Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm20061227.htm

EXODUS: FUNCTIONING WELL IN A HOPELESS GROUP ASSIGNMENT
Part II: God's Sustainment Of Israel In The Wilderness Amid Humanly Helpless Trials
K. God's Elaboration And Application Of The Ten Commandments
7. God's Elaborating On His Commands Relative To Property Damage
(Exodus 22:5-15)
  1. Introduction
    1. Though God told Israel not to steal in Exodus 20:15, no provision was made in the Ten Commandments on what should occur if someone diminished the value of another party's property due to irresponsibility.
    2. Thus, Exodus 22:5-15 clarified what to do in such cases (as follows):
  2. God's Elaborating On His Commands Relative To Property Damage, Exodus 22:5-15.
    1. After giving Moses the Ten Commandments, God enlarged and applied them in Israel's life so that there would be no possible misunderstanding as to what He meant by them, and this elaboration is known as the "Book of the Covenant" in Exodus 20:22-24:11, Bible Knowledge Commentary, Old Testament, p. 140.
    2. The seventh part of that "Book of the Covenant", Exodus 22:5-15, applies the eighth commandment on stealing to one's "taking away" the value of another's property as the result of irresponsible conduct:
      1. The Lord revealed that if a party caused another person's field or vineyard to be grazed over or if he let his animal loose so that it roamed onto the other party's field and grazed upon it, the offender had to made restitution to the field's owner from the best of the crops in his own field or vineyard, Ex. 22:5.
      2. God also noted that if someone lit a fire so that it accidentally lit dried thorns that in turn burned up a stack of grain or standing grain in a field, or destroyed a field of hay, he had to make restitution, 22:6.
      3. As there was no government regulated banking institution in the Ancient Near East, and personal property was assigned to a trustee for safekeeping (Ibid., p. 142), God had special applications for the loss or damage to personal property that had occurred under the care of a trustee (as follows):
        1. When a party entrusted his valuables with a trustee, and the valuables were stolen while under his care by a thief who was found, the thief had to restore double the value of what was stolen, Ex. 22:7.
        2. Now, if no thief was found, the trustee had to prove that he was not the cause of the loss or pay the owner double in remuneration as though he were a thief, Exodus 22:8-9, Ibid.! This regulation protected the owner and made the trustee highly motivated to protect the property placed in his care!
      4. Sometimes property that was borrowed was damaged, lost or destroyed, so special rules thus applied:
        1. When one man loaned his animal to another, and the animal died or was injured or driven away with no witness to the loss or damages incurred, and the borrower took an oath before God that he had not done the damage, the owner was to treat the oath as true and the borrower was not liable for damages. The matter was seen to be a "normal" accident that could occur at any time, so the owner in good faith left the matter to God to handle were the borrower lying under oath, Exodus 22:10-11!
        2. However, if the animal was stolen from the borrower, meaning the borrower had been negligent in his care of the animal, he had to make restitution to the owner for the animal's loss, Exodus 22:12.
        3. If the animal was destroyed by an act of violence by another wild animal, the borrower was to supply evidence of the fact in the form of the torn carcass, and the borrower was then not liable for damages. Such a loss was seen as a "normal" event that could occur at any time, Exodus 22:13.
        4. Now, special rules applied to the time of a borrower's oversight of the owner's property: (1) If the injury or loss of the animal occurred while it was under the care of the borrower only, the owner not being on the premises involved, the borrower had to make full restitution, Ex. 22:14. (2) However, if the loss occurred either before the owner left or after he returned, the owner alone was liable as his presence implied he had oversight, so the borrower's rights were thus respected, Exodus 22:15!
Lesson: In applying the command against stealing as it related to the loss of property value to an owner due to DAMAGES incurred by another, God held the trustee or borrower of another party's property was RESPONSIBLE for the RUIN if it occurred DUE to his IRRESPONSIBLE oversight!

Application: In God's view, if we are left RESPONSIBLE to CARE for another party's property, to avoid stealing, we must be ready to make FULL restitution for any value lost due to our negligence!