From the last Substack, we know God watches over people and extends his heart to the poor and needy. Why some are poor and others wealthy is a universal topic that hundreds of thousands of pages are written and debated worldwide. From the beginning, God created a place for humans to flourish, multiply and have dominion. He blessed his creation, and when he created human beings, he blessed them. Genesis 1:28 Poverty came with the curse of sin. God continued with his plan to bless his creatures. He gave Abraham a promise. Genesis 12:2-3 reads, "And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." One of the most important things about God's blessing is that he blesses in order for the receiver to, in turn, bless others. This is foundational in God's blessings. The above scriptures declare that all the families of the earth shall be blessed because of God's blessing on Abraham.
What does this blessing look like? God blesses us with land, material wealth, children, and peace, along with his beautiful nature, personality, and presence accompanying us throughout eternity. Remember, he called Abraham his friend. God blesses us because he loves us, but that love is to be shared with others.
One of the prominent natural blessings God bestows on his people is land and property. In the beginning, God gave Adam a beautiful piece of property to tend and steward. And all through the Bible, the Lord's blessing includes land. Abraham owned land, and the blessing of God was so great that he and Lot separated and took land for themselves. Abraham's son Jacob acquired land, and when God delivered his people from Egypt, it was the promised LAND he intended to bless his people with.
When the people of Israel crossed over into the land of Canaan, the Lord gave specific instructions concerning land ownership.
According to the Old Testament law, every seventh and every seventh year a sabbatical, in addition, after seven cycles of seven years there was to be a jubilee year. The Old Testament law of jubilee is found in Leviticus 25:8-12
You shall hallow the fiftieth year, and you shall proclaim freedom in the land for all its inhabitants; it shall be a jubilee for you; you shall return each one to his property, and each one to his clan you shall return. The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; you shall not sow and shall not reap the after-growth, and you shall not harvest the unpruned vines. For it is a jubilee, it shall be holy to you; from the field, you shall eat its produce.
According to David Baker, in his book Tight Fists or Open Hands, writes, "After seven cycles of seven years, the fiftieth year is designated as a sort of super sabbatical. In that year freedom is to be proclaimed for all inhabitants of the land, and land which has changed hands is to be returned to its original owner. The principle is that property that has changed hands is to return to its original owner in the jubilee year. It effectively means that land in ancient Israel was not really sold at all, but simply leased until the jubilee year. "The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine; you are like resident aliens or tenants with me. And throughout the land which you hold as property, you shall provide for redemption of land which is sold. Lev 25:23-24
The essence of the jubilee is that everyone is entitled to receive back their ancestral land if, for any reason, it has changed hands, and bonded laborers are to be freed without redemption payment so that they can return to their own family and land. Such measures were not unprecedented in the ancient Near East, but the idea of observing them on a recurring basis every fifty years appears to have been distinctive to Israel. Mesopotamian kings instituted reforms from time to time. They showed favor to their subjects if it pleased them. Still, the people of Israel were expected to take measures to promote social justice and equality at the times appointed in the law, whether or not it was convenient or politically advantageous.
So the Lord blesses us with land, and it should be kept in the family and passed on to descendants, and the produce of the land is intended not only for the benefit of the owner but to be shared with others. On this view, property is intended to be a resource for the common good, with an emphasis on responsibitly and compassion rather than possession and power. This does not mean renunciation of all individual property rights, but it does mean that members of the covenant community should have a radically different approach to property ownership from that common in a world were what you have is who you are.
Radical improvements to the situation of the poor cannot happen without loss on the part of the rich, because levelling is necessary if all people are to have enough. In spite of the claims of prosperity theology, faithfulness to God does not necessarily lead to wealth in this world. Nevertheless, the regulations for the holy years are accompanied by a promise with security and an adequate harvest. Lev 25. This promise is elaborated in Leviticus 26:3-13 and Deuteronomy 28 1-14
Whether or not the jubilee year was observed in ancient Israel is uncertain. The historical books do not mention it, except perhaps in 2 Kings 19:29. But the jubilee was only to be celebrated every fifty years, so there would be no reason to mention it unless a particular event took place during the jubilee year, and only then if that fact considered significant. In the prophetic writings, apart from Isaiah 37:30 2 Kings 19:29 there are three references: Ezekiel 46:16-18 (about the future, not Ezekiel's own Jubilee, but do not prove that the law was actually kept. In fact, other prophetic texts denounce the rampant accumulation of estates by the wealthy ( Isa. 5:8-10, Mic 2:1-4) which would not have been possible if the jubilee was being observed regularly. Apparently sabbatical years were not kept consistently during the monarchy. (Lev 26:34-35m 2 Chr 36:21) and it likely that the same applied to the jubilee."
Tight Fists or Open Hands by David Baker, Chapter 4 Property and Land, pages 95-96
One of the more probable reasons why the jubilee was not observed is the root of greed and the love of money. Also, there were probably many civil laws at that time that could explain the jubilee away.
God's will to bless his people with land continues throughout scripture. Under Solomon's reign, 1 Kings 4:25 reads, "And Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to Beersheba, every man under his vine and under his fig tree." During the reign of King Hezekiah, the king of Assyria promised God's people land and ownership if they would make peace with him. 2 Kings 18:31 reads, "Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then each one of you will eat of his own vine, and each one of his own fig tree, and each one of you will drink the water of his own cistern…" Look at the words your own. It was the blessing of God that allowed people to own their own land. In Micah 4:4, which speaks about the latte days, it reads, "but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree…
God's blessing doesn’t end in the Old Testament but continues through the New Testament. In Acts Chapter 4:32-37 we see people selling their homes and lands and giving the proceeds to the Apostles. Because of the generosity of these people, the scripture says there was not a needy person among them. But the selling of homes was not mandatory, in fact not everyone sold their homes. For if they did, how could they go from house to house in Acts 2:46? Also, the story of Ananias and Sapphira is about how they sold their land but secretly kept some of the proceeds to themselves. They were not required to sell the land or give the proceeds to the Apostles. What grieved the Holy Spirit is that greed entered their heart, and they lied.
Home and land ownership were all throughout the New Testament. The Titus 2 women were encouraged to be keepers of their homes. This is significant because Rome's population was 1/3 slaves. Many converts to Christianity were slaves and were not owners of land. Those who owned were asked to take responsibility for the blessing of the Lord by practicing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, and ministering to the poor.
In the future God's people all have mansions. He gives his bride her own city. God is the blesser of natural things now and heavenly things later. The Lord goes on to say if there weren't mansions in heaven, he wouldn't say there were. God created us and knows what things human beings desire.
In the New Testament, what does the scripture say about being wealthy? 1 Timothy 6:17-18 reads, "As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure as a good foundation for the future so they may take hold of that which is truly life."
What does this look like for us living in the 21st Century? Property is still a blessing to be shared and passed down if possible. We are to be generous people, sharing our wealth, not hoarding it. It should come from the heart, not brought down by outside forces. It was always God's will that ALL his people prosper, not just a few. Those who purchase property and grow wealthy to the point of owning huge masses of land and want to use it to control others do not have the heart of God. Those who are wealthy are given the proper instructions above to be good, be generous, and share.
It's not the government's role to minister to the poor; it is the Church's role with stewardship and accountability. But because the church has failed in its role, the government has stepped in to replace what family, distant relatives, and the church should have accommodated.
This failure has provided a vacuum for social justice warriors to come in through the government and demand that the poor be provided with sustenance. God will provide through one avenue or another. The problem with the government is the opportunity for corruption and no accountability. If the church were to take up the cause for the poor, the scripture is clear that if a man will not work, he cannot eat. 2 Thess. 3:10.
Many social warriors are Christians but are bent on making society pay for the poor's sustenance without the proper stewardship over how the finances are actually allocated. Also, through the government, the poor remain poor due to their policies of not allowing people to marry, start a business, or work a job while they are getting assistance. In many ways, the government punishes prosperity and makes it harder for the oppressed to get out of poverty.
Getting back to the blessing of land, in the Old Testament, God's heart was that his people own land and if they lost it, it was to be returned. That's radical social justice.