Title Leave it in peace / Exodus 22:1~4
Leave it to me with peace of mind/Exodus 22:1~4
Key Verse: “If a man steals and kills or sells an ox or a sheep, he shall pay him for five oxen for one ox and four sheep for one sheep” (Exodus 22:1).
Word: The main property of the Israelites in the wilderness was livestock. In the case of property-related theft, this issue may have been of paramount importance. Today, it's a matter of money or real estate.
What should you do when you steal someone else's beast? It can be divided into two cases. When you still have the stolen beast and when you have sold it. If you still have it, you have to pay it back twice. If you have already sold it, you have to pay back five times the cow and four times the sheep. Selling means you have a stronger 'intention' to steal to profit and leave no evidence, so you pay more. The punishment for a crime varies depending on how well-planned the crime is and how carefully and intentionally it is. It's about the quality of the crime. The reason cows are paid more is because they are bigger animals and they are more daring crimes.
Let's say the landlord kills the thief while defending it when the thief breaks through the house. How should it be dealt with? You have to think in two ways: when you wake up during the night and when you wake up during the day. If you kill a thief in the middle of the night fighting to stop the thief, you are not responsible. When the landlord asks for help from another person, it is recognized as self-defense because it is not easy to get help.
It's a different story when a thief is heard during the day. Because there are probably more ways to defeat the thief without killing it than by night. Killing a thief during the day would be overkill. He hates the thief and has a strong ‘intention’ to kill him. Even if you are a thief, life is precious.
Look, how merciful our Father God is! It's different from us, who lean to one side so easily depending on our mood. He puts up a big pillar that says that personal property should be protected, and then tells us to consider the lives of those who try to steal other people's property. If we listen carefully to these teachings, how beautiful our society will be. We can freely entrust everything to the Lord. His judgment and His laws are reassuring.
Prayer: Trust in the holy teachings of God's Word and apply it to all aspects of your life. I pray in Jesus name. Amen.
Lord's Prayer