We live in a world that’s heavily commercialized.
Everything is an opportunity for profit—including land and natural resources.
In order to monetize such things, we need laws that allow for private ownership.
The downside, however, is that when this happens, we end up more concerned about our own “rights” and less concerned about our neighbors.
Nations violently defend borders and corporations undertake projects that put the local communities at risk.
Scripture, however, counteracts the idea of private ownership and goes out of its way to show that God is true proprietor.
We’re only tenants, and we’re instructed by the real landlord to walk the Way alongside the stranger next to us.
The Bottom Line
If God is the Lord of creation, then the nations are called to walk the Way together under the instruction of the scriptural God.
The Takeaways
- As the Israelites entered into Canaan for the fist time, we have this idea that the nations who already lived in the land were annihilated. However, this is not the case. The Israelites were to co-exist with the other nations.
- A major theme of the Mosaic Law, God’s instruction to his people, is justice for all peoples, including the foreigner who lives among you.
- God’s concern is for the entire world, not just the Holy Land. Therefore, the example of Israel in Canaan is just that: an example that should be extended to all peoples around the entire world.
- The image of peace through obedience to God’s instruction is the vision offered to us in the prophets and it’s a challenge to our modern conceptions of nationalism, immigration, and concern for our own ethnic interests.