Series: Exodus
Title: The Law of
Restitution
Text: Ex 22: 1-17
Date: January 6, 2018
Place: SGBC, NJ
Subject: “The Law of
Restitution.”
All the laws we are
looking at in our text all have this one thing in common—RESTITUTION. What is that?
Restitution is to re-store
what you took away. But as we will see
in our text the law of restitution requires more be restored than what was
lost.
Exodus 22: 1:
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. [restitution] 2: If a thief be found breaking up, [breaking/entering]
and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him.
[homeowner is not guilt, no death, self-defense] 3: If the sun be risen upon him, [if homeowner takes revenge] there
shall be blood shed for him; [the
homeowner is guilty of murder—vengeance
belongs to the LORD] for [the
thief] should make full restitution; if [the thief] have nothing, then he
shall be sold for his theft. [to victim or money to victim] 4: If the theft be certainly found in
his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double.
5: If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall
put in his beast, and shall feed in another man’s field; of the best of his own
field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution. 6: If fire break out, and catch in
thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be
consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make
restitution. 7: If a man
shall deliver unto his neighbour money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out
of the man’s house; if the thief be found, let [the thief] pay double. 8:
If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall be brought unto
the judges, to see whether he have put his hand unto his neighbour’s
goods. 9: For all manner of trespass,
whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any
manner of lost thing, which another challengeth to be his, the cause of
both parties shall come before the judges; and whom the judges shall
condemn, he shall pay double unto his neighbour. 10:
If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast,
to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it: 11: Then shall an oath of the
LORD be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour’s
goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make
it good. 12: And if it be stolen from him, he
shall make restitution unto the owner thereof. 13:
If it be torn in pieces, then let him bring it for witness, and
he shall not make good that which was torn. 14: And if a man borrow ought of his neighbour, and it be
hurt, or die, the owner thereof being not with it, [the borrower] shall surely
make it good. 15: But if the owner thereof be
with it, he shall not make it good: if it be an hired thing,
it came for his hire. 16: And if
a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, [she consents but he deceived] and
lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife. [give a dowry] 17: If her father utterly refuse to
give her unto him, he shall pay money [to her father] according to the
dowry of virgins. [usually set by father]
Though these laws be broken against ones fellow man, all trespass
against our fellow man, is also trespass against God.
Leviticus 6: 1: And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2: If a soul sin, and commit a
trespass against the LORD, and lie unto his neighbour in that which was
delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence,
or hath deceived his neighbour; 3:
Or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth
falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein: 4: Then it shall be, because he hath
sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took
violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was
delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found, 5: Or all that about which he hath
sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the
fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it
appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering. 6: And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, a
ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass
offering, unto the priest: 7 And the priest shall make an atonement for
him before the LORD: and it shall be forgiven him for any thing of all that he
hath done in trespassing therein.
The law of
restitution required that not only was the principle thing taken to be
restored, but in addition, the person wronged was to gain by the injury done to
him. These laws of restitution are not merely to
teach us the moral precept of restitution.
They give us a picture of the gospel.
Every sinner has, by our disobedience to God,
stolen the glory and honor that belongs to God.
And every sinner has, by our disobedience to God, stolen from our own
selves. Yet, scripture declares…
Psalms 76:10: Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee, the remainder
of wrath shalt thou restrain.
So it is with the
wrath of man in the fall: God ordained from eternity that both he and his elect
would gain, not only what we lost by the fall, but more than we lost by the
fall. How so?
Proposition: The Lord Jesus
Christ fulfilled the whole law of God, making full restitution to God and his
people, not only what we lost but above what we lost in the fall.
Acts 3:18: But those things, which God before had showed by the mouth of
all his prophet, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.19: Repent ye therefore, and be
converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing
shall come from the presence of the Lord; 20: And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was
preached unto you: 21: Whom
the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God
hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
NONE CRIES, “RESTORE”
No sinner has ever
fulfilled the law of restitution in perfect righteousness (nor any other). We are the thief spoken of in the law of
restitution.
In the garden, when
we sinned in Adam. We stole from God. Doing so, we robbed ourselves. When God gave the law of restitution, all sinners
were already the thief spoken of in that very law. A sinner might make restitution outwardly to
his neighbor—and should—but not one has ever fulfilled this law due to the
covetousness of sinful nature.
Jeremiah 17: 10: I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins,
even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit
of his doings.
Proverbs 16:2: All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the
LORD weigheth the spirits.
It was due to our
inward heart sins that Christ said “except
your righteousness’ shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and
Pharisee’s, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5: 20.) He
did not mean we need to try harder, as some teach. He meant we are guilty of heart-sins, which
the Pharisee’s did not regard! This is what he said next,
Matthew 5: 21: Ye have
heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever
shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother
without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment:…
Matthew 5: 27: Ye have
heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28: But I say unto you, That whosoever
looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in
his heart.
Every sinner is
guilty and God says we not only owe God the justice his law demands and we not
only owe God perfect obedience his law demands, we owe double restitution. Sinner, can you confess that you are guilty
and unable to make double restitution to God? If you can truly confess to God you are the
guilty, helpless sinner then I have good news for you.
CHRIST THE RESTORER
God sent his Son and
Jesus Christ made double restitution both to God and to his sinful people. Christ said,
Psalm 69: 4: They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs
of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully,
are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away.
Our Lord Jesus is the
“ram without blemish”, “the holy high
priest” of his people—so that all
who were his enemies are his enemies wrongfully. Our Substitute willingly became our sin-bearer
that he also might be the one who “made double
restitution.” Doing so, he restored
double to God and to his people—that which
he himself took not away.
First, Christ restored double to you and I his people.
Isaiah 40: 1: Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2:
Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is
accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the
LORD’S hand double for all her sins.
In creation, Adam
received of the LORD’s hand a sinless life.
In the new creation, God’s elect receive of the LORD’s hand, not only a
sinless life, but a SINLESS, RIGHTEOUS, ETERNAL LIFE.
Romans 5: 20:…where sin abounded, grace did
MUCH MORE abound: 21: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace
reign through RIGHTEOUSNESS unto ETERNAL LIFE by JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD.
Christ not only saved his people, he is “the author of ETERNAL SALVATION unto all
them that obey him; (Heb 5:9.) Christ
not only gives the believer righteousness, but “EVERLASTING RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Dan 9:24)
Christ not only redeemed us from the curse of the law but “by his own blood he entered in once into
the holy place, having obtained ETERNAL REDEMPTION for us” (Heb 9:12) Christ not only gives us the promise of
inheritance but “they which are
called…receive the promise of ETERNAL INHERITANCE” (Heb 9:15). When this earthly house is dissolved we
have not only a BUILDING of God in the heavens but “we have a building of God,…ETERNAL in the heavens” (2 Cor 5:1).
Believer, Christ restored to us double, above all that Adam ever
possessed in innocence. And he did so
ETERNALLY! WE CAN NEVER FALL AGAIN!
Secondly, by all that
Christ accomplished as God in the flesh, he restored to God more honor and
glory from his people, and from all flesh, as well as magnified and honored his
law and mercy more, than had we remained innocent in the garden.
Isaiah 40: 3: The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye
the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 :Every valley shall be
exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall
be made straight, and the rough places plain: 5: And the glory
of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
God came in human flesh—manifesting the fulness of the glory of the
Godhead bodily—and all flesh—all men shall see it together! All flesh shall see all God glory in all his
attributes manifest in the flesh, in the GodMan, Mediator. All flesh shall see God’s glory in the way he
magnified and honored the law—making mercy and truth meet in harmony. All flesh shall see God’s glory in the
salvation of his people and the total destruction of his enemies (Tt Is 42)
In Is 42, God expresses double delight in Christ his Son because he has restored to him—not only praise and
glory from his people which was already his due—but double praise and glory
from his people.
Isaiah 42: 1: Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my
soul delighteth; [double delight] I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring
forth judgment to the Gentiles. 2: He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his
voice to be heard in the street. 3: A bruised reed shall he not break, and the
smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. 4: He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till
he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.
Christ brought forth double praise and glory
to God from his people because we see God’s righteousness manifest in Christ
crucified—he brought forth judgment on the cross and in the hearts of his
people. Now, we wait for his law—his
gospel—from his heavenly Mt Zion
Isaiah 42: 5: Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and
stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out
of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that
walk therein: 6: I the LORD have
called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and
give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; 7: To open the blind eyes, to bring
out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of
the prison house. 8: I am
the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another,
neither my praise to graven images.
Christ brought double honor and praise to God
from his people because God in Christ not only restored light to his blind
people; he not only restored God’s covenant promises to his people, Christ is the Light and Covenant God gave
for his people—the Light never
extinguished, the Covenant never broken.
For this we praise and glorify
God more than we ever could have had we remained innocent in the garden.
Christ brought double honor and praise to God from his people by a new
song of praise be sung—not only from his elect in Israel in one little spot of
the earth, but from every corner of the world from which he has called us, his
elect Gentiles.
Isaiah 42: 9: Behold, the former things are come to
pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them. 10: Sing unto the LORD a new song, and
his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that
is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. 11: Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their
voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of
the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. 12: Let them give glory unto the LORD,
and declare his praise in the islands.
Christ brings double
honor and praise to God, because the GodMan conquered all his enemies: those he
saves by grace, as well as those who go on worshipping their idols.
Isaiah 42: 13: The LORD
shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he
shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies. 14: I have long time holden my peace;
I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry like a
travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once. 15: I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their
herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools. 16: And I will bring the blind by a
way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have
not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight.
These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them. 17:
They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven
images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.
And “at
the name of Jesus every knee [shall] bow, of things in heaven, and things in
earth, and things under the earth; And…every tongue [shall] confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God” [Php 2: 10-11]
Christ brought this double restitution of honor and glory to God from
his people by manifesting God’s righteousness—by making justice and mercy meet in harmony in the salvation of his
people—and he did it for us who would not and could not make restoration.
Isaiah 42: 21: The LORD is well pleased [double
pleased] for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.
22: But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in
holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none
delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, RESTORE! 23: Who among you will give
ear to this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come? 24: Who gave Jacob
for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not the LORD, he against whom we
have sinned? for they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient
unto his law. 25: Therefore he [God] hath poured upon him [upon Jacob, all his
elect, in the person of Christ our Substitute. What did he pour upon him?] the fury
of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him [Christ our
Substitute] on fire round about, yet he [Jacob his elect, you and I who were
blind in our sins] knew not; and it burned him, [our old man of sin died in
Christ on the cross] yet he [us Jacob’s] laid it not to heart. [that is, until
God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, declaring] 1: But now thus
saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear
not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
2 Corinthians 4: 6: For God, who
commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
To all you lost
Jacob’s, I stand here beseeching you, on behalf of my victorious Redeemer, look
to Christ! By him double restitution has
been made—God and his elect has gained more than was lost in the fall for in him the glory of God is revealed!
Zechariah 9:12 Turn you to the
strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double
unto thee;
To all you Israelites,
already called, this is his promise to you.
Isaiah 43: 2: When thou
passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers,
they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt
not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. 3: For I am the LORD thy God, the
Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: [God in Christ] I gave Egypt for thy
ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. [Listen to this] 4: Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable,
and I have loved thee:[in Christ our Restorer] therefore will I give men for
thee, and people for thy life. 5 Fear not: for I am with thee: I will
bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; 6
I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring
my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; 7: Even every one that is
called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea,
I have made him.
Amen!