The land is not to be permanently sold because it is mine, and you are only aliens and temporary residents on my land. (25:23)
God had promised to give His children a land that they could call home. He delivered them from 400 years of slavery and oppression and brought them into a promised land that would be theirs forever. Yet, He reminds them that at the end of the day, they don’t own the land; He does. There were many laws surrounding the care of the land, including a Sabbath rest for the very land itself. God has commanded all of us to observe the Sabbath and find rest, renewal, and intimate worship of Jesus at least one day a week. Yet, God also cares for His land (earth) and commanded a Sabbath year for the promised land when no cultivation would occur.
This Sabbath rest of the land was a reminder of many things. First, it reminded the Israelites that they needed to depend on Him. He was the source of everything (not the land) and even in a year when they could not plant or harvest, they could know that God would care for them from the previous year’s bumper harvest and from the natural produce that the fallow land would supply. Second, though, it was a reminder that God owned the land and not the Israelites. They were stewards of the land and they were to care for HIs land and use it according to His will and for His glory. Also, it reminded them that God cared for all of His creation and not just the Israelites. Of course, people (created in God’s image) are the pinnacle of His creation and we are given primacy over the rest of creation, but He also cares for the rest of His creation and so should we.
The Israelites had finally made it to the promised land, but God reminds them that they are still not yet home. He said in vs. 23, “You are aliens and temporary residents on my land.” Like the rest of us today, God wanted them to know that this world was not their ultimate “home.” In our living and our worship and even in our creation care, we need to remember that we were created for more than what we see here on earth today. We should celebrate God’s goodness, and rejoice in His provision and creation… but we must also remember that there is more to come and that is what we should long for. Like the Israelites, the Lord also tells His church that we are aliens and pilgrims on this earth, and as much as we love it, there is still more to come. He owns it all and we’re just passing through.
