EXODUS 22 PROPERTY LAWS...SOCIAL LAWS There are laws to guide people as it relates to ourselves as individuals. Therefore, we have the Ten Commandments. When obeyed there is a "quiet and peaceable life" possible in us as individuals. There were also laws given concerning personal relationships and personal injuries that come when people live in a normal society. When those laws were considered and the effects of choices known, people would stop to think before they acted and one could live in peace with his neighbor. There were laws given concerning property rights that would keep a whole society from disintegrating into chaos and hatred.
The standards of the law imposed on a nation of people will be valuable as long as the standards are maintained. What is happening now is standards are being abandoned as a measure of law and justice. God's principles work when applied to protect the nation from themselves, to organize people in a way that they would know what to expect from the actions they take, and to keep the attention of people living there focused on God, not on what is convenient to willful men.
Examples of handling property rights are given so people would know what to expect when they crossed the barriers of social laws. A trained ox would be worth more than a sheep when it came to restitution of stolen property. The fine for the ox was five times its normal value because of the time spent training it and the work it could do. The value of a sheep was in its wool and meat only. The fine was four times its value. Self- defense in the dark of night had different consequences than killing an intruder in broad daylight. When property was destroyed by carelessness and indifference or laziness on the part of one who didn't tend to his fire or his animals, the restitution he had to pay doubled from the "best" he had.
All of these principles have a common sense approach to the property rights of people and what those who chose to steal or be careless about could expect to happen to them. Restitution was not based on a person's ability to pay, but on the value of the problem they caused. Hard labor done to repay what has been done to another would be a great deterrent to breaking the law. It would also motivate the offender, the one offended and those around who knew about the matter, to not do the same thing. The loss of animals, property, produce and things borrowed, were all addressed as illustrations of the value and need of obedience to the laws of God.
There are times when we create a problem and we must take stock of ourselves to see what can be done to make wrong things right. It may be our responsibility to go beyond what is expected to alleviate any problem and pain we might have caused. If we go beyond what is normal restitution it could help the other person to forgive us and it will certainly make me think more clearly and carefully before I do such a thing again.
There were easily understood laws given by God to govern actions regarding people. To entice a young woman to yield to a man's advances was a legal matter and either marriage or a dowry price was the price of restitution. A person's intention must be made clear and social actions are to follow the path of respect and righteousness that enables one's dignity and integrity to remain intact.
Satanic practices appeal to the dark side of many people. It seems to be gaining in interest in video games, board games and even in religious practices. People today are fascinated with movies and television programs that deal with witchcraft and things practiced in the occult. This was a capital crime according to God's laws because it has as its objective, death and people joining up with Satan against God. Sorcery, witchcraft and any form of dark satanic influence uses evil powers of darkness to destroy human beings and keep them from the blessings of God's salvation.
It is wrong for us to ignore the needs of others we do not know. To mistreat aliens who come into a new environment where they feel out of place and alone, is wrong. Strangers need someone to show God's love and kindness to them. A sensitivity to the needs of strangers is needed because we may be strangers ourselves somewhere, or maybe have experienced the aloneness of being the new person on a job, in the classroom or in a family gathering.
Widows and orphans need interest and care shown to them. We need to remember there are other needs beside financial needs, that follow a death and the great separation it brings to a family. To mistreat them, the poor people among us, the less fortunate, is taken very seriously by God who has given us laws to conduct ourselves by in these matters with these people.
Fairness and righteousness go together. Overcharging for goods and services, exorbitant interest costs, lack of compassion all have negative consequences imposed by God when there are crimes committed against humanity and normal human living. We owe those who lead us in the nation, respect for the office they hold even if they are unfit people in themselves. The commandments maintain order even when tyrants rule.
It is our privilege to give God the first of everything He has given to us. We would have nothing without His gracious giving to us day by day of all the things we need from His great storehouse of provision. The whole purpose of these laws is that we would be set apart as holy people, for God and to be like Him.
When it comes to other people I dare not ever say, "It doesn't matter what happens to them as long as I get my way." I am my brother's keeper; I don't live on an island alone. There are reasonable responses to others God expects from me to be done.
It goes without saying it is wrong for me to take what is not mine. But what should I do if someday great treasure I do find? Can I claim for myself what I have not earned and think there is no consequence? What about those things I have gathered under what was false pretence?
No, all these laws help me understand all life is lived before God. There are divinely given privileges that are carried out according to God's Word. Sometimes wrongs have to be "righted" by making more than restitution. Doors of bitterness can often be closed by a more than fair contribution.
To offend another person in some way that affects their life - May mean that I have to go another way to avoid some stress and strife. If I have broken or mislaid some personal thing entrusted to me - It is up to me to make full restitution and then add more than the normal fee.
There will always be needy people: widows, orphans and the poor. It is never right for me to not consider them and their needs ignore. With wisdom and compassion, I am to do for them what I can. Never is it acceptable for me to walk away from the needs of my fellow man.
The law and common sense usually go well together. Not often do you see one at work without the consideration of the other. The demands of the law are not unfair, nor do they extend beyond my reach. When common sense is applied to them, those legal practices I can teach.
The law doesn't make me a Christian but it establishes my citizenship. When I conduct my life by its guidance, it enhances my fellowship With those around me where I live and those I will someday know. Life lived by faith under sensible laws, the grace of God will show.
"There are a lot of ways, Father, that I can show my faith in Thee and commitment to living by faith. Probably one that shows publicly the most what I believe, is how I act in society. I do not want to appear to be a burdened down person because I follow Thee and Thy truth. May I always be cheerful in obedience, happy in living by faith, and of a cheerful countenance that is real and attractive to those I meet. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen."