We all understand the importance of restitution in a natural sense, although, if we are honest with ourselves, we understand the subject much better when it is we who are entitled to restitution, than when it is we who should make restitution. Our natural hearts do not like to take responsibility for damage we have done.
There is a true story about a woman who came out of a shopping mall, only to find that someone had misjudged and run his/her car into hers, causing obvious damage. But when she read the note that was tucked under her windshield wiper, all it said was, “Sorry!” She fully expected to find a name and telephone number, so that she could collect the money to pay for repairs.
A man sitting on a bench nearby had seen the whole incident take place, but his only comment, when the woman showed him the note, was, “He said he was sorry; isn’t that enough?” But it certainly was not enough for the woman whose car was damaged.
At separate times, in different places, I had occasion to stay in a hotel where the hot water was not available that night. I discovered the problem only when I tried to use it late in the evening. In both cases I reported the matter to the front desk in the morning, but the reactions from the two hotels were very different. One hotel manager simply dismissed the matter by saying, “Sorry about that; I didn’t know anything about it.” She took no responsibility and offered no reimbursement or restitution. The other hotel manager (it was a different hotel chain) immediately said, “Then your room is free; no charge”! You can readily guess which hotel chain I continue to use today!
Restitution Manward and Godward
Restitution is prominent in the Word of God too, and in two different ways — manward and Godward. In this article we will discuss restitution manward, as given to us from God’s Word, and consider restitution Godward in a different article. There may be some overlap when we consider the two types of restitution.
One of the earliest recorded examples of restitution in Scripture occurs in Genesis 20:14,14And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife. (Genesis 20:14) when Abimelech not only restored Abraham’s wife Sarah to him, but also gave him “sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and women servants.” Even though Abraham was also at fault for advising Sarah to tell others that she was his sister, yet Abimelech recognized the seriousness of taking another man’s wife. Later, after Jacob had deceived Isaac and obtained his blessing by dishonesty, after many years he gave Esau a present of cattle, goats, sheep, camels and donkeys, as a means of appeasing the anger that he thought would surely be in Esau’s heart.
Much later, in the Mosaic law, restitution was definitely taught, and the value of the restitution was in keeping with the degree of iniquity connected with the original sin. For example, we read that “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” (Ex. 22:11If 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. (Exodus 22:1)). However, “if the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double” (Ex. 22:44If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double. (Exodus 22:4)). It is also recorded, “If he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft” (vs. 3). Stealing was a serious sin, but taking the next step of disposing of the animal that had been stolen was even more serious and required greater restitution. Other laws governed such things as the destruction of another’s crops by lighting a fire, allowing an animal to feed in another’s field, or even the committing of fornication with an unmarried woman: Restitution had to be made. Evidently these principles were before Zaccheus (Luke 19:88And Zaccheus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. (Luke 19:8)) when he told the Lord Jesus, “If I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.” He recognized his duty of restoration according to the law.
Fivefold Restitution
We might ask, however, why the restitution was so large in some cases: fivefold for an ox and fourfold for a sheep. We do not normally require this in most parts of the world today, and in many cases in which money is stolen, it is never recovered. The individuals from whom the money was stolen are simply left to bear the loss. However, God did not deal with Israel that way, nor does He deal with us in that way as to our sins.
When a man stole, not only was there the wrong done to his neighbor, but there was also the moral wrong involved in the theft. God required fourfold and fivefold restitutions for several reasons. First of all, the amount of the restoration was a strong deterrent to a repeat of the offense. A fourfold or fivefold restoration would, no doubt, greatly deplete the offender’s own cattle or sheep and remind him that “crime does not pay.” Second, it would serve as a reminder to others that the land belonged to Jehovah and that theft in Jehovah’s land was a serious matter. Third, it repaid the owner of the original animal for the time and trouble that the whole incident had caused him. Furthermore, the fact that the man might not have had the wherewithal to restore fourfold or fivefold did not release him from his obligation. We have the saying in English, “You cannot get blood out of a stone,” but his inability to pay did not free the offender. In this case, he was to be sold for his theft, a most frightening punishment, for his servitude would last for six years. Only then would he become a free man again.
In all of these laws and ordinances we see God instructing His chosen people Israel in a right way, both for His glory and ultimately for their blessing. We read elsewhere that “because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil” (Eccl. 8:1111Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. (Ecclesiastes 8:11)). We cannot help but feel that if the principles of restitution according to the Mosaic law were to be incorporated into law today, the crime rate would be considerably reduced. The strong, sinful tendencies of the natural man can be curbed only by the fear of appropriate punishment.
Yet we must all realize that without the grace of God, all our hearts are the same. Some of us that grew up in Christian homes had these wicked tendencies constrained by a godly upbringing, but the sinful nature was no better than that of anyone else. Because of our sins, we have all incurred a debt that we cannot repay, and our penalty would be eternal hell. But our Lord Jesus Christ has made restitution when we could not.
W. J. Prost