The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.
The land belongs to God as its rightful owner and original proprietor and Householder over the whole earth, so it cannot be sold permanently, and the people live on it only for a time as His tenants and as strangers and sojourners with Him. When Israel entered Canaan the land was divided by lot according to numbers, so no one could choose the most fertile parts for himself and leave poor portions for others or join field to field to claim all he desired or could buy. No one could sell or trade his estate from love of change or desire to make money, but only when compelled by poverty, and every Israelite was to keep to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers with no permanent transfer by sale or exchange.
A man might dispose of his possession for a time, but he was free to buy it back whenever he became able and a kinsman might also redeem what a poor brother had sold, and the buyer must not refuse to sell it back. Debts were released every seventh year, and if land was not redeemed it stayed with the buyer only until the fiftieth-year jubilee, when all landed property reverted to the original owner and every man returned to his possession and to his family. In the seventh-year sabbath sowing and cultivation stopped so the worn-out soil could rest and be invigorated, and its spontaneous growth was left open to the poor, strangers, flocks, herds, livestock, and wild animals. This rest was meant to impress God's ownership on Israel and demonstrated His ownership and care.
If obedient, God makes the land productive by His blessing, and by special interposition He makes the sixth year yield provision for three years, with the jubilee teaching the same ownership to encourage liberality and overcome stinginess. These provisions secured every family in its possession and inheritance so children were not permanently cut off, guarded against the extremes of wealth and want, and kept the poor and unfortunate on an equal chance with their neighbors, so that while the instruction was followed there were no beggars and none suffered for food. The verse requires special consideration for the poor and unfortunate and teaches that the poor have as much right to a place in God's world as the wealthy. It is a merciful provision to lessen suffering, care for the poor, bring hope and sunshine to the destitute and distressed, and make provision for them.
Naboth valued his vineyard highly because it had belonged to his fathers, so his refusal to give it to Ahab for another vineyard or for money was obedience to this law. God's plan was that every family have a home on the land with sufficient ground for tilling, providing both the means and the incentive for a useful, industrious, and self-supporting life. No human devising has improved on that plan, and the world's departure from it accounts in large degree for the poverty, wretchedness, ignorance, and degradation that exist today. God's principles for the distribution of property still apply in the world today and would make the condition of the people different if carried out. Their observance prevents the evils of oppression of the poor by the rich and hatred of the rich by the poor, hinders the amassing of great wealth built by ill-paid servitude, and brings a peaceful solution to problems that threaten anarchy and bloodshed. The verse is practical missionary work and the gospel of the Old Testament, to be acted out now in liberality toward brethren in hard fields instead of selfishly closing the heart when they ask a favor.
The land belongs to God as its rightful owner and original proprietor and Householder over the whole earth, so it cannot be sold permanently, and the people live on it only for a time as His tenants and as strangers and sojourners with Him. When Israel entered Canaan the land was divided by lot according to numbers, so no one could choose the most fertile parts for himself and leave poor portions for others or join field to field to claim all he desired or could buy. No one could sell or trade his estate from love of change or desire to make money, but only when compelled by poverty, and every Israelite was to keep to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers with no permanent transfer by sale or exchange.
A man might dispose of his possession for a time, but he was free to buy it back whenever he became able and a kinsman might also redeem what a poor brother had sold, and the buyer must not refuse to sell it back. Debts were released every seventh year, and if land was not redeemed it stayed with the buyer only until the fiftieth-year jubilee, when all landed property reverted to the original owner and every man returned to his possession and to his family. In the seventh-year sabbath sowing and cultivation stopped so the worn-out soil could rest and be invigorated, and its spontaneous growth was left open to the poor, strangers, flocks, herds, livestock, and wild animals. This rest was meant to impress God's ownership on Israel and demonstrated His ownership and care.
If obedient, God makes the land productive by His blessing, and by special interposition He makes the sixth year yield provision for three years, with the jubilee teaching the same ownership to encourage liberality and overcome stinginess. These provisions secured every family in its possession and inheritance so children were not permanently cut off, guarded against the extremes of wealth and want, and kept the poor and unfortunate on an equal chance with their neighbors, so that while the instruction was followed there were no beggars and none suffered for food. The verse requires special consideration for the poor and unfortunate and teaches that the poor have as much right to a place in God's world as the wealthy. It is a merciful provision to lessen suffering, care for the poor, bring hope and sunshine to the destitute and distressed, and make provision for them.
Naboth valued his vineyard highly because it had belonged to his fathers, so his refusal to give it to Ahab for another vineyard or for money was obedience to this law. God's plan was that every family have a home on the land with sufficient ground for tilling, providing both the means and the incentive for a useful, industrious, and self-supporting life. No human devising has improved on that plan, and the world's departure from it accounts in large degree for the poverty, wretchedness, ignorance, and degradation that exist today. God's principles for the distribution of property still apply in the world today and would make the condition of the people different if carried out. Their observance prevents the evils of oppression of the poor by the rich and hatred of the rich by the poor, hinders the amassing of great wealth built by ill-paid servitude, and brings a peaceful solution to problems that threaten anarchy and bloodshed. The verse is practical missionary work and the gospel of the Old Testament, to be acted out now in liberality toward brethren in hard fields instead of selfishly closing the heart when they ask a favor.