Leviticus 25:23-34 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is Leviticus 25:23-34. Let’s go!
Leviticus 25:23 (NIV)
23 “‘The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants.
On verse 23: Verses 23-28 describe a system where the Israelites could get back their land even after they sold it, either by buying it back themselves or, at the latest, receiving it back in the Year of Jubilee (For more on the Year of Jubilee, see my GAME sharing from yesterday On Leviticus 25:8-22.) Why create such a system? Why allow people to get back their land even after they had sold it? There were several reasons: One reason was to keep the land from being owned by only a few to the detriment of everyone else. It would help ensure that no one would be poor permanently, it gave those who struggled a second chance, and it helped regulate the disparity between the rich and the poor. Another reason was to remind the Israelites that ultimately the entire land that they occupied ultimately belongs to God. That is why verse 23 says, “The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants.”
Of course when Israel would no longer be self-governed but would come under foreign rule, this system of redeeming land would go away as well. However, the concept of God being the ultimate owner of the land would never go away. In Luke 20:9-19 Jesus tells a parable about a landowner who rents his land to some tenants. But when the tenants refuse to pay rent, the landowner finally sends his son, whom the tenants they kill. When Jesus tells this famous parable, his Jewish audience would have thought back to verses like Leviticus 25:23 where it says that God is the ultimate landowner. His audience would realize that by calling himself the landowner’s son, Jesus was describing himself as the Son of God.
What can we learn from this? God is the ultimate owner of everything we possess. As Pastor Rick Warren would say, what we think we own is really on loan from God.
Leviticus 25:24-28 (NIV)
24 Throughout the country that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land.
25 “‘If one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells some of his property, his nearest relative is to come and redeem what his countryman has sold.
26 If, however, a man has no one to redeem it for him but he himself prospers and acquires sufficient means to redeem it,
27 he is to determine the value for the years since he sold it and refund the balance to the man to whom he sold it; he can then go back to his own property.
28 But if he does not acquire the means to repay him, what he sold will remain in the possession of the buyer until the Year of Jubilee. It will be returned in the Jubilee, and he can then go back to his property.
On verses 24-28: According to this system of land redemption, it was always intended that each Israelite tribe and each family within that tribe would keep the land that they were originally allotted. So when an Israelite sold their land, it was usually because they couldn’t afford to keep it, and thus their nearest relative could step in and buy back (i.e. redeem) the land for that Israelite (v25). Alternatively, if that Israelite later became financially prosperous that Israelite could redeem (buy back) the land personally (v26-27). If that poor Israelite did not have a relative to help him redeem (buy back) the land and couldn’t afford to redeem (buy back) the land himself, that Israelite would ultimately get the land back in the Year of Jubilee (v28).
What can we learn from this? This idea of redemption, of buying back what we once gave away, points us to what Jesus Christ would do for us. When we had sold ourselves to sin and had become slaves to sin, Jesus came and redeemed us, buying us back from sin’s control so that we could have back the lives God intended for us to live. The price Jesus paid was his own life. That is why Revelation 5:9 says that heaven sings this song about Jesus: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased [some translations use “redeemed”] people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.”
Leviticus 25:29-34 (NIV)
29 “‘If a man sells a house in a walled city, he retains the right of redemption a full year after its sale. During that time he may redeem it.
30 If it is not redeemed before a full year has passed, the house in the walled city shall belong permanently to the buyer and his descendants. It is not to be returned in the Jubilee.
31 But houses in villages without walls around them are to be considered as open country. They can be redeemed, and they are to be returned in the Jubilee.
32 “‘The Levites always have the right to redeem their houses in the Levitical towns, which they possess.
33 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.
34 But the pastureland belonging to their towns must not be sold; it is their permanent possession.
On verses 29-33: The system for redeeming land in verses 23 to 28 did not apply to houses built in the city (v29-30), but did apply to houses built in the open country (v31). So if an Israelite built a house in the city and sold it, that Israelite could not redeem (buy back) that house. But if an Israelite built a house in the open country and sold it, that Israelite could still redeem (buy back) that house just like that Israelite could buy back his land. As for the Levites, the Levites could always redeem (buy back) their houses if they wanted to, and they were not allowed to sell their land under any circumstances (v32-34).
What can we learn from this? Usually when it comes to real estate, the land is much more valuable than the house that sits on the land. When we place our trust in Jesus Christ as Saviour, it’s like we’re building our lives on the firm ground of Jesus Christ (see Matthew 7:24-29 and 1 Corinthians 3:11). Just as the land is more valuable than the house, let’s always remember that whatever we build on top of Jesus Christ is never as valuable as Jesus Himself, so may we keep that perspective in mind when we look at ourselves and others. What we or others try to build on that foundation might last, or it might fall apart, but we always got the land. Sometimes we might even act especially foolishly and give our land away, but we can always get it back – not because we deserved it, but because God’s grace is greater than our mistakes.
Heavenly Father, thank You for redeeming me when I had sold myself to sin, how You bought me back with the precious blood of Jesus. Thank You that now I get to build my life on the most valuable real estate of all: Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
