Israel Never had ownership rights to the Land ever!

Israel Never had ownership rights to the Land ever!

This may sound to you like a stretch, but let's examine the scripture itself.

Leviticus 25:23-24
The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants. ²⁴ Throughout the country that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land.

Here in Leviticus it is stated that the reason Israel was forbidden to sell the land was because the land belonged to God. It was his, not theirs.

Israel was merely a tenant on the land, and just as a tenant today cannot sell the property of the landlord, Israel had no legal right in the covenant to sell God's land.

Further in Leviticus God gave more rules about the land and how if it was ever sold due to poverty or some other emergency, it must return to the rightful tenants at the year of Jubilee.

"And in all the land of your possession you shall grant a redemption for the land. If your brother be waxen poor, and has sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold. And if the man have none to redeem it, and himself be able to redeem it; Then let him count the years of the sale thereof, and restore the overplus to the man to whom he sold it; that he may return to his possession. But if he is not able to restore it to him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that has bought it until the year of jubile: and in the jubile it shall go out, and he shall return to his possession. And if a man sell a dwelling house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; within a full year may he redeem it. And if it be not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city shall be established for ever to him that bought it throughout his generations: it shall not go out in the jubile. But the houses of the villages which have no wall round about them shall be counted as the fields of the country: they may be redeemed, and they shall go out in the jubile.
Notwithstanding the cities of the Levites, and the houses of the cities of their possession, may the Levites redeem at any time. And if a man purchase of the Levites, then the house that was sold, and the city of his possession, shall go out in the year of jubile: for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel.
But the field of the suburbs of their cities may not be sold; for it is their perpetual possession."

God made clear how he felt about the selling of family lands in the story of King Ahab and Naboth's Vineyard.

1 Kings 21:1-4 ¹ Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. ² Ahab said to Naboth, "Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth."

³ But Naboth replied, "The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers."

⁴ So Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, "I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers." He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat.

Jezebel hired to liars to bear false witness against Naboth so that the land could be confiscated by Ahab. When this came to light by God's revelation to his prophet Elijah, God made his feelings known about this transaction.

1 Kings 21:16-20

¹⁶ When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth's vineyard.

¹⁷ Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite: ¹⁸ "Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now in Naboth's vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it. ¹⁹ Say to him, 'This is what the LORD says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?' Then say to him, 'This is what the LORD says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth's blood, dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!' "

²⁰ Ahab said to Elijah, "So you have found me, my enemy!"
"I have found you," he answered, "because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD.

Clearly the reason Ahab was judged by God (or at least the last straw among many) was how he dealt with a righteous man, Naboth, and his land.

In addition to these rules that were given as Israel come into the land in Joshua's day, God gave further emphasis to this when the Nation was preparing to come back to the land after 70 years of captivity in Babylon.

In Ezekiel 48 God tells particularly the Levites that they are forbidden to sell or exchange their land.

Ezekiel 48:13-14
¹³ "Alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites will have an allotment 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide. Its total length will be 25,000 cubits and its width 10,000 cubits. ¹⁴

They must not sell or exchange any of it. This is the best of the land and must not pass into other hands, because it is holy to the LORD.

This is very instructive when we come to the New Testament book of Acts. Here we find Barnabas (A Levite) selling his land and it appears he is portrayed as doing a good and godly thing. How can this be when God strictly forbid the Levite from selling his land?

Acts 4:34-37
³⁴There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales ³⁵and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.

³⁶Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), ³⁷sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet.

How can Barnabas (A Levite) get away with selling his land? Why is it that the apostles of Christ are allowing this without calling Barnabas to task over a clearly illegal act by this "Son of Consolation"? Really there can only be one explanation for this. The Covenant that required this restriction was nullified and the rule restricting the selling of Levitical lands no longer applied.

It is also indicative of the fact that Israel's claim to the land which was based in that covenant was now null and void. If this were not so, the apostles would have spoken up. But Here in Acts we have incontrovertible proof that the covenant that gave Israel possession of the land was abrogated, nullified, canceled. There is no biblical case to be made today that entitles Israel to any of the covenantal lands of the bible. none whatsoever!