JUDGEMENT FIFTEEN
Exodus 22:1 =B6 If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or
sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a
sheep.
2 If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there
shall no blood be shed for him.
3 If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him;
for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall
be sold for his theft.
4 If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be
ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double.
My comments:
For a theft which the thief no longer has in his possession, he must
repay the owner five times for a large sum of money (an ox, roughly
=A3500 or $800) =96 that is he must repay around $4000 for the theft of an
item worth $800 =96 or more for a more expensive item.
For a cheaper item stolen, he must repay four times the value of the
item.
A thief breaking into someone`s property at night could be killed,
perhaps shot by the owner, and the owner will not suffer the death
penalty.
If a thief breaks in to property in the day time, he must not be
killed. He must be made to repay what he stole.
If he has not got rid of the theft and it is still in his possession,
he only needs to repay twice the value of the item.
This is a good punishment for a thief. A Christian, however, should
never have to undergo this:
1 Peter 4:15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief,
or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men=92s matters
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