Leviticus 25:13-17: a reflection

13“‘In this Year of Jubilee each of you shall return to his property. 14“‘If you sell anything to your neighbor, or buy from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another. 15According to the number of years after the Jubilee you shall buy from your neighbor. According to the number of years of the crops he shall sell to you. 16According to the length of the years you shall increase its price, and according to the shortness of the years you shall diminish its price; for he is selling the number of the crops to you. 17You shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God; for I am the LORD your God.

Among the Jubilee laws, God gives instructions for buying and selling land, and at their heart is a repeated command: You shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God, for I am the LORD your God. The prices were to be set fairly, according to the years remaining until the Jubilee; neither buyer nor seller was to take advantage of the other. And the grounding of this fairness was not merely good business, but the fear of God: deal honestly, because you fear the God who sees.

Notice what grounds the command to fair dealing: the fear of God. God does not merely say, be fair because it is good policy; he says, do not wrong one another, but fear your God. Honest dealing in our transactions is rooted in reverence for the God who sees every exchange, who cares how we treat one another even in matters of business. To cheat or take advantage is not only to wrong a neighbor, but to disregard the God who is watching.

That grounds our everyday honesty in something deeper than mere rules. In our transactions, our business, our dealings with others, we are always tempted to take advantage, to gain a little at another's expense, especially where we could get away with it. But God calls us to deal fairly, and roots that call in the fear of him: do not wrong one another, but fear your God. He sees every deal, and cares how we treat one another in them. Deal honestly in all your transactions, not merely because it is good policy, but because you fear the God who sees. Let reverence for God make you fair and honest even where you could get away with less.

Lord, in the laws of buying and selling, you commanded your people not to wrong one another, but to fear you, grounding fair dealing in reverence for the God who sees every exchange. Ground my own honesty in that same fear of you. In my transactions, my business, my dealings with others, I am tempted to take advantage, to gain a little at another's expense, especially where I could get away with it. Remind me that you see every deal and care how I treat others in them. Help me deal fairly and honestly, not merely because it is good policy, but because I fear you. Let reverence for you make me fair even where I could get away with less. Keep me from wronging others, and make me honest in your sight.