Our Verse of the Week

Torah Portion: Behar

This portion talks about how we are to treat the earth, the ground, the literal "land" of Israel. It is as if God is speaking from the Mountain, in defense of the mountains and hills and valleys, the land on which things are grown.

God tells us that He owns the cattle on a thousand hills -- and He even owns the hills! In fact, we read this week that "the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants" (Leviticus 25:23, NIV).

I understand what it is to be a tenant. My husband and I have been married for almost 29 years, yet until last year, we had never owned our own home. We always had to have permission to hang pictures on the walls or decorate. We called our landlord if anything broke. We took extra-good care of things so that we could get our security deposit back when we moved out. However, the houses didn't belong to us.

We often forget that the very ground belongs to our King. We are aliens and His tenants. Therefore, when He says that the land must rest every 7 years, we must take Him seriously. He created the world, and He is its King. We are but His vassals who have been allowed to live on His land. He will provide for us, but we must always do what He says.