Leviticus 25:27
Then let him count the years of the sale thereof, and restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it; that he may return unto his possession. Then let him count the years of the sale thereof, and restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it; that he may return unto his possession.
This verse belongs to the jubilee provisions governing the redemption of land sold by an Israelite. When poverty forced such a sale, the seller himself was at liberty to redeem his land at any time before the Jubilee. He did this by counting the years of the sale and restoring to the buyer the value of the years still remaining until the Jubilee, repaying for the remaining years so that he might return to his possession.
A sale of land was only for a time and could never permanently barter away the inheritance of a man's children. If neither the seller nor a kinsman could redeem it, the land remained in the buyer's hand until the fiftieth year, when all landed property reverted to the original owner, while debts were remitted every seventh year. The rule rests on the Lord's ownership of the land, with Israelites holding it as His tenants and as strangers and sojourners with Him.
Its purpose was to encourage liberality and restrain selfishness by restoring land to its former holder, so that every family was secured in its possession. Every family thus had 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 and guarding against the extremes of wealth and want. In the same setting, provision was made for the poor through the land's spontaneous growth during the seventh year.
The verse gives God's special direction for a brother fallen into decay, requiring just and merciful dealing so the cry of His children does not come up before Him. It commands relief of the poor brother, even a stranger or sojourner, that he may live, taking no usury or increase but fearing God. The word spoken by Christ to Moses for the children of Israel comes down along the line to the present time as binding duty for those acquainted with the law of God.
Doing this home missionary work brings the blessing of the Lord on all work. Refusing to hear and do it brings guilt and loss of prosperity, and prayers will not come up as sweet incense before God. Those in responsible positions must unite to see it done, or this charge will be placed against His people. No devising of men has ever improved upon that land plan, and the world's departure from it is in large degree the cause of the poverty and wretchedness that exist today.