No Title Deed but Justice

In my reading of the Bible, the right to a piece of land is not tied to laws of private property, nor is it bestowed on anyone or any community unconditionally. Rather, the right to a piece of land is tied to the execution of justice.

“Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue, so that you may live and occupy the land that the LORD your God is giving you.”

Deuteronomy 16:20

“Thus says the LORD: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place. For if you will indeed obey this word, then through the gates of this house shall enter kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their servants, and their people. But if you will not heed these words, I swear by myself, says the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation.”

Jeremiah 22:3-5

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If a king or a people do not execute justice in the land, their right to the land is revoked. Justice involves abolishing oppression and caring for those in need. Where there is oppression and violence, where the poor are neglected, where the stranger is the object of scorn, there is no right to the land.

But in our world, we abide by laws of private ownership. We say, the land belongs to the one with the title deed. Never mind if the land was stolen in the first place, never mind if it was acquired through violence, never mind if it is only private property because its original inhabitants were forcefully displaced, we sanction the possession of the land by its current owners.

“Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms by injustice.”

Jeremiah 22:13

The land of the United States of America was stolen by settlers. Its original inhabitants were either forcefully displaced or murdered en mass. Americans’ current ownership of this land is based on genocide. Everyone who owns a piece of the land now has this history to thank.

The basis of private property is violence. The land was originally acquired through violence, and now its current ownership is ensured by the threat of violence. The U.S. government protects its property with the U.S. military, as well as with its many police forces.

Private property is perpetuated through injustice. Not only was the current ownership of the land acquired through unjust means, it persists in injustice through oppression and neglect of the poor. Workers are paid as little as possible, poverty is pervasive, and foreigners are hunted down and deported.

From a biblical standpoint, then, the U.S. government has no right to the land, because it fails to establish justice. There is no foundation for mass deportations. The land does not belong to us, it never did. “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it” (Ps. 24:1). God grants the land to those who practice justice. Oppression of foreigners is incompatible with right to the land.

“The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.”

Leviticus 19:34

This is justice. The foreigner shall be treated as a citizen, for God respects not just civil rights but human rights. The people who respect human rights earn the right to the land. The people who deny human rights lose their right to the land.

The U.S. government sacrifices human rights to private property. By trying to secure the land in this manner, they forfeit their right to it. The same goes for the state of Israel. You can’t say you have a right to the land while practicing apartheid, mass murder, and ethnic cleansing. Right to the land is tied to the practice of justice.

“When the wicked rule, sin flourishes.”

Proverb 29:16

Systems of injustice are not without consequences. Where oppression exists, instability reigns. The global oppression of the poor by the rich creates unrest and desperation all over the world. Oppression fuels migration. It is no accident that we have immigrants flooding our borders. It is the result of our own work in the world. It is our chickens coming home to roost.

But establish justice and peace will reign. Abolish oppression, abolish crime. For the real crime was committed long ago, in the unjust seizure of land and the genocide of its inhabitants. The real criminals are the rich who mobilize whole governments to secure private property. The rich are in possession of the goods of the poor. It is this injustice which is at the root of what’s wrong in the land.

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

Matthew 5:5

As the current owners of the land have no right to it, by virtue of their injustice, it is incumbent on the poor to seize the land and abolish oppression. For the earth is no one’s private property, it is God’s gift to the just.

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