When I was a child, Mama wrote my name on the tags of my coats, so they would not be lost or stolen. The older and more careless I became, the more things needed my name on them: books, toys, balls, bats, bicycles. The simplest way to assert dominion over goods (portable property) is to write your name.
But what about land, what we call “real property”? How can you prevent someone stronger showing up and claiming it belongs to him? The best way to protect real estate is today’s recording system: file written deeds with the local government so everyone can go to the same source for information. This system dates back to the prophet Jeremiah. To give the banished Israelites hope God would one day would bring them back to Israel, He instructs Jeremiah to purchase real estate.
“So I bought the field … and I weighed out to him the money—17 shekels of silver. I recorded the purchase on a scroll [today’s deed], sealed it [today’s signature], called in witnesses [today’s notary] … I took the purchase agreement … and gave it to Baruch [like the county clerk].” Jeremiah instructs Baruch to record and file the deed. “Take these scrolls and put them in an earthen storage jar so they will last a long time. For this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land’” Jeremiah 32:9-15.
God uses this purchase to give His people hope: you will not be in Babylon forever.
But here’s what I find amazing: the recording system for keeping track of property ownership that Jeremiah creates in this passage is identical to the recording system in use today, some 2,600 years later.
What about people? How do we assert dominion over our betrothed? Rather than write a name on a husband or wife, we place a ring on his or her finger. The ring serves as a warning: this one is no longer available.
To summarize: You can protect your ownership by writing your name on things, or by filing documents with the government. You can assert dominion over a spouse with a wedding band.
And—you may not know this—God asserts His ownership over us. How? By giving us His Holy Spirit.
“When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession” Ephesians 1:13-14. (We are God’s possession—He OWNS us. See also 2 Corinthians 1:22.)
Imagine that. God owns you—and He writes His name on you with the Holy Spirit to show the universe that you belong to Him!
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