THE POOR NEED HOPE

Leviticus 25:23-28

Lev 25:23 “The land will not be sold in perpetuity, because the land is mine. Because you are guests and temporary residents with me.
Lev 25:24 And in all the country you possess, you will allow a redemption of the land.
Lev 25:25 “If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property, then his nearest redeemer will come and redeem what his brother has sold.
Lev 25:26 If a man has no one to redeem it and then himself becomes prosperous and finds sufficient means to redeem it,
Lev 25:27 let him figure out 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.
Lev 25:28 But if he does not have sufficient means to recover it, then what he sold will remain in the hand of the buyer until the year of liberation. In the liberation it will be released, and he will return to his property.

hope of recovery

One of the benefits of the law of land redemption is that it prevented rich, land-owners from swallowing up all the property and creating an upper class to oppress others. No matter how bad things got, you could always plan on the restoration of your property at the end of a fifty year cycle. There was also provision for a kinsman to bail you out in the mean time. Even if your poverty was your own fault, there was still hope of recovery.

There are many around us who are caught in a trap of extreme poverty, and they have no hope of recovery. These need to know that God has a future planned for them — a future of blessing and dignity.

LORD, show us how to reach the poor with the good news.