Page 17 - Cedarville Magazine Spring 2013 Volume 1 Issue 1

Cedarville Magazine | 17
ECONOMY
IN PERSPECTIVE
The Gospel of Luke opens by setting the political scene “in the
days of Herod of Judea” (Luke 1:5). The eldest son of Herod
the Great, King Herod of Judea (also known as Archelaus)
took after his father. He was a repressive leader who carried on his
father’s love for massive building projects that exploited Israel’s
large lower class. Herod used his people to build structures that
reinforced the power and status of the occupying empire. Archelaus
ruled until A.D. 6 when Judea became a Roman province. It was
into this context that Jesus was born.
Approximately 30 years later, Herod Antipas was the prefect of
Rome when Jesus stood in His hometown synagogue. When He
was handed the scroll, He unrolled it, found Isaiah 61, and read:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
Because He has anointed me
To bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,
To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
Jesus rolled up the scrolls, sat down, and said, “Today this
Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” In other words, “You
know how Isaiah said someone would one day proclaim these
things. Well, I just did. The year of the Lord’s favor is on!”
The Year of Jubilee (Lev. 25:8–55) was the centerpiece of an
economic system instituted by God as the Israelites entered the
Promised Land. In this system, the Israelites were commanded to
observe the Sabbatical year every seven years (Lev. 25:1–7, Deut.
15:1–18). During this year, all debts were forgiven, slaves were
set free, and the land was given rest from
all sowing and reaping. In this theocratic
agrarian society, Sabbatical year was amajor
regulatory act that imposed a yearlong cycle
of rest for workers and the land in addition
to the weekly Sabbath, whichGod instituted
through the Ten Commandments.
The Sabbatical year also affected
merchants’ bottom lines. Labor, a critical
cost of production, is a key factor in
businesses’ ability to make a profit. Thus,
we must understand, the command to free
their slaves every seven years would have
profoundly affected businesses’ ability to
expand profits to the point of empire.
The Year of Jubilee came at the end of
seven seven-year cycles. In the 50th year,
not only would debts be forgiven, slaves
freed, and the land given rest, but also
all land was returned to its original deed
holders — effectively banning outright sale
of land and allowing land to be leased for
50 years or less.
This government regulation reinforced
the view among the Israelites that natural
resources belong to God, not humanity. We
are simply the stewards of land temporarily
entrusted to us by God.
Good News for the Poor
by Lisa Sharon Harper
continued on page 18