Ezekiel 46:16-18 – Wise stewardship of our belongings

The sixth regulation given in Ezekiel 46:16-18 has to do with how the prince should handle his property. There are essentially three instructions given concerning this matter.

When the prince gives a property to his son as a gift, it would be the permanent property of his son. He would own it forever and would not need to return it to the father. This is the first instruction.

Secondly, when the prince gives a similar gift to his servant, the gift would have a lease on it. It would be the property of the servant till the year of jubilee. The servant must return the property to the prince in that year of liberty.

Thirdly, the properties he gives to his son and servant must be his own. He could not annex the properties of his subject to give to his son or his servant. This instruction was to ensure that the king would not be overtaken by the temptation to seize the land of his subjects to compensate for what he had given away.

In these verses, we learn the principles of stewardship of all that we are given. We are accountable for the belongings God has entrusted to our care and stewardship. We must not envy what our friends or neighbors have so that we will not be tempted to pilfer from them. If we want to be generous, be sure to be fair.