9In all cases of illegal possession of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any lost item that someone claims, ‘This is mine,’ both parties shall bring their cases before the judges. The one whom the judges find guiltyc must pay back double to his neighbor.
10If a man gives a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any other animal to be cared for by his neighbor, but it dies or is injured or stolen while no one is watching, 11an oath before the LORD shall be made between the parties to determine whether or not the man has taken his neighbor’s property. The owner must accept the oath and require no restitution.
12But if the animal was actually stolen from the neighbor, he must make restitution to the owner.
13If it was torn to pieces, he shall bring it as evidence; he need not make restitution for the torn carcass.
“An object has been lost: the owner later sees a similar object in possession of his neighbor, and claims it as his own. The Israelites apparently did not follow the Anglo-Saxon dictum of ‘finders are keepers’: a lost object remains the possession of the original owner, who can claim it on sight.” (Cole)
Finders, keepers! When I was a child we had a sled for a hill in our local park that my father bought for us and he burned an inscription of our last name and address on the bottom side.
One day it disappeared and sometime after a neighbor kid and I decided to go sledding and he grabs “his” sled. I look at it and it looks like ours so I turned it over and there is my father’s inscription!
The kid made a comment, finders keepers. A fight I ensues and I took our sled home.
We didn’t have a Hebrew judge in our neighborhood!
“Hebrew, the gods: so judges are called, if good especially (Psalm 82:6). And the seat of judicature is called the holy place (Ecclesiastes 8:10).” (Trapp)
The reoccurring theme in these laws are restitution and justice.
Do you think our system of justice has both restitution and justice for the victims?
Blessings, David
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