Exodus 22:7–15 (ESV)
“If a man gives to his neighbor money or goods to keep safe, and it is stolen from the man's house, then, if the thief is found, he shall pay double. If the thief is not found, the owner of the house shall come near to God to show whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor's property. For every breach of trust, whether it is for an ox, for a donkey, for a sheep, for a cloak, or for any kind of lost thing, of which one says, ‘This is it,’ the case of both parties shall come before God. The one whom God condemns shall pay double to his neighbor.
“If a man gives to his neighbor a donkey or an ox or a sheep or any beast to keep safe, and it dies or is injured or is driven away, without anyone seeing it, an oath by the LORD shall be between them both to see whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor's property. The owner shall accept the oath, and he shall not make restitution. But if it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner. If it is torn by beasts, let him bring it as evidence. He shall not make restitution for what has been torn.
“If a man borrows anything of his neighbor, and it is injured or dies, the owner not being with it, he shall make full restitution. If the owner was with it, he shall not make restitution; if it was hired, it came for its hiring fee.
These rules are complex because they deal with tough cases to adjudicate. Figuring out who is guilty can be hard. In many cases, they need God’s help.
The phrase “come near to God” can be puzzling. While the Hebrew literally says, “come near to God”, it means “appear before the judges.” Some translations (e.g., NKJV) even translate it that way. But the expression “come near to God” highlights God’s blessing on the judicial process; the truth will come out. This, combined with the harsh penalties that can be imposed, should deter a lot of mischief.
This fits well with the high value placed on “an oath by the LORD”. The owner is bound to accept this oath from the keeper of his property. While the Pentateuch does not define any specific sanctions for oaths taken in vain or broken later, it is clear that oaths are very serious and totally permanent. For example, see Numbers 30.
Christians all make one essential oath— “Jesus is Lord.” Unfortunately, it seems that many Christians act like they don’t think this means anything. They aren’t thinking in terms of Jesus literally being the lord of their lives. How could we do that, anyway? How would we know what the lord wants us to do?
Taking lordship seriously mean studying God’s word to discern His will, but many Christians fail at that.
Most Christian failings aren’t big, marquee sins; we just slack off from seeking the will of our king. We call Him Lord but don’t really mean it as a practical matter. We don’t practice kingdom-living.
Teaching kingdom-living is a major focus here at The Fellowship of Ailbe. Here are some resources.
https://www.ailbe.org/training
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These weekday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. Saturdays' by Matt Richardson. Subscribe here: https://www.ailbe.org/resources/community
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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version®. © Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NASB stands for the New American Standard Bible. Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV stands for the King James Version.
