“But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot …” (Ex. 21:23–24).
According to the laws given to Moses, punishment always should fit the crime. In the theocracy of Israel, the same type of punishment was not handed down for every crime, i.e., imprisonment for all with the only variance being the number of years (imprisonment is not even mentioned as punishment in Israel).
Based on the principle of Genesis 9:6, those who willfully killed were to be put to death, because he who kills a man attacks the image of God. Such an act is deserving of death in all times and in all cultures (the mandate being given to Noah after the flood). Those who committed manslaughter were to flee to the altar of God for protection, or they were to flee to cities of refuge, because their actions were not premeditated. In addition, those convicted of kidnapping, man-stealing, cursing or striking their parents were all to be put to death. Hence, we see the righteousness of capital punishment as the proper execution of justice.
We also see the principles of restitution set forth. If a man strikes another, and he does not die, then the attacker must make restitution for the time the man lost for recovery. Restitution was an integral part of the Jewish penal system. To our discredit, this practice mostly has been lost in our society. Restitution not only serves to punish the criminal, but it greatly values the rights of the victim. The focus of this kind of penal code is not merely punishment but true justice, in that it tries to restore the victim’s loss. This compensation, of course, cannot always be exact, for if a man loses a limb another cannot be given to him; but restitution is to be given to him that is proportional to the loss. In the case of abused of servants, the servants were to be given their freedom if they suffered loss from a master’s heavy hand.
This type of proportional payment for one’s loss is seen in the verse dealing with an eye for an eye. The execution of this law is not put into the hands of private persons, as if every man might avenge himself. It was this kind of abuse that Jesus condemned in Matthew 5. People were not to take the law into their own hands, but it was to be handled by the magistrate. Sometimes, in His providence, God directly punishes a man for his sin. But, in this case, magistrates were to punish offenders. Magistrates are to be ministers of justice; they are avengers (Rom. 13:4) who do not bear the sword in vain.
Carefully read through Exodus 21:12–27. How seriously does God take crime? How would you describe the justice set forth in these laws? What would be the reaction of our society to such laws today? What principles of law and morality have been lost in our legal system today? Pray for its restoration.