God Owns It All
"The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants. Throughout the country that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land."
-- Leviticus 25:23-24
God gave these and other instructions to Moses for the Israelites. Every 50 years they were to have a Year of Jubilee. During that year all debts were canceled, all slaves freed and land that had been sold returned to its original owners. Of course, that's the simple version. The instructions for the Year of Jubilee take up most of chapter 25 in Leviticus.
The footnote in my Bible says there is no indication that the Israelites ever held the Year of Jubilee. Can you imagine the chaos it would have caused? We humans don't like to give up anything we deem as ours. Yet, God was right (as always). If the Israelites had done as God told them to do, no one would have been permanently poor. God was providing a do-over for anyone who needed it. And all of us need a do-over at some point in our lives.
God also reminded everyone that the land belongs to Him. That's something we tend to forget. We're so busy buying and selling, claiming and clutching land and other possessions that we forget it all belongs to Him. We don't own it and we aren't taking it with us when we go.
This is not our permanent home. It doesn't mean we can't enjoy the things that God has given us. But it is temporary. Everything on this earth is temporary. If we could remember that, it might help us put things in perspective. Taking care of something that belongs to God carries a great deal more responsibility than taking care of something that belongs to us.
God wants us to share what He gives us with others. He wants us to be good stewards of His world. And He wants us to remember that it all belongs to Him.
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