Now of course this isn’t talking about personal revenge. The gospel’s very clear that we mustn’t seek personal revenge. We must leave judgment to God. But when it comes to the state and their responsibility to establish and uphold justice: Then this is an important principle to bear in mind: retribution And then the 2nd major principle here is the principle of restitution. You can see it in almost every verse from 22 verse 1-15. If a thief steals something, he mustn’t just be punished. Part of his punishment is to pay back what’s been taken And if you think about it, that’s a much more personal way of dealing with crime. It seems in our justice system, that the punishment is very impersonal. The criminal just gets put in jail. He’s got very little interaction with the person who’s been wronged. But if he’s gotta go and make restitution. Then there’s the opportunity for personal hgealing In fact the Hebrew word used for restitution here is the word “shaleim” which is closely linked to the Hebrew word, “shalom” which means peace. And that’s really what this principle is all about. If you have to go and meet the person that uv wronged. And you’ve actually gotta do something to compensate for your crime. Then you not just being punished. There’s peace being restored in the community. And so that’s another important principle. And then the final section of laws is from 22 verse 21 to 23 verse 9. And this is all about social justice. How do you treat foreigners, and widows and orphans and the poor and needy who live among you.
Now of course this isn’t talking about personal revenge. The gospel’s very clear that we mustn’t seek personal revenge. We must leave judgment to God. But when it comes to the state and their responsibility to establish and uphold justice: Then this is an important principle to bear in mind: retribution And then the 2nd major principle here is the principle of restitution. You can see it in almost every verse from 22 verse 1-15. If a thief steals something, he mustn’t just be punished. Part of his punishment is to pay back what’s been taken And if you think about it, that’s a much more personal way of dealing with crime. It seems in our justice system, that the punishment is very impersonal. The criminal just gets put in jail. He’s got very little interaction with the person who’s been wronged. But if he’s gotta go and make restitution. Then there’s the opportunity for personal hgealing In fact the Hebrew word used for restitution here is the word “shaleim” which is closely linked to the Hebrew word, “shalom” which means peace. And that’s really what this principle is all about. If you have to go and meet the person that uv wronged. And you’ve actually gotta do something to compensate for your crime. Then you not just being punished. There’s peace being restored in the community. And so that’s another important principle. And then the final section of laws is from 22 verse 21 to 23 verse 9. And this is all about social justice. How do you treat foreigners, and widows and orphans and the poor and needy who live among you.
Exodus%2021.docx