Exodus 22: 1-6: “If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him. If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double. If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another man’s field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution. If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.”
The Law commanded that a person refrain from stealing. However, this statement needed to be modified to cover various situations. Even today people who attend court expect the “Rule of Law” where they can expect to get the same outcome under the same conditions even though there might be a different judge at a different time. The fist question would be, “Should breaking the Law always lead to the death penalty?” This, of course, is extreme so the Lord, in is loving wisdom made sure that the punishment would fit the crime. If someone stole a domestic animal then that person would be expected to make restitution. Even the restitution for different kinds of animals was prescribed. However, if a person was seeking to defend their property from theft and the thief was killed then the person would be free from the death penalty for the thief was largely responsible for their own death. This was analogous to a person accidentally killing another person but the person who was killed, in this case, actually made a large contribution to their own death. In many ways this wasn’t really an accident even though the homeowner may have had no intention to kill another person. People were also responsible to keep their animals under control. In a farming community, the feed and crops a person has is a genuine asset that can be used to feed their own stock so if someone allowed their animal to take another person’s asset then that person was really stealing. The same was true for lighting fires. A fire could easily destroy a person’s livelihood. Someone starting a fire would be expected to make restitution for any damage caused by the fire the lit.
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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