3/10

Leviticus 6:5-6

⁵or anything about which he has sworn falsely, he shall restore it in full and shall add a fifth to it, and give it to him to whom it belongs on the day he realizes his guilt. ⁶And he shall bring to the priest as his compensation to the LORD a ram without blemish out of the flock, or its equivalent for a guilt offering.

Leviticus is a book of laws regarding worship and social order. The law we will look at today deals with theft. If someone took a deposit, or safeguarded something for someone, or found something that belonged to someone else, or simply stole something and then lied about it so that they would gain financially, there was a law about how they should compensate the injured party. The person in the wrong may have been found out, or they may have decided to make the compensation because they realized their guilt. It seems the law expected people's conscience to bother them. Perhaps they might realize God was not blessing them because of sin.

The compensation first went to the person that incurred the loss. It was to be 120 percent of what was taken. The person had lost the use of the object for a time and was compensated for that as well. But that is not the end of the matter. The thief must also make things right with God. To be unjust toward man is to offend God. This is why Joseph told Potiphar's wife that he could not sin against his master and God (Genesis 39:9).

A sacrifice of a ram was also required. The seriousness to God of the sin against another human being had to be acknowledged. The ram may have been more costly than the object that was stolen. He could have stolen a little or a lot but the sacrifice was the same. Blood showed him how serious his crime was before the LORD and looked forward to the Savior. The person whom the thief deprived was made in the image of God. God is the one that gave that person the stewardship over that possession. God is offended when we are unjust toward one another. This is the moral basis for private property and punishing theft. Without these basic truths, there is no reason for private property or to call theft a crime.

Consider: God is offended when we injure others in any way. We must make things right with the person, but also with God. Do you need to compensate someone and get right with God?