Economics 101: The Price of Land – The Law of God and Public Policy

Economics 101: The Price of Land
The Law of God and Public Policy

God’s Law established a standard for the sale of land.

“If a man dedicates to the LORD part of the land that is his possession, then the valuation shall be in proportion to its seed. A homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver.” Leviticus 27:16

Prices of land were fixed in two ways, but so as to permit a certain amount of flexibility in buying and selling property. The price of land was attached to the amount of grain that could be harvested annually within a certain period of time, and the years of harvests remaining before the Sabbath Year (every seven years). God thus discouraged buying and selling of land. Each tribe and family was assigned a certain portion of land to occupy and work. They were to understand that the earth is the Lord’s and that He created it to bear fruit; thus, those who held His land in trust were expected to “exercise dominion” over God’s property to honor Him, benefit themselves, and bless their neighbors. Landowners could lease or sell portions of their land, but only for a short time. The land would be returned to the family of its original “owners” (stewards) in the Sabbath Year.

Thus, one who was hoping to profit by purchasing property would have to make sure he could harvest enough grain during the time he would own the property in order to justify the expense of it. Even then, he would hardly expect to do more than break even, since the price of grain was set to fifty shekels per homer (of barley).

It is unlikely, under such an economy, that housing “booms” and “busts” would have been much of a concern.

Visit our website, www.ailbe.org, and sign up to receive our thrice-weekly devotional, Crosfigell, featuring writers from the period of the Celtic Revival and T. M.’s reflections on Scripture and the Celtic Christian tradition. Does the Law of God still apply today? Order a copy of T. M.’s book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, and study the question for yourself.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T. M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.