Justice

Exodus 22:1-31

¹“If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall repay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. ² If a thief is found breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him, ³but if the sun has risen on him, there shall be bloodguilt for him. He shall surely pay. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. ⁴If the stolen beast is found alive in his possession, whether it is an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he shall pay double. ⁵“If a man causes a field or vineyard to be grazed over, or lets his beast loose and it feeds in another man’s field, he shall make restitution from the best in his own field and in his own vineyard. ⁶“If fire breaks out and catches in thorns so that the stacked grain or the standing grain or the field is consumed, he who started the fire shall make full restitution. ⁷“If a man gives to his neighbor money or goods to keep safe, and it is stolen from the man’s house, then, if the thief is found, he shall pay double. ⁸If the thief is not found, the owner of the house shall come near to God to show whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor’s property. ⁹For every breach of trust, whether it is for an ox, for a donkey, for a sheep, for a cloak, or for any kind of lost thing, of which one says, ‘This is it,’ the case of both parties shall come before God. The one whom God condemns shall pay double to his neighbor. ¹⁰“If a man gives to his neighbor a donkey or an ox or a sheep or any beast to keep safe, and it dies or is injured or is driven away, without anyone seeing it, ¹¹an oath by the Lord shall be between them both to see whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor’s property. The owner shall accept the oath, and he shall not make restitution. ¹²But if it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner. ¹³If it is torn by beasts, let him bring it as evidence. He shall not make restitution for what has been torn. ¹⁴“If a man borrows anything of his neighbor, and it is injured or dies, the owner not being with it, he shall make full restitution. ¹⁵If the owner was with it, he shall not make restitution; if it was hired, it came for its hiring fee.

¹⁶“If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall give the bride-price for her and make her his wife. ¹⁷If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money equal to the bride-price for virgins. ¹⁸“You shall not permit a sorceress to live. ¹⁹“Whoever lies with an animal shall be put to death. ²⁰“Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than the Lord alone, shall be devoted to destruction. ²¹“You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. ²²You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. ²³If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, ²⁴and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless. ²⁵“If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him. ²⁶If ever you take your neighbor’s cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down, ²⁷for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he cries to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate. ²⁸“You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people. ²⁹“You shall not delay to offer from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me. ³⁰You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep: seven days it shall be with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to me. ³¹“You shall be consecrated to me. Therefore you shall not eat any flesh that is torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.

These kinds of passages can be read with a few different attitudes. You can read these regulations and think that God is judgmental – which He has a right to be. You can read these passages and think that God cares about justice – which He does! You can read these passages and think that God is compassionate and expects us to be the same.

I find a great deal of challenge in this set of regulations regarding the treatment of another person's property and our own social responsibility, as this section is labeled in the NIV. In a time when justice often goes to the one who can pay for it I find God’s regulations to be worthy of my attention. In this lengthy list of laws, God is only asking us to treat others with fairness, compassion, and justice. That word “justice” is interesting only because it means God’s sense of justice, not mine. We can become so myopic that we believe justice has been done only if we are the winner. That is, of course, ridiculous. God is speaking these words to His people because He knows that the human heart is black with sin and we will almost always serve the self rather than the other person. Most of these laws seem like common sense when read without the impact of an actual case of a stolen animal or a raped woman. But when the emotional energy comes along with the crime, we tend to lose our sense of God’s justice.

This discussion cannot be complete with mentioning that God’s justice also means that if we were to get what we deserve from God, we would all be lost forever to the heart of sin that resides with us. But His justice is tempered by His grace and He sent Jesus to pay for all those sins. Now I get salvation instead of justice. God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. There’s God’s justice in action.