Latifundialization revisited

The first paragraph was posted earlier - but I kept thinking - so....

Isaiah 5:8-17 describes the process of latifundialization. In the ideal Israel the land was divided among the tribes and each family had their own plot of land. The year of jubilee happened and those who had sold their lands would receive them back. Isaiah protests against the landowners who buy plot after plot until they have a latifundia – a large plantation – and who leave the poor without anything.

And the problem is right then and there. How do we care for the poor? When some of my ancestors settled in the west 40 acres and a mule could provide for the family. If you want the same living conditions as 100 years or more then you can still provide for a family with 40 acres and a mule, but what about our change in what we consider poverty level. To provide today a farm family needs 40 sections and more than a couple of vehicles, tractors, and more.

Are the expectations in this country too high? Possibly. But still the same plot of land doesnÂ't provide for a family as they see others living in the neighborhood. And this is a challenge for the family farm and the rest of society. How do we avoid being those who deprive the poor of their livelihood? How can we provide for the weak, the homeless, the stranger, the widow and the orphan within our land? Those are the questions that Isaiah cries out. Those are the questions we should ask ourselves.

Isaiah 5:8-17

[8] Ah, you who join house to house, who add field to field, until
there
is room for no one but you, and you are left to live alone in
the midst of
the land! [9] The LORD of hosts has sworn in my hearing:
Surely many houses
shall be desolate, large and beautiful houses,
without inhabitant. [10] For
ten acres of vineyard shall yield but
one bath, and a homer of seed shall
yield a mere ephah.

[11] Ah, you who rise early in the morning in pursuit of strong drink, who linger in the evening to be inflamed by wine, [12] whose easts consist of lyre and harp, tambourine and flute and wine, but who do not regard the deeds of the LORD, or see the work of his hands! [13] Therefore my people go into exile without knowledge; their nobles are dying of hunger, and their multitude is parched with thirst.

[14] Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite and opened its mouth
beyond measure; the nobility of Jerusalem and her multitude go down,
her throng and all who exult in her. [15] People are bowed down,
everyone is brought low, and the eyes of the haughty are humbled.
[16] But the LORD of hosts is exalted by justice, and the Holy God
shows himself holy by righteousness. [17] Then the lambs shall graze
as in their pasture, fatlings and kids shall feed among the ruins.