Slices
Prepare
‘I cling to you; your right hand upholds me’ (Psalm 63:8). Thank God that even when your grip is weak, his grasp is strong.
Bible passage
Protection of property
22 ‘Whoever steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep.
2 ‘If a thief is caught breaking in at night and is struck a fatal blow, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed; 3 but if it happens after sunrise, the defender is guilty of bloodshed.
‘Anyone who steals must certainly make restitution, but if they have nothing, they must be sold to pay for their theft. 4 If the stolen animal is found alive in their possession – whether ox or donkey or sheep – they must pay back double.
5 ‘If anyone grazes their livestock in a field or vineyard and lets them stray and they graze in someone else’s field, the offender must make restitution from the best of their own field or vineyard.
6 ‘If a fire breaks out and spreads into thorn-bushes so that it burns sheaves of corn or standing corn or the whole field, the one who started the fire must make restitution.
7 ‘If anyone gives a neighbour silver or goods for safekeeping and they are stolen from the neighbour’s house, the thief, if caught, must pay back double. 8 But if the thief is not found, the owner of the house must appear before the judges, and they must determine whether the owner of the house has laid hands on the other person’s property. 9 In all cases of illegal possession of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any other lost property about which somebody says, “This is mine,” both parties are to bring their cases before the judges. The one whom the judges declare guilty must pay back double to the other.
10 ‘If anyone gives a donkey, an ox, a sheep or any other animal to their neighbour for safekeeping and it dies or is injured or is taken away while no one is looking, 11 the issue between them will be settled by the taking of an oath before the Lord that the neighbour did not lay hands on the other person’s property. The owner is to accept this, and no restitution is required. 12 But if the animal was stolen from the neighbour, restitution must be made to the owner. 13 If it was torn to pieces by a wild animal, the neighbour shall bring in the remains as evidence and shall not be required to pay for the torn animal.
14 ‘If anyone borrows an animal from their neighbour and it is injured or dies while the owner is not present, they must make restitution. 15 But if the owner is with the animal, the borrower will not have to pay. If the animal was hired, the money paid for the hire covers the loss.
Social responsibility
16 ‘If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price, and she shall be his wife. 17 If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins.
18 ‘Do not allow a sorceress to live.
19 ‘Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal is to be put to death.
20 ‘Whoever sacrifices to any god other than the Lord must be destroyed.
21 ‘Do not ill-treat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.
22 ‘Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. 23 If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. 24 My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.
25 ‘If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest. 26 If you take your neighbour’s cloak as a pledge, return it by sunset, 27 because that cloak is the only covering your neighbour has. What else can they sleep in? When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.
28 ‘Do not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.
29 ‘Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats.
‘You must give me the firstborn of your sons. 30 Do the same with your cattle and your sheep. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but give them to me on the eighth day.
31 ‘You are to be my holy people. So do not eat the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts; throw it to the dogs.
Explore
What kind of God has called Israel to himself? He is the God who cares about the nitty-gritty of everyday life (vs 1–13), and has a compassionate and personal concern for the ‘have nots’ (vs 21–27).
Among all the concern for justice in Israel society, we see that the preservation of God as Israel’s first love was to be scrupulously protected. Any person or practice (vs 18–20) who sought to draw Israel away from God must not be tolerated. (Bestiality, see verse 19, was a prominent feature of Canaanite worship.)
While the punishments may sound harsh, the principle of ‘God first’ is the fundamental one of Christian discipleship (see Matthew 22:37,38). In their later history Israel would abandon God and pay the price (Isaiah 1:1–9), but the wonderful truth is that even when Israel forsook God, he could not bring himself to forsake them (Hosea 11:1–11).
Israel were to learn that their God was indeed compassionate (v 27) and much more committed to them than they were to him.
Respond
Think of your day. What temptations are there (or have there been) to put God in second place? Practically, what might you need to do – or not do – to keep God first? Pray for the strength to stay true to your first love.
Deeper Bible study
‘And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.’1
The first half of this wide-ranging legislation expands on the command not to steal, then goes beyond it to inculcate a deep sense of care when looking after a neighbour’s possessions (eg vs 10–15). Its approach is to consider various cases (hence it is known as casuistic law) and the penalties emphasise the need for restitution. The second half of the chapter (vs 16–31) deals with a number of laws by stating general principles (known as apodictic law), several of which concern capital offences, because each of them in their own way are acts of treason against their covenant God. Several aspects of these divine laws stand out.
Written in this way there is no distinction between the ordinary affairs of life and sacred duties. Being a holy people (v 31) involves property as well as piety, social obligation as well as religious duty, sexual purity and sacred devotion.
Holiness affects the whole of life, touching behaviour in the neighbourhood, the bedroom and the market as much as in the tabernacle or Temple. The sacred/secular divide which has dogged Christianity since at least the Enlightenment is totally alien to biblical ideas of holiness. Contrary to our current culture of individualism, repeated stress falls on social relationships in Scripture. These laws are designed to strengthen the social fabric both of the community and the family. People often unthinkingly object to such rules today, but a moment’s thought leads us to see how much healthier society would be if we lived by them. They are not oppressive, but liberating. Finally, note again the care for the vulnerable and the command not to exploit someone’s misfortune, especially from verse 22 onwards. As Leviticus 19:2 puts it, here God is calling his people to ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy’.
What words would you use to explain to a non-Christian friend the value of these laws, both spiritual and moral, for contemporary society?
1 Col 3:17
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Deuteronomy 10,11; Romans
Pray for Scripture Union
Local Mission Partner Milton Keynes Bridgebuilder Trust give thanks for the receptiveness of the schools who engage with their work and ask us to pray for the creation of their emotional well-being workshops and for secondary schools struggling with the current environment.
