We begin Chapter 22 today and the first section of this chapter deals with the penalties to be imposed for theft. The Lord said "do not steal" in the ten commandments but He knows human nature. He knows not everyone will keep this commandment; therefore, laws must be put in place to deal with incidents of theft.
"Whoever steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep." (Exodus 22:1) The thief must pay back more than he stole. If a man's ox is stolen, he is deprived of more than just the animal. He's deprived of the work the ox does. The planting or harvesting of his crops could be delayed. Suppose a man's ox is stolen when it's time to plow for planting. He could be delayed by several days or even longer if he lacks the money to purchase or lease an ox. If he's exceptionally poor he may not be able to get his crops planted at all or will have to plant far less than usual because he and his family will have to dig the soil as best they can with hand tools. Or suppose his crops are ready to harvest but the ox that pulls his cart is missing. How is he going to gather his crops into his barn or house to preserve food for the winter? The Lord is requiring the thief, when caught, to do more than just replace the animal he stole because the victim has experienced more than just the loss of the animal itself. The victim has experienced financial hardship and an interruption in his work and maybe even the loss of food for his family.
Now the Lord moves on to the subject of breaking and entering. "If a thief is caught breaking in at night and is struck a fatal blow, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed; but if it happens after sunrise, the defender is guilty of bloodshed." (Exodus 22:2-3a) If a person awakes in the night to the sound of a prowler in the house, that person has the right to defend himself, his family, and his property by any means necessary. If the prowler is struck a fatal blow while the homeowner fends him off, the homeowner will not face any charges. The homeowner naturally feared for his life when someone broke into his house during the night when the burglar could expect people would be home in their beds. Of course this would make the homeowner fear the burglar had more in mind than just grabbing a few items and making off with them. The last thing an ordinary thief wants is to break in and find people home, so when a person breaks in at night while a family is present then that person may have more sinister things in mind, such as sexually assaulting the female occupants or kidnapping a child or murdering the entire family. We can't blame a homeowner for using lethal force when he finds an intruder in his house in the middle of the night.
But in verse 3 the Lord says if the break-in occurs in the daytime the homeowner is not to use lethal force. Finding a stranger in your house at any time of the day or night would be startling and upsetting, but in the daytime the homeowner would be able to see whether the intruder is carrying a weapon. The homeowner would probably be able to see the thief's face and might recognize him from the community and be able to identify him to the police. The homeowner's neighbors and friends would be awake and going about their business during the day and if he yelled for help they'd hear him and come running to his aid. The thief would be less bold in the daytime because he wouldn't be able to hide in the shadows, so having the homeowner catch him in the house would most likely send him running away. The homeowner would probably not have to fight him to get him out of the house and the Lord is forbidding the homeowner to chase after the thief and kill him. The Lord is telling the homeowner to chase him out or sound the alarm but lethal force should not be necessary.
We can put verses 2 and 3 into perspective like this. If I heard someone breaking into my house in the middle of the night, or if I heard an intruder stealthily moving about the house while I'm in bed at night, the first thing I'd do is grab a weapon. I'd also call 911 if I could, but I'd have a loaded pistol in my hand while I waited for the cops to show up. I'd use the pistol if I had to. But if I were home in the daytime and heard someone trying to break in, my first thought would be to make my presence known while calling 911. I'd probably scream and yell. I'd only go for my pistol if the person kept trying to get in instead of running away. Nighttime burglars are more menacing than daytime burglars. A person who will break in, knowing you're home, is far more dangerous than a petty thief who wants to grab your jewelry and electronics in the daytime when he thinks you're at work. The Lord doesn't blame a man or woman who resorts to lethal force in the nighttime but He wants the homeowner to use other methods if someone is trying to get into the house in the daytime.
The thief is to be prosecuted by the law. "Anyone who steals must certainly make restitution, but if they have nothing, they must be sold to pay for their theft." (Exodus 22:3b) Last week we discussed some ways in which a person might end up in slavery. This is yet another example of how it could happen. In our day we send convicted thieves to jail to serve time for their crimes, but Old Testament thieves were simply asked to pay back what they stole (plus other damages and interest, as we saw in verse 1). If the person cannot pay then his victim has the right to sell him into slavery to recoup as much of the loss as possible. The thief will then serve time not in jail but as a slave. The Bible doesn't say here whether the person's time as a slave is limited or permanent.
In verse 1 the Lord spoke about the thief who steals a person's animal and slaughters it for food or sells it for money. In that case the thief could not return to the animal to its owner and he had to pay the owner four to five times the value of the animal to make up for the loss of the animal plus the lost work and other damages. But now we look at what happens when the thief still has the animal in his possession. "If the stolen animal is found alive in their possession---whether ox or donkey or sheep---they must pay back double." (Exodus 22:4) The thief is to return the animal plus pay the owner double what the animal is worth. He doesn't have to pay four to five times the worth of the animal because the animal is still alive and able to go back to work for its owner, but he must recompense the owner for lost work, lost time, and the loss of any money spent (legal fees, etc.) during the handling of this matter.
Thievery is not always the deliberate stealing of another person's money or possessions. There are other forms of stealing or of causing loss to our fellow man and we will be looking at some examples of these in tomorrow's study.
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