and who owned the land. They were to steward the land and all it produced faithfully.
This restoration provision ensured that they could not become a consumptive society with a large divide between rich and poor, but rather, an economy with widespread productivity and opportunity. It sounds totally foreign when compared to the economic systems of today, so we could be tempted to write off and abandon God’s economic perspectives altogether. Don’t go there.
Followers of Jesus may ignore but they cannot deny His explicit instructions that the rich share with the poor. This is not about giving a hand out, but about restoration that aims at giving a hand up. Jesus presents the Good Samaritan as the model and wealthy followers like Barnabas sell land and give the proceeds to the Apostles so that there were no needy in the community.
This suggests at least two applications. One, if you have excess capital, put it in play in church or ministry-orchestrated efforts that help the poor get to work. Two, if you work in a church or ministry, find ways to help the poor work productively with the capital God supplies so they can live, give, serve, and love like Jesus with you. We must realize that this cannot be separated from but must be integrated with discipleship.
And for those who prayed for me yesterday. Thanks. Preaching five services went great. I have a new home church in NYC with receptive hearts. Can’t wait to return on Thanksgiving Sunday. Today I fly back to Denver and spend the day with Paul Lenoir of Ehrenkodex (the ECFA of Switzerland) for a day prayer and discussions on financial accountability for ministries in Western Europe.