REDEEMING THE LAND

Passage: Leviticus 25:23-34

Key verse: 25:23

NIV

23 “‘The land(A) must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine(B) and you reside in my land as foreigners(C) and strangers. 24 Throughout the land that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption(D) of the land.

25 “‘If one of your fellow Israelites becomes poor and sells some of their property, their nearest relative(E) is to come and redeem(F) what they have sold. 26 If, however, there is no one to redeem it for them but later on they prosper(G) and acquire sufficient means to redeem it themselves, 27 they are to determine the value for the years(H) since they sold it and refund the balance to the one to whom they sold it; they can then go back to their own property.(I) 28 But if they do not acquire the means to repay, what was sold will remain in the possession of the buyer until the Year of Jubilee. It will be returned(J) in the Jubilee, and they can then go back to their property.(K)

29 “‘Anyone who sells a house in a walled city retains the right of redemption a full year after its sale. During that time the seller 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 the buyer’s descendants. It is not to be returned in the Jubilee. 31 But houses in villages without walls around them are to be considered as belonging to the 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,(L) 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.(M)

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Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

Redemption of Property

23 “The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for (A)the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me. 24 And in all the country you possess, you shall allow a redemption of the land.

25 “If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property, (B)then his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what his brother has sold. 26 If a man has no one to redeem it and then himself becomes prosperous and finds sufficient means to redeem it, 27 let (C)him calculate the years since he sold it and pay back the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and then return to his property. 28 But if he does not have sufficient means to recover it, then what he sold shall remain in the hand of the buyer until the year of jubilee. In the jubilee it shall (D)be released, and (E)he shall return to his property.

29 “If a man sells a dwelling house in a walled city, he may redeem it within a year of its sale. For a full year he shall have the right of redemption. 30 If it is not redeemed within a full year, then the house in the walled city shall belong in perpetuity to the buyer, throughout his generations; (F)it shall not be released in the jubilee. 31 But the houses of the villages that have no wall around them shall be classified with the fields of the land. They may be redeemed, and (G)they shall be released in the jubilee. 32 As for (H)the cities of the Levites, the Levites may redeem at any time the houses in the cities they possess. 33 And if one of the Levites exercises his right of redemption, then the house that was sold in a city they possess shall be released in the jubilee. For the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the people of Israel. 34 But the fields (I)of pastureland belonging to their cities may not be sold, for that is their possession forever.

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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

First, redeeming sold land (23-28). The land was God's. His people were just renters. If they became poor and had to sell their land, the nearest relative (kinsman redeemer) could redeem it (buy it back). If no one redeemed it but they again prospered, they could buy it back. Otherwise, the land would be given back in the year of Jubilee. Second, redeeming houses (29-34). Houses in walled cities could be redeemed up to one year. After that, the new owner got the house permanently. Houses in unwalled villages could be redeemed or would be returned in the Jubilee. The Levites had the right to buy back houses that they sold in their assigned towns, because the Levites belonged to God as temple servants.

Prayer: Lord, what we have is yours and this world is not our permanent home. Help us to live as citizens of heaven, redeemed by Christ.

One Word: It's all God's