I N D E X
18
While the divine law given through Moses, the `Old Covenant', from a spiritual and moral aspect was unable to
meet the needs of man in his sin and frailty, yet in some aspects it expressed the concept of God's kingdom,
especially in the civil sphere. We must not forget that the law embraces the typical foreshadowing of Christ and His
redemptive work by sacrifice and offering and the regulations for day to day living as well as the ten
commandments. God's wisdom and his constant concern for His earthly people is expressed in many ways. To
begin with the priests and Levites were not allowed to own property or pile up material gain. The Lord's command
to them was `thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them' (Num.
18:20). This obviously prevented the development of a rich priestly caste which would have power over the people.
Consequently they had no civil authority whatsoever. In place of this God said, `I am thy part and thine inheritance
among the children of Israel' ( 18:20) and as He was and is the owner of all, what could they lack? Their material
support came from tithes and offerings from the nation as a whole, who received inheritances in the land (Num.
18:21-32).
Originally the Lord saw to it that, when Israel was freed at the Exodus, they did not come out penniless. The
Israelites `asked' (not `borrowed' as the A.V. wrongly translates) and the Lord gave them `favour in the sight of the
Egyptians' who then allowed them great quantities of gold and silver as they were leaving. The Egyptians were
doubtless only too glad to see them depart because of the terrible judgment of the plagues (Exod. 11:2,3; 12:35,36).
On top of this, when they reached Canaan, `a land flowing with milk and honey', each man had his inheritance with
the rich produce that it yielded.
The important thing to note here was that under the Lord's directions no inheritance could be lost. And if God's
kingdom is to be eternal this must be so even in type and shadow. A measure of freedom was given to the human
owner. He could farm it, rent it, mortgage it, but never could he permanently surrender the original title. God said,
`the land shall not be sold for ever, for the land is Mine' (Lev. 25:23).
If any one became impoverished, the Mosaic law required that assistance must be given by those who were able,
`For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore ... thou shalt open thy hand wide unto thy brother, to thy
poor, and to thy needy, in thy land' (Deut. 15:11). But the greatest safeguard against permanent impoverishment
was the law of the Jubilee. This remarkable and novel law directed that at the end of seven Sabbaths of years (49
years) the fiftieth year should be hallowed and liberty proclaimed to all. Every slave was freed, and all debts
incurred in connection with real property were cancelled. Every man could freely reclaim his original allotment of
land. Thus it was impossible for the burdens of one generation to be handed down and borne by succeeding ones. It
should be carefully noted however, that there was no communistic principle involved in this or any confiscation of
private property for indiscriminate public distribution. It was simply the restoration of all property to its original
private owners. The jubilee only guaranteed a fresh start, not economic security irrespective of human folly.
Once this new condition was achieved, the results of normal human conduct followed. The lazy man could lose
his land and liberty as easily as he had regained them. God never puts a premium on laziness or foolishness. On the
other hand, the diligent man would prosper. This is the inevitable result of freedom of action. No perfect way has
ever been found to reconcile personal liberty with complete equality, the reason being that the root of the problem
lies in man himself and his sinful nature, and until this can be completely eradicated, such equality is only a dream.
It is because of this that socialistic and communistic plans have failed in the past and will always do so in the
future. It is impossible for man to strike a proper balance between economic liberty and economic security. The
only One Who can do this is the King of kings and when His kingdom and rule become paramount over the earth
such problems will vanish, for He will deal with man's sin and failing first and then regulate external conditions
afterwards in perfect justice.
Before the arrival of the Jubilee year there was hope for the man who had lost his original estate whether by
misfortune or foolishness. A near kinsman could exercise the right to redeem the lost property by paying a fair price
computed on the basis of the average income from the land remaining before the Jubilee year. lf the man was
without such relatives, he could redeem himself when he had accumulated sufficient resources (Lev. 25: 24-28).
This was true also of bond-service (verses 39-54).
There were other means by which the poor were helped. When the crops were being harvested, a portion of the
grapes or grain was to be left so that those in need could glean them for themselves. Furthermore if money was