Retribution – The Eighth Commandment

Retribution

The Eighth Commandment

Stealing requires restoration and retribution.

Exodus 22:4

“If the stolen beast is found alive in his possession, whether it is an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he shall pay double.”

Exodus 22:1

“If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall repay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.”

Luke 19:1-9

It’s not hard to see how these statutes would both discourage stealing and restore justice when transgression had been committed. The guidelines suggested here were doubtless applied more broadly than simply in the case of animals, as Zacchaeus’ response to Jesus suggests.

Jesus’ affirmation of Zacchaeus’ response is important for two reasons. First, He did not chide Zacchaeus for trying to keep the Law. There is no disjunction between Law and grace. Conviction under the Law opens the door for grace, which empowers those redeemed for keeping the Law.

Second, here again we see how these ancient statutes contain principles of “general equity,” as The Westminster Confession of Faith puts it, for discerning the practice of justice beyond the letter and into the spirit of the Law.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.