Contemplative Bible Reading

Leviticus 25:23 (New International Version 2010)

The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers.

The LORD is passing along through Moses His laws for the people. There is a group of laws about owning, selling, renting, and such for the land. The land was critical to the lives of the people as almost all of them worked in agriculture. The verse above summarizes one of the main concepts of land ownership as stipulated by the LORD.

The LORD owns the land

Each tribe of Israel was allotted a piece of land as “theirs.” The land could change hands during certain years, but only among people of that tribe. A tribe could not buy part of the land of another tribe. During certain years, land that was sold would return to the original owner. Hence, people didn’t “buy” land from one another as we know it today. Instead, they rented the land from each other. And the final outcome is that they were all squatting on the LORD’s land.

The verse above emphasizes this by stating

The people were allowed to live as foreigners and strangers on the LORD’s land

So much for a promised land. That seems a bit harsh of the LORD to call His people a bunch of foreigners and strangers. Couldn’t the LORD cut them some slack and let them have a sense of permanence and security that goes with home ownership.

Not.

You see, home ownership and land ownership do give people a sense of security and a sense of safety. I don’t believe that is what the LORD wanted for His people in the time of Leviticus and that is not what the LORD wants for us today as Christians. I think that security through home ownership is a form of idolatry. The home owner tends to worship his home as the source of security and safety. The LORD wants us to worship Him as the source of all love, security, safety, and everything else that is good.

When the people wandered in the desert for 40 years, they depended on the LORD for daily life. When the people entered the Promised Land, they depended on the LORD for land. Today, we as Christians should depend on the LORD for everything. We are to live our lives as foreigners and strangers here. This world of today can be a wonderful place. It is nothing, however, without the LORD. It is nothing compared to what it will be when we live with the LORD.

Living as foreigners and strangers isn’t easy. It is, I believe, what the LORD wants us to do.