The Guilt of Thieves – The Eighth Commandment

The Guilt of Thieves

The Eighth Commandment

Exodus 22:2, 3

“If a thief is found breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him, but if the sun has risen on him, there shall be bloodguilt for him. He shall surely pay. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.”

People have a right to defend their property against unlawful seizure. In the case of a thief who is caught in the act of stealing and injured as he is resisted, no guilt is to be assigned to the property owner, even if the thief dies. If this is the case, moreover, no further obligation of guilt is laid upon him or his survivors.

However, if the thief is caught without injury, even though not in the act of stealing, then he is guilty and must pay according to the relevant guidelines of restorative justice. This assumes that a fair and just procedure of claims and trial has been accomplished. If found guilty as charged by the rulers of the city, the thief must restore the value of whatever he has taken, and then some. If he cannot, then he was to be sold into slavery—perhaps to the one from whom he had stolen.

Restoration of stolen goods made it possible for a community to return good order. It also served to deter prospective thieves, since they knew they would be liable for repayment, or could be sold into slavery.

In this series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.MyParuchia.com and click on our Book Store.

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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.