Property – The Rule of Law: Government of the Community (4)

Property

The Rule of Law: Government of the Community (4)

God’s Law protects the right to private property.

“You shall not steal.” Exodus 20:15

While the communities of God’s people were structured in such a way as to ensure that all would work and that the work of all would contribute to the benefit of the whole community, this did not mean that all the property of individuals was the property of the entire community. God’s Law strictly preserves the right of each person to possess private property, and it forbids unlawful seizure of that property by others.

God’s Law protects private property in many ways: Through statutes designed to encourage neighbor vigilance over the property of others (Exod. 22:5, 6); through the practice of restorative justice (Exod. 21:22-26); by guarding inheritances (Num. 27:8-11); mandating payment of opportunity costs in cases of unlawful assault (Exod. 21:18, 19); ensuring just weights and balances (Lev. 19:35, 36); and various forms of retribution for thieves (cf. Exod. 22:2-4).

In a certain sense even the private property of individuals was to be available to his neighbor according to his need (cf. Deut. 23:24, 25; Deut. 15:11); at the same time, his property never ceased to be his own property rather than that of the community.

God reserved for Himself the right to distribute property in Israel, as is seen by His determining which lands would be assigned to which tribe. For someone to seize the property of another would thus have been not only to infringe an individual right but also to usurp a divine prerogative. Private property in ancient Israel was not primarily a means to wealth but a way of exercising stewardship unto the Lord, practicing neighbor-love, and, thus, of demonstrating faithfulness to God’s Word in expectation of His promises.

For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the life of faith, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Bookstore, then Church Issues.

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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.