From the beginning of history, land and the resources it embodies have been at the core of human possessive and acquisitive endeavour.
Land, in its totality, has been the motivation for global exploration, the building of empires, intermarriages and practically all wars and invasions.
The intensity of the pursuit of land has left a trail of inhumanity and disaster on the annals of human history. Genocide, slavery, ethnic cleansing, racism, apartheid, humiliation, institutional poverty, ethnic disdain and discrimination, as well as the resulting hatred, violence and distrust. They all derive from the fundamental desire to possess land at all cost, notwithstanding the deep human, social, emotional, moral and ethical dislocation and disruption that often result from such unbridled and unmitigated single-minded pursuit. The subject of religion and land dominates the `Book of Genesis. The Biblical text pictures God as taking pleasure in creating human beings and giving them a piece of land as their home and source of sustenance (Gen. 2:7-8). In the order of God’s creative work, it was crucial that human beings have land.
The Biblical creation account pictures God as the great giver of land and life from the very dawn of time. The significance of land for the common good of humanity and all creation runs across the formation and history of empires clear to the extent that any land issues evoke emotional sentiments.
In emphasising the significance of land to humanity, Sebastian Bakare argues that “Land has played a vital role in the history of human beings; it has been a source of life and sustenance, hope, freedom and redemption” (Bakare 1993,1). In the Biblical account, it is clear that God desires all people to have fair access to land for their sustenance. But Bakare points out that when human beings become irresponsible, selfish and hoard the land, then the land can easily become a source of “exploitation, dispossession, captivity and even death” (Bakare 1993, 1); the problem originates out of a desire to manipulate, possess and hold title to the land by a few powerful and privilege in the society.
The story of Naboth’s Vineyard (Kings 21:1-21) is, among other things, a classic case of injustice on how unaccountable political power thrives on greed and corruption to get what they want – even if it means taking the life of an innocent person.
The royal house had more than enough, yet this narrative tells a shocking tale of a king and his wife ordering the killing of a less-resourced citizen to unjustly acquire his small portion of land.
Why would a vineyard of an ordinary citizen that bordered the palace land become such a powerful and dangerous lure for the powerful leader?
It was the land that Naboth’s ancestors forward to future generations, and he saw land as God’s gift to the people, which cannot be bought and sold as a commodity, but the empire had a capitalist view of land as a commodity of trade. Land theft by the powerful is a global phenomenon that uses constitutional means to rob the poor of their land. The empire, with all his perks and privileges of royal office, allowed his greedy heart to still cover things that belonged to others. The issue of land rights and land distribution is urgent throughout sub-Saharan Africa today. Citizens must benefit from leadership at every level of society that practices justice, especially the poor and the marginalised.
Theologically, you cannot do justice to define the rights and privileges of humanity without appreciating the fact that a complete person requires territory in which one can reside and flourish in communities.
Requiring daily sustenance and housing, and a settled existence of culture flourishing, human persons are thus bound to the land in non-accidental ways.
With this type of anthropology, we can better understand the pervasiveness of land throughout the history of humanity. Therefore, any attempt to strip peasants of their land by way of manipulative political instruments and financial power is uncalled for.
What is to be done, as the Russian revolutionary and socialist, Vladimir Lenin, would ask on the eve of the 1917 Russian Revolution? I would argue, in our context, that working with people and communities as they struggle for their social rights requires the right kind of leadership. It is also clear that God invites human beings to be agents of his work, reminding us of our human vocation to be engaged in responding to God’s work. It is also a reminder that the creator intended every human being to be known that because they are a member of the global human family by birth, each one must recognise every other person as his or her flesh and bone.
These motivations run contrary to the neo-liberal economic agenda that now dominates the world. The question that emerges for us is this: To what extent do we hold political and economic leaders accountable when they trample on the fundamental rights of the people? Who are our Ahabs, Jezebels and Naboths of our time and context?
Naboth and his vineyard are not merely a social issue but, fundamentally, have more lessons for us and provide key insights into contemporary land development experiences. The overbearing power of an empire must be checked by any serious nation for the good of citizens in society.
*Reverend Jan A Scholtz is the former chairperson of the //Kharas Regional Council and former !Nami#nus constituency councillor. He holds a Diploma in Theology, B-Theo (SA), a Diploma in Youth Work and Development from the University of Zambia (UNZA), and a Diploma in Education III (KOK) BA (HED) from UNISA.