Introduction
What is our national icon in Philadelphia? At least everyone in Philly knows that it is the Liberty Bell. Did you know that there is a Bible verse on the bell? It is a significant verse – Leviticus 25:10: “Proclaim liberty throughout all the Land unto all the inhabitants thereof." It is taken from the chapter on the Jubilee.
The bell was commissioned in honor of the 50th anniversary of William Penn’s 1701 Charter of Pennsylvania. The Bible verse inscribed on the bell holds a special significance in that the verse preceding the verse quoted mentions to hallow the 50th year. The bell was ordered in 1751. On July 8, 1776, the bell, which was then hanging in the tower of what is now known as Independence Hall, was rang to summon the townsfolk to hear Colonel John Nixon read the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. This is possibly the single most well known event that was associated with the bell.
The bell was not given the term Liberty Bell until the 1830’s. The term Liberty Bell was used along with a rendering of the bell in the abolitionist’s papers. The abolitionists adopted the bell as their symbol for the movement based upon the words inscribed on the bell. The bell is often now considered an icon for liberty and freedom.
One could argue that this old dusty law that seemingly was never applied in the life of Israel according to either the Bible or other historical records is irrelevant. Yet, the story of the Liberty Bell shows that this verse played a significant role in the shaping of this nation. Furthermore, we must add that this was not some speculation received by Moses, but rather this was the Word of God received by Moses on Mount Sinai. Its concepts are still valid for today.
I. Understanding the Jubilee
The Sabbath Principle
When we look at the large amount of attention given to the Sabbath particularly in the Ten Commandments as well as the entire Pentateuch, we see that it was very important to God for many reasons. It is not just a day of rest, but it is to honor the Lord as the Lord of Creation. Chapter 25 of Leviticus takes the principle of the Sabbath day a step further to the Sabbath year. As we had a day’s rest on the Sabbath day, so we are to have a year’s rest on the Sabbath year. In this case there is particular attention paid to the importance of the Land, and we are made very aware this sabbatical year is to both Honor the Lord and also to be a Sabbath for the Land – notice this particular phrase: but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the LORD (Lev 25.4)The land takes is personalized – not an ‘it’ but a ‘he’.
The Jubilee
Now the concept of the sabbatical year is taken one further. We saw the principle of the Sabbath year is again taken to yet a “super-Sabbath” - after the seventh seven year cycle – we gave the 49th year which is the Jubilee. What are the two great features of the Jubilee?
First of all, it is the moment to free all Hebrew slaves without exception. They could no longer be held because of debt.
Secondly, it provided for restoration of land to families compelled to sell their land because of economic hardship. In order to protect this system of kinship distribution, family land was made inalienable – it could not be bought and sold as a commercial asset. An example is Naboth’s refusal to sell his patrimony to King Ahab (1 Kings 21). As was already mentioned, we see that under this system a sale of land is really a lease to be able to harvest the crops until the next Jubilee as we saw with verses 13-17. This reveals some important biblical attitudes:
II. Biblical Truths from the Jubilee
Equitable distribution.
The Jubilee existed to protect a form of land tenure based on an equitable and widespread distribution of the land, and to prevent the accumulation of ownership in the hands of a wealthy few. This echoes the creation principle that the whole earth is given by God to all humanity, who act as co-stewards of its resources.(page 207 - OT Ethics for the People of God Christopher J H Wright). In Israel the initial division of the land was explicitly to the clans and households with the tribes, under the general rubric that each should receive land according to size and need (see Numbers 26 and Joshua 13-21)
Practical Concern for the Family Unit
The jubilee embodied practical concern for the family unit. In Israel’s case this meant the extended family, the ‘father’s house’, which was a sizeable group of related nuclear families descended from a living progenitor. (p. 207). It also kept the families from being broken up by slavery and the like. Both of these features were a radical departure from what was seen by the Canaanite kings who preceded Israelites on this land, so we can’t say that this idea came from them.
Theological underpinning of the Jubilee
Why did Jehovah have the right to have those who owned land to give it up to allow all the people to revert to their original inheritance? The key principle is that the Land belongs to Jehovah, and the Israelites were tenants: “The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants.” (Lev. 25:23). We see this alien theme again in both 1 Peter 2.11 and Heb. 11.13 being applied to Christians today.
The second truth is at the end of the chapter and is equally fundamental: “For the Israelites belong to me (Jehovah) as servants. They are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.” (Lev. 25:51). That is, one did not have the right to be ruthless with Israelite slaves because all Israelites were servants of Jehovah.
Radical Principles - Kindness, fear of God
Ultimately, we find that it was very, very hard for us selfish humans to voluntarily give up comfort, wealth and power. And this is what the Jubilee requires us to do. There are two striking words found in Leviticus 25: Fear of God (17, 36, 43), and Ruthlessly (43, 46, 53).
The word, fear, is only found in Leviticus 5 times – and three of those times are found in this chapter. The only “guard” to assure that this law is respected is the fear of God as we see with verse 17:” You shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God, for I am the LORD your God.” It is also the principle to assure that we release the slaves, that we are fair to those who have sold themselves into slavery (v 43): “You shall not rule over him(an Israelite slave) ruthlessly but shall fear your God.” If God is truly sovereign, then this law implies that there should be a limit to land ownership, to debt, to interest earned.
III. What are the implications of the Jubilee for Today?
The jubilee existed to protect a form of land tenure based on an equitable and widespread distribution of the land, and to prevent the accumulation of ownership in the hands of a wealthy few.
Therefore this is God’s desire for humanity: a broadly equitable distribution of the resources of the earth, especially with land.
It also stands against large-scale forms of collectivism or nationalization that destroy any meaningful sense of personal or family ownership. The jubilee embodies practical concern for the family unit. For Israel, this meant the extended family”
1. Wealth Inequality
A glimpse: perhaps one of the reasons for God’s blessing on the USA over the years is the principle of distribution of land on a fair basis – equal chances. When we think of the opportunities afforded to many, the protection of the family unit, we can see that the quote of Lev. 25.10 was providential. Yet, when we look at what has been happening with wealth inequality in the US over the last 30 years, we see a dramatic change for the worse that is alarming.
Wealth inequality in the US: You have a fairly continuous downward trend after 1929 until the mid-1970s keeping a relatively high
. Since then, things have dramatically reversed. The following chart shows how the top 1% of the population had way too much wealth leading up to the crash of 1929, then government leaders such as Roosevelt and Eisenhower worked hard to keep down wealth inequality. (chart from a PPT presentation from extremeinequality.org).
Up until the early 1970s, the U.S. actually had lower wealth inequality than Great Britain, and even than a country like Sweden. But things have dramatically changed over the last 25 or 30 years. In fact, a lot of countries have experienced lessening wealth inequality over time. The U.S. is atypical in that inequality has risen so sharply over the last 25 or 30 years. Look at these two charts to see how this is grown.
Share of capital income earned by top 1% and bottom 80%, 1979-2003 (From Shapiro & Friedman, 2006.)
The gross inequality of CEO salaries has been a subject of much criticism over the last weeks. Look at this chart that compares CEO salaries to the average worker's pay. Notice that at one point the CEO is paid more that 500 times an average worker.
When we compare the wealth equality in the US with the same just before the Great Depression, we see a scary similarity:
2. Global Wealth Inequality
When we look at wealth distribution worldwide, the inequality is even more scary. The richest 1% of adults owned 40% of the world’s total assets in the year 2000. The richest 10% of adults accounted for 85% of total assets. The bottom half of the world adult population owned 1% of global wealth. (Source: World Institute for Development Economics Research, The World Distribution of Household Wealth, 2006). The poverty on the other hand a staggering: 1.2 billion earn less than a dollar a day; 4.5 billion of the world population earns less that 1,500 a year. We face a challenge of both global and spiritual proportions.
Meanwhile, the prices of staple foods worldwide have jumped 80 percent during the last three years. The global food crisis is widely viewed as a failure of international planning and leadership, involving consumption outstripping production; diversion of significant areas of food acreage in the United States to produce bio-fuels such as ethanol; and government policies that keep farmers from growing crops in poor countries, among other factors. (Stan Guthrie | posted 8/19/2008 09:51AM)
The cost of rice is up 165 percent over the last year. According to the World Bank, wheat has hit a 28-year high and is nearly twice the average price of the last quarter-century. Robert Zoellick, the agency's leader, says the crisis could force 100 million people deeper into poverty. High prices have sparked riots in several countries, and the bank says 33 nations face potential social unrest. The United Nations estimates that adequately responding to the crisis will cost the developed world $30 billion annually.
When we consider this travesty contrasted with the clear principles laid out by the Word of God for fairness and justice, should we be surprised as the recent turn of events in the world financial markets?
Conclusion
What can we do? Here are a few suggestions:
If you go to www.extremeinequality.org, you will find much more information about wealth inequality (especially under resources).
One web site where you could actually make microloans to people in the two-thirds world is www.kiva.org.
Why not become more radical with your wealth? I know of one successful businessman who pays a “reverse tithe.” What I mean by that is that he gives 90% of his income to the Lord’s word (that is right – ninety percent!) and lives off 10%. I don’t know what your personal income is, but this question of lavish generosity is between you and the Spirit of God.
Lastly, in much of the world, the worst thing you could do to rectify wealth inequality is to simply throw money at a poor country. Yes, help is needed, but first of all, there must be relationships. You need to be involved in people’s lives, to network with ministries, churches who can provide a context for helping. You can contact me (through this blog) to see about how you could be involved with helping doing you part to help rectify wealth inequality.
The Jublilee is a radical solution to man’s selfish heart. Let us take up God’s challenge to be radical for His kingdom.
