"the economy" in light of Jubilee

i recently participated in a Bible study covering Ruth and the idea of a kinsman redeemer. the crux of the study connects the ruth-boaz relationship with humanity-Jesus, but not without a stop over in Leviticus 25 to talk about Jubilee.

this is the part where i need to tell you (again) that i am neither a proper theologian nor anything that would make my perspecitve more than just an opinion. considering it said, let's move forward.

Jubilee is, for the uninformed, an Old Testament festival based on sabbatical observances. put it simply, every fiftieth year the whole economic world would turn upside down: any land you've bought must be returned to the original owners or their heirs, and every person who's had to rent himself out as an indentured servant must be released. things you've bought and had use for are now to be given back. o'course, the Bible makes sure that you don't cheat your brother: when it's close to Jubilee-time things get a little cheaper like a going-out-of-business sale.

the theological reasons for this practice are debated, as all things theological are, but it's generally accepted that the land was important to the Israelites because God gave it to them. i'm sure it also was a reminder that they are more like tenants on the land, because God is the one who really owns it. personally, i think of it as a lesson that economics are designed to wax and wane and adjust, but God and His authority do not. i also love that Jubilee comes once every fifty years. now, i'm admittedly not yet 22, an adolescent at the time of millennium, a moment in time prepackaged for looking simultaneously backwards and forwards. i'm pretty sure that i can't fully comprehend 50 years.

i still think there's value in this fifty-year-switcheroo. in fifty years, the provisions that once made the way for businesses to flourish are now ruts and crutches needed to limp along. institutions are clearly not paying attention to history to think themselves immortal: the world changes so quickly in our age. it should only make sense that at some point God, like a game of boggle, picks up the whole game and shakes.

i'm not saying that the tough times we're going through was a direct act of God, nor am i saying that i really get what has caused "the economy" to be the way it is. i am amazed at the Lord for laying down such specific rules about what happens during Jubilee and how it can be planned for and expected: i'm sure that if modern citizens planned on chaos every fifty years or so, we'd be in a much better place right now.

all that is to say: the only thing eternal is the Lord. not your bank, not your insurance, not your president, or even your democracy. when things go awry, blow your horn. dance. laugh. shout hymns at stoplights (or whatever outlet you so choose).

The Lord reigns. It is Jubilee.