Exodus 22.10-13

¹⁰“If a man delivers to his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep, and it dies, is hurt, or driven away, no one seeing it, ¹¹ then an oath of the Lord shall be between them both, that he has not put his hand into his neighbor’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept that, and he shall not make it good. ¹² But if, in fact, it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to the owner of it. ¹³ If it is torn to pieces by a beast, then he shall bring it as evidence, and he shall not make good what was torn.

A “breach of trust” can occur over matters of personal property, whether because of injury or damage to the property, or loss or theft. When the dispute arising from a breach of trust could not be amicably resolved between the two parties, they were expected to “come before God.” If a sin was involved here on the part of one of the parties, an oath before the Lord, taken in the presence of a priest or judges, would presumably elicit such a response on the part of the guilty party that his transgression would be known by all. Perhaps he would be reluctant to take such an oath, knowing how serious a transgression it is to swear in vain. Or perhaps in taking it something in his voice or countenance would reveal either his innocence or guilt. That would be for the priest or judges to decide.

The moral here seems to be for the people of God to make sure they maintain wise, upright, and discerning shepherds.

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.