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Exodus 22.14, 15
14 “And if a man borrows anything from his neighbor, and it becomes injured or dies, the owner of it not being with it, he shall surely make it good. 15 If its owner was with it, he shall not make it good; if it was hired, it came for its hire.”
We are responsible for goods held in trust for or borrowed from our neighbors, should they be stolen or should anything untoward happen to them while in our possession. If the goods or money were stolen, and the thief was located, he would have paid double what he took, thus inflicting upon himself the “wages” of his crime (cf. Rom. 6.23). If he was not found, yet the claim remained that a theft was committed, the one to whom the goods or money were entrusted should “come near to God”, that is, to the local judges, in order that his innocence or guilt might be demonstrated. Presumably, this involved some taking of an oath in the presence of a priest or the local rulers, who would then seek the Lord for the truth of the matter.
If the owner was present with the goods or money when they were lost or compromised, then no restitution was required, since he would be assumed to be exercising responsibility for his own possessions. If the goods were hired by a neighbor, that was considered like an insurance policy against their being lost or stolen, and no restitution would be required.
Again we can see how important the idea of justice was to ancient Hebrew society. Even in the very small areas of personal property it was important to practice justice. Those who were faithful in these small areas would be conscientious in greater areas as well, should they arise.
T. M. Moore
The Law of God is the soil which, fertilized by the rest of God’s Word and watered by His Spirit, brings forth the fruit of Christian life. If you’d like to understand this process better, and how to make best use of the Law in your walk with and work for the Lord, order the book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, from our online store.
Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.