What does "pay five oxen for an ox" teach about justice and fairness? Reading the Verse Exodus 22:1: “If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he must repay five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep.” Historical Background • Oxen were work animals—plow-pullers, wagon-haulers, the “tractors” of ancient Israel. • Losing an ox meant lost labor, time, and future harvests, not just the market price of the animal. • God’s law therefore set a higher restitution (five-for-one) than for a sheep (four-for-one) to match the greater economic impact. Why Five-for-One? Key Principles of Justice • Restitution, not revenge – The thief restores what was taken plus added compensation; the victim is made whole without personal retaliation (cf. Exodus 22:4). • Proportionality – The penalty fits the offense: more than simple replacement yet not excessive. • Deterrence – A fivefold repayment cost discourages would-be thieves. • Protection of livelihood – God values the victim’s future productivity; justice looks beyond the immediate loss. • Personal accountability – Wrongdoers bear the full weight of their choices (Proverbs 6:30-31). • Community stability – Swift, equitable restitution prevents cycles of feud and violence. Restitution in the Wider Law • Leviticus 6:4-5 adds a 20 percent premium when property is stolen and later confessed. • Numbers 5:6-7 extends the same rule to any act of fraud. • Zacchaeus models the heart behind the law: “I will repay four times the amount” (Luke 19:8). • Ephesians 4:28 urges former thieves to work “so that he may have something to share with the one in need,” moving from taking to giving. Practical Takeaways Today • Make wrongs right quickly and generously; aim for full restoration plus a margin of grace. • Value others’ means of making a living as highly as the item itself—time, opportunity, reputation all matter. • Laws, policies, and personal decisions should balance mercy with meaningful consequences that discourage harm. • Financial integrity is worship: “Render to all what is due them… Owe no one anything, except to love one another” (Romans 13:7-8). Restitution and the Gospel • The law exposes sin and shows the debt we cannot pay; the cross cancels that debt (Colossians 2:14). • Christ’s full payment motivates our own restitution toward people we have wronged (Matthew 5:23-24). • By moving from theft to generosity we mirror God, who “did not spare His own Son” but freely gave Him for us all (Romans 8:32). |
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