Land Ownership Rights in Leviticus 25: Acquisition, Redemption, and Restoration

The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants. (Lev 25:23 NIV)

The pages of human history are red with the blood of the poor who became poor and were never again given the opportunity to be restored again because of laws or polities that prevented the redemption or restoration of their land to them. In India, for ages, the zamindars (zamin=land; land holders) held large portions of local lands keeping poor peasants in subjection to them. The British colonialists made use of the zamindari system to collect taxes and revenues. After Independence, several land reforms have been attempted to relieve the poor and the oppressed classes. Still, there are millions who continue to be landless and homeless.

In Leviticus 25, God pronounces His principles of land acquisition and ownership for the Israelites, with provisions of both redemption and restoration. Of course, selfish humans do not appreciate the divine heart very much when it comes to property, but they must also not forget that their life on earth is short-lived; therefore, they must learn to pass their time on earth as pilgrims. God's laws protected the rights of families and gave them an opportunity to be redeemed from nothingness.

1. Agricultural land must be given rest on every 7th year; i.e. no cultivation work is to be done in the 7th year, the year of Rest (Lev 25:1-7).
2. The 50th year is the year of Jubilee and rest and everyone is to return to his own property (See #5. Lev 25:8-13)
3. Buying and Selling of agricultural land is to be on the basis of the number of years since and to the year of Jubilee (50th year). Purchase price must be determined by the number of years since the Jubilee. Selling price must be determined by the number of years left for harvesting crops (Lev. 25:14-17). What is sold is not the land but the number of crops (Lev. 25:16).
4. The land cannot be sold permanently, because the land belongs to God and we are just aliens and God's tenants. This means that with every land transaction, there must be a provision of redemption (Lev.25:23)
5. A near relative of the citizen has the right of redemption of a land sold by that citizen. The citizen himself can redeem it by calculating its value on the basis of the number of years since he sold it. However, if he is unable to redeem it, his sold property must be returned to him in the Jubilee (Lev 25:25-28)
6. House sold within a walled city can only be redeemed within a full year. If it is not redeemed within a year, the house in the walled city shall belong permanently to the buyer and his descendants. It is not to be returned in the Jubilee. 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 (Lev. 25:29-31)
7. The Levites always have the right to redeem their houses in the Levitical towns. But, the pastureland belonging to these towns cannot be sold. (Lev. 25:32-34)

Modern polities and histories differ from the one of Israel in the Pre-Monarchy period. However, God's Word does caution us against selfish attachment to property at the expense of our fellow humans.

1. Do not exploit the poor. God protects their rights and administers justice on behalf of them.
2. Do not exploit the land selfishly. God's blessing is not dependent on our continuous labour but on our obedience to His Word (Lev. 25: 18-22)
3. Do not do ruled by greed but walk according to grace. The law of purchase and selling on the basis of Jubilee teaches us that our eyes must look towards Grace.
4. Be honest and generous.
5. Live as strangers and pilgrims, as accountable to God.

The Crime of Silence (if he does not tell it, he bears guilt, Leviticus 5:1)

If a person sins in hearing the utterance of an oath, and is a witness, whether he has seen or known of the matter; if he does not tell it, he bears guilt. (NKJV)
If a person sins because he does not speak up when he hears a public charge to testify regarding something he has seen or learned about, he will be held responsible. (NIV)If you sin by not stepping up and offering yourself as a witness to something you've heard or seen in cases of wrongdoing, you'll be held responsible. (MSG)

A popular quote, usually attributed to Edmund Burke rightly or wrongly, says "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." In the same vein, Albert Einstein is quoted as saying, "The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."

While the right to silence is a right that citizens have in order to guard against false self-incrimination, a witness of a crime who doesn't stand up to oppose a crime or testify against it is held as an accomplice in the crime.

A blog entry on October 29, 2009 on CNN.COM asked the question: "Should people who witness a crime face jail for failing to report it?" The writer, Jack Cafferty, referred to a case in which a 15 year old girl was gangraped in the presence of around 10 onlookers who did nothing to save her from the two-and-half hour assault that was going on. None of them even called 9-1-1 to report the crime. On the other hand, the Police reported that some witnesses took photos while others laughed. There were other cases in which witnesses even refused to come forward to testify. The unwillingness of witnesses to report and/or come forward and witness against the perpetrators of such crime made such cases maddeningly wicked. Cafferty reports:

California law makes it illegal not to report a crime against a child, but the cutoff is 14-years-old. Since the victim in this case is 15, cops say they can't arrest the spectators. The law needs to be changed immediately.

Meanwhile this horrific rape of a young girl follows that brutal beating death caught on video of a 16-year-old honor student in Chicago.

That case has been hampered by the refusal of witnesses to come forward. These kids in Chicago also stood by and watched this teenager murdered - beaten to death in broad daylight - and did nothing.

Experts say the reason crimes aren't reported could be a social phenomenon known as "the bystander effect" that means the larger the number of people involved in any situation, the less will get done...

One famous case happened in New York in the 1960s - where people watched or heard a serial killer rape, rob and murder a woman named Kitty Genovese. At the time, one witness said: "I didn't want to be involved.

To Cafferty's question: "Should people who witness a crime, like the gang rape of a 15-year-old California girl, face jail for failing to report it?" one former Judge, Joe, replied: "I am a retired judge. If I had these people in my courtroom, I would charge them with aiding and abetting the crime and deal with them accordingly."

The Bible calls inaction against crime as sin, even if it were a simple failure to witness. The earthly law courts are greatly dependent on witnesses and evidence for the administration of proper justice. Eyewitnesses play an important role in the determinations of a case. However, the Bible makes it clear "whether he has seen or known of the matter", one must report. Failure to report or testify against crime is abetting of injustice. Such a person has become judicially dysfunctional and is like an organ of the body that has lost connection with the brain.

This also applies to the Church. In 1 Corinthians 1:11, Paul writes to the Corinthian Church saying "some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you." The whole letter was an answer to reports of what was going wrong in the Church. Obviously, some would try to label Chloe's family as being gossipers, whisperers, or talebearers; but, the Bible commends their action. Because, it is not talebearing to report a wrong matter to the head (Paul was their father, 1Cor. 4:15). If he doesn't know, there won't be correction; and if there was no correction, a little leaven, a little root of bitterness, one garment spotted by flesh would defile many.

Genesis 37:2 tells us that Joseph brought a bad report of his brothers to his father. Obviously, he was not very much liked by his brothers for doing that. But, to someone who's interested in justice, whether someone likes them or not matters very less. This didn't mean that Joseph was too self-righteous. It meant that he was a faithful son.

The Bible condemns false testimony as sin. However, it commands testifying to the truth as a responsible act in a politically just society.

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Some Proverbs in Line
Proverbs 12:17 A truthful witness gives honest testimony, but a false witness tells lies.
Proverbs 14:5 A truthful witness does not deceive, but a false witness pours out lies.
Proverbs 14:25 A truthful witness saves lives, but a false witness is deceitful.
Proverbs 19:5 A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who pours out lies will not go free.
Proverbs 19:9 A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who pours out lies will perish.
Proverbs 19:28 A corrupt witness mocks at justice, and the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil.
Proverbs 21:28 A false witness will perish, and whoever listens to him will be destroyed forever.

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Jo-Ann Tsang, "Moral Rationalization and the Integration of Situational Factors and
Psychological Processes in Immoral Behavior", Review of General Psychology, 2002, Vol. 6, No. 1, 25–50

The Inaction of Others.The reactions of victims, bystanders, and other perpetrators in a given situation can also affect one’s perception of moral relevance. For example, if victims do not protest harm done to them, the actor might assume that the victims are willing to be harmed or that his or her behavior is not even harmful. In contrast, cries of injustice or protest from victims can make moral principles salient to the perpetrators, curbing their immoral actions (Staub, 1989). Bystander inaction can also work to keep moral principles from being salient. Latane´ and Darley’s (1970) concept of pluralistic ignorance asserts that the inaction of bystanders can prevent others from perceiving an emergency. This inaction could also work to prevent people from perceiving moral relevance in a situation. In turn, bystander protest in the face of immoral action can serve to bring moral principles to the fore (Staub, 1989). Finally, when perpetrators are seen to commit crimes without apparent remorse, they serve as models, teaching people that these acts are acceptable. Other potential actors then accept the morality of the perpetrator’s action without question. In contrast, if a perpetrator is seen as remorseful or as suffering punishment as a result of the immoral action, others might be more likely to realize the relevance of morality in the situation. In this way, the actions of other people in the situation can affect the salience of moral principles.

Last Updated on Dec 6, 2014