The Lord is discussing the way real estate deals are to be handled in the promised land and how the Year of Jubilee affects them. Yesterday we took a look at what happens when a person had to sell land due to hardship. His nearest relative was to buy it back for him if he could, but if there was no near relative who could do this, the land would automatically revert back to him during the Year of Jubilee if he didn't come up with enough money in the meantime to buy it back himself. Today we begin by looking at how sales are to be handled when they involve houses in cities. Houses in cities would be on small lots and were to be treated differently than deals involving large tracts of land or houses that sat on large tracts of land.
"Anyone who sells a house in a walled city retains the right of redemption a full year after its sale. During that time the seller may redeem it." (Leviticus 25:29) It appears from yesterday's passage that a person was not to sell family property unless he fell into hardship. (See Leviticus 25:25) Otherwise I believe each family was to retain control over their allotment to ensure that the territory the Lord gave each tribe would remain with each tribe.
A person who owned land had his livelihood tied up in the land. He would work the fields or maintain flocks and herds. Or he might do both. But a person owning a house in a city likely had a type of employment that didn't require land ownership, so after a year has passed the person he sold it to does not have to allow him to buy it back. "If it is not redeemed before a full year has passed, the house in the walled city shall belong permanently to the buyer and the buyer's descendants. It is not to be returned in the Jubilee. But houses in villages without walls around them are to be considered as belonging to the open country. They can be redeemed, and they are to be returned in the Jubilee." (Leviticus 25:30-31) A house in the open country would probably have at least enough land around it for gardening and the house might even be sitting on several acres. These sales are to be treated like the sales of large tracts of land; there is no one-year time limit upon the redemption of the land and in the Year of Jubilee the land reverts back to its original owner.
The Lord is going to give land territories to eleven of the twelve tribes of Israel. He will give towns to the tribe of Levi instead of large tracts of land for farming or herding. This is because the tribe of Levi is the priestly tribe and they are to occupy themselves primarily with the Lord's work and not with agriculture. Pastureland may be attached to some of these towns and cities and the open pastureland is not to be sold if a Levite sells a house. We are going to see the Levites are an exception to the rule that a person has only a year in which to redeem a house he sold in a city. "The Levites have always the right to redeem their houses in the Levitical towns, which they possess. So the property of the Levites is redeemable---that is, a house sold in any town they hold---and is to be returned in the Jubilee, because the houses in the towns of the Levites are their property among the Israelites. But the pastureland belonging to their towns must not be sold; it is their permanent possession." (Leviticus 25:32-34) Since towns are the portions of the promised land the Lord will give the Levites, houses sold in these towns are returnable to them in the Jubilee because their portion of the promised land is to stay within their tribe just as the land tracts given to the other tribes are to stay within each tribe.
A person in ancient Israel selling land or a home is doing so because, as verse 25 said yesterday, he has become poor. Some type of hardship has come into his life that has caused him to have to part with property in order to get hold of cash. The Lord knows that people who are in dire need often get taken advantage of so He warns the Israelites not to cheat them in these property deals or in any other type of deal. They are to reach out to the needy with compassion to help them. "If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you." (Leviticus 25:35) The Lord already instructed the people to never oppress or mistreat foreigners and to always remember that they were once foreigners in Egypt. (Exodus 22:21, Exodus 23:9, Leviticus 19:33-34) Foreigners could convert to the God of Israel and live under the same laws and commandments as a native Israelite. These foreigners were to be treated with the same respect as those who were native born. If the Israelites are forbidden to mistreat a foreigner, then certainly they are forbidden to mistreat anyone from among their own tribes.
"Do not take interest or any profit from them, but fear your God, so that they may continue to live among you. You must not lend them money at interest or sell them food at a profit." (Leviticus 25:36-37) If a fellow Israelite or a convert to the God of Israel is in need and asks to borrow money, the money is to be lent without charging any interest on it. The Lord wants the person to be able to pay back the loan but if they are charged interest (and especially if they are charged an exorbitant amount of interest) they may be prevented from doing so. Food also is not to be sold to the needy at a profit. If a man's neighbor comes over and asks if he can buy a bushel of potatoes from him, the neighbor is not to take something in trade that is worth more than the food is worth. A man with hungry kids at home might be willing, in his hour of need, to trade almost anything in order to put food on the table. The Lord knows this and orders the Israelites not to cheat the man and He backs up this order with the authority of His name and power. "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God." (Leviticus 25:38)
They are to take heed to His words because He is the Lord. He didn't withhold compassion from them but instead rescued them from oppression in Egypt and is giving them a good land in which to dwell. How then can they rightfully withhold compassion from others and refuse to help them in their time of need? We could say the same of ourselves; God has been merciful to us and we have no right to withhold mercy from others.
No comments:
Post a Comment