But the field of the suburbs of their cities may not be sold; for it is their perpetual possession.
The chapter to which this verse belongs teaches that the land ultimately belongs to God and that the people live upon it only as His tenants. Its particular rule, that the field of the suburbs of the cities may not be sold because it is a perpetual possession, stands without further specific explanation beyond its own terms. It forms part of the injunctions of mutual duty to one another that are actual, practical missionary work, the gospel of the Old Testament, under the Lord who is over the whole earth.
Its setting includes the sabbatical year every seventh year, when agricultural processes were suspended and cultivation of the soil was not permitted, so that the land lay in its spontaneous growth for the benefit of the poor with free access for all, including strangers, flocks, and herds. That yearly sabbath of the land was to invigorate worn-out productive soil and to teach that God is the Householder, the people are His tenants, and the land has its own sabbath. Its setting also includes the jubilee in the fiftieth year, which gave lessons to encourage liberality, overcome stinginess, and teach that it is the Lord's land to be regarded as His as Owner who will make it productive by blessing it in response to obedience.
Together these arrangements teach that the Lord cares for the poor and has made provision for them through the spontaneous crops of every seventh year, illustrating the principle of liberality by God's special interposition. That interposition appears in the sixth year yielding provision for three years under God's supervision, as a constant lesson that God is the Householder and the land is His. These lessons are to be brought into practical life by acting out the obedience God required and by not closing the heart in selfishness when brethren working in hard fields ask a favor.
The chapter to which this verse belongs teaches that the land ultimately belongs to God and that the people live upon it only as His tenants. Its particular rule, that the field of the suburbs of the cities may not be sold because it is a perpetual possession, stands without further specific explanation beyond its own terms. It forms part of the injunctions of mutual duty to one another that are actual, practical missionary work, the gospel of the Old Testament, under the Lord who is over the whole earth.
Its setting includes the sabbatical year every seventh year, when agricultural processes were suspended and cultivation of the soil was not permitted, so that the land lay in its spontaneous growth for the benefit of the poor with free access for all, including strangers, flocks, and herds. That yearly sabbath of the land was to invigorate worn-out productive soil and to teach that God is the Householder, the people are His tenants, and the land has its own sabbath. Its setting also includes the jubilee in the fiftieth year, which gave lessons to encourage liberality, overcome stinginess, and teach that it is the Lord's land to be regarded as His as Owner who will make it productive by blessing it in response to obedience.
Together these arrangements teach that the Lord cares for the poor and has made provision for them through the spontaneous crops of every seventh year, illustrating the principle of liberality by God's special interposition. That interposition appears in the sixth year yielding provision for three years under God's supervision, as a constant lesson that God is the Householder and the land is His. These lessons are to be brought into practical life by acting out the obedience God required and by not closing the heart in selfishness when brethren working in hard fields ask a favor.