Author: missionspaul

Some of the Bible’s hardest verses require us to slow down and understand them in their original setting. Exodus 22:18 is one of them. Beneath its difficult language lies a question that reaches far beyond ancient Israel: when life becomes frightening and the future is uncertain, where will we turn?

“Do not allow a sorceress to live.” (Exodus 22: 18)

Few verses have been misunderstood as badly as this one. The King James Version translated it as “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live,” and later used the words to justify witch hunts. But that is not what this verse was intended to authorise.

The Hebrew word refers to someone practicing occult arts and seeking spiritual power, knowledge or protection from somewhere other than God.

Notice where the verse appears. It sits among laws concerning sexual sin, bestiality and idolatry. Israel was a covenant people, with God as their King. Turning to occult practices was therefore not simply an unusual interest. It was turning away from God and seeking another source of power and guidance.

And the question underneath this difficult verse still speaks to us:

Where do we turn when life becomes frightening and the future is uncertain?

We can be tempted by anything that promises knowledge, control or reassurance without requiring us to trust God.

Saul eventually went to the medium at Endor when he could no longer hear from God (1 Samuel 28). It is a sobering warning. When we refuse to wait for God, we become vulnerable to running elsewhere.

But we do not need spiritual shortcuts.

Christ has already defeated the powers of darkness. As Paul says, he has “disarmed the powers and authorities” (Colossians 2:15).

Nothing remains to buy from the dark. Christ has already won everything we need.

Some choices have consequences that do not disappear when the event is over. We can walk away from what we have done, but we cannot always walk away from the damage it has caused.

“If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price, and she shall be his wife. ¹⁷ If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins.” (Exodus 22 v 16-17)

This is not about rape but seduction.

A man persuades a young woman into a sexual relationship and then thinks he can simply walk away. At the time of this statement, a woman’s future security and standing in the community could be seriously affected if she was no longer a virgin and remained unmarried. God says there must be a cost. He cannot take and then disappear.

But she is not simply handed over to the man because he has slept with her. The father may refuse, and the man still has to pay.

This principle extends far beyond this situation: God holds us responsible for the damage we cause, especially when someone else is left to carry the consequences.

We live in a world where it’s tempting to enjoy the moment and leave someone else to pay the bill. We can damage trust, relationships, reputations, and lives, and then move on as though nothing happened.

God says we are responsible for what we do.

But then the gospel turns the principle upside down.

We had a debt we could never pay. Yet Christ did not leave us to carry the cost. Paul writes: “You were bought at a price.” 1 Corinthians 6:20

In Exodus 22, the person who caused the damage had to pay. At Calvary, the innocent One paid. He took the cost that belonged to us so that we could belong to him.

Think of what you are holding right now that isn’t really yours.

It might be a borrowed book. It might be something far more precious, like a friend’s confidence or a child’s trust. Most of life is spent looking after things that belong to someone else.

But things entrusted to us can be damaged, lost or neglected, and sometimes nobody else is there to see it happen.

Exodus 22 asks what happens then, when something entrusted to us goes missing and there is no witness?

“If anyone gives a neighbour silver or goods for safekeeping and they are stolen from the neighbour’s house, the thief, if caught, must pay back double. But if the thief is not found, the owner of the house must appear before the judges, and they must determine whether the owner of the house has laid hands on the other person’s property. …

“If anyone gives a donkey, an ox, a sheep or any other animal to their neighbour for safekeeping and it dies or is injured or is taken away while no one is looking, the issue between them will be settled by the taking of an oath before the Lord that the neighbour did not lay hands on the other person’s property. The owner is to accept this, and no restitution is required.”
(Exodus 22 v 7–15)

What do you think of yourself?

Self-awareness is an overlooked key to the Christian life.

People who never want to be corrected have sometimes used Paul’s words to defend themselves. But I think his words help us understand something important in Exodus 22:

“Those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.”
(1 Corinthians 4 v 2–4)

Paul describes himself as a servant and a steward. He has been entrusted with something that belongs to another. He is not free simply to do whatever he wants with it.

And the measure is not popularity, recognition or success.

It is faithfulness.

That is the world of Exodus 22. Someone places something that belongs to one person into another person’s hands. Sometimes it is lost, damaged or stolen “while no one is looking.” So the law provides evidence, judges and, when there is no witness, an oath before the Lord.

Accountability to one another matters.

But behind it all stands God, who sees what nobody else sees and has the final word.

Ultimately, none of us owns anything outright. God has entrusted us with our lives, our gifts, our opportunities, our ministries and, for some of us, the responsibility of caring for His church.

So what matters most to us?

The world’s metrics, or God’s measure of faithfulness?

Are we willing to do the essential things when nobody applauds?

Are we willing to care for what God has placed in our hands even when nobody is watching?

And then notice verse 15. If the owner is with the animal, the borrower does not have to pay.

That is wonderfully reassuring.

Our Owner has not left us to manage on our own. He is with us.

So perhaps the real question is not simply, “What am I doing when no one is looking?”

It is:

“What am I doing when I remember that God is looking?”

Faithfulness is doing what is right not because someone else will see it, but because He does.

A gate left unlatched. A cigarette end not quite put out. An email never sent, a promise quietly forgotten. The list can go on to demonstrate that we never set out to do damage. But the damage happened.

Hardly anyone sets out to do damage. Most of the harm we cause happens while we are looking the other way.

“If anyone grazes their livestock in a field or vineyard and lets them stray and they graze in someone else’s field, the offender must make restitution from the best of their own field or vineyard. ⁶ “If a fire breaks out and spreads into thornbushes so that it burns shocks of grain or standing grain or the whole field, the one who started the fire must make restitution.” (Exodus 22 v 5-6)

Have you ever been guilty of neglect?

You simply took your eye off the ball, or the animal, or the fire. We want to say, “I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

The law here said this: the damage is still yours to put right. Carelessness still has victims. A neglected responsibility or a small compromise left to spread was never intended to ‘burn a whole field down’.

Putting things right is meant to cost us something. The restitution should be from ‘the best of’.

Now pause.

That is exactly what God did for us. He gave from the very best He had: His own Son. Not because He had done wrong, but because we have.

Do you remember the story of Zacchaeus? The chief tax collector in Jericho was rich because he had taken more than he was entitled to. Then Jesus invited Himself to his house. “If I have cheated anyone out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus replied, “Today salvation has come to this house.” Zacchaeus didn’t pay to be saved. He paid because he was. This great story is the best example of the word “restitution,” which is at the heart of Exodus 22, particularly the verses we read today.

“Anyone who steals must certainly make restitution, but if they have nothing, they must be sold to pay for their theft. ⁴ If the stolen animal is found alive in their possession—whether ox or donkey or sheep—they must pay back double.” (Exodus 22 v 3-4)

This was not only about the offender getting justice, but it was about the victim getting back what was lost.

Sin is never victimless, and repentance is never just a private feeling. A genuine change of heart may require practical and costly restitution.

The law went further. If the thief has nothing, he is sold to pay for his theft. The debt has to be paid, one way or another. Even in a bankrupt situation, the law will not pretend the wrong never happened. Someone has to bear the cost.

But if the thief is caught red-handed with the stolen animal, they must pay back double: two animals for one. The law demanded that the sinner make things right.

Now pause.

The gospel declares that it has been made right.

Every one of us has sinned. We could never pay it back, let alone double. So the One who owed nothing stepped in and paid everything. Christ did not merely cancel our debt; He bore the cost, and He gave back more than we ever lost.

He paid in full.

A lot can change when the light is turned on.

“If a thief is caught breaking in at night and is struck a fatal blow, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed; ³ but if it happens after sunrise, the defender is guilty of bloodshed.” (Exodus 22 v 2-3)

At night, a homeowner cannot see who is at the door. He cannot tell whether the intruder is armed, or whether his family is in danger.

After sunrise, everything changes. Now the thief can be seen. He can be identified, restrained, and brought to justice. To kill him then is no longer defence but vengeance, and the law calls it bloodshed.

What do we do when we see clearly? In the dark, we may act in confusion and fear. In the light, we are without excuse. Once we know the truth, we are accountable for how we respond.

When we see clearly, we are accountable for how we respond.

And this ultimately points us towards the cross.

The cross was where justice and mercy met. Sin was not ignored. It was brought fully into the light. Yet the One who saw everything clearly chose redemption over revenge.

Jesus knew exactly what humanity had done, yet He prayed, “Father, forgive them.”

The light revealed the sin, but mercy provided a way back.

Perhaps the question for us is simple: What has God brought into the light that now requires a different response from us?

Because when we see clearly, we have a choice which is not to take revenge, but to respond with the grace we have received from Christ.

 We are encouraged so much to make sure our digital presence cannot be tracked. So we understand the phrase ‘to cover our tracks’. We do it a lot. 

But what if it’s us trying to do all we can to make sure no one saw the error of our ways? Have you ever got back into your car and noticed a dent in your car door, where did it come from? Whoever did it is nowhere to be found. God has something to say. 

“Whoever steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep.” Exodus 22:1)

Stealing and getting rid of the evidence by killing the ox or sheep has a punishment not just for what was stolen, but what was the attempt of covering up.

The lie that tries to cover up the wrong or the embellished story to explain what we said or did. These things matter. 

The key is this: Honesty in the failure matters. 

Are we guilty of covering our tracks?

When you’ve got something wrong, is your instinct to bring it back or even to try to bury it?

An accident or ‘I didn’t mean to do it’ only applies if it’s not a repeated pattern. Today’s bull has been a problem before. We need to keep an eye on track records more than we do. 

“If anyone’s bull injures someone else’s bull and it dies, the two parties are to sell the live one and divide both the money and the dead animal equally. However, if it was known that the bull had the habit of goring, yet the owner did not keep it penned up, the owner must pay, animal for animal, and take the dead animal in exchange.” Exodus‬ ‭21‬:‭35‬-‭36‬ ‭

This follows in the same vein as yesterday’s blog ‘If you’ve seen a hole then don’t take your eye off it.’

If no one could have predicted this bull fight then God splits the loss evenly.

However, if one of the bull-owners knew this was a possibility, their bull was displaying out of the ordinary behaviour, then that’s a different story. 

Once you know, then you know the possibility, so if it happens you have no excuse. 

What’s your bull?

We all make mistakes. We all sin. We all know what it is to lose our temper or to say what we later regret. 

But if we become known by this, if this is part of our life, if we just seem to constantly be fighting something or someone, then God has something to say to us? Known danger is a choice. 

What’s the bull you’ve stopped pretending you didn’t know about?

“Have you ever had an accident?” That used to be the opening line of a random phone call.

These days it’s more like, “We are calling you about the accident you have had.” When in actual fact you’ve been blessed never to have had what they describe. 

They probably didn’t have public liability insurance and risk assessments in Moses’ day. They probably also didn’t have “Danger: wet floor” signs either. 

But what did exist in their law was this: you are responsible for what you have been negligent about.

““If anyone uncovers a pit or digs one and fails to cover it and an ox or a donkey falls into it, the one who opened the pit must pay the owner for the loss and take the dead animal in exchange.”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭21‬:‭33‬-‭34‬ ‭

This was carelessness. 

Guilt is not only for when we intend to harm. “I didn’t mean it so it’s not my fault!” This wasn’t good enough in those days neither for our times. 

The one who dug a hole didn’t do it to capture an animal. For whatever reason, the digger left something unfinished and it was dangerous. 

Have we left something uncovered?

Have we left something unsaid? 

Have we left something unrepaired?

According to these verses, if you dug the hole or left it open, you are responsible. You cannot fall on “I didn’t mean for that to happen”.

Do you have an uncovered pit in your life right now?

What needs fixing?

There are hidden truths in these sections of the Old Testament law even though reading them can seem very strange to us today. Let’s read a few more verses.

“If a bull gores a man or woman to death, the bull is to be stoned to death, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the bull will not be held responsible. If, however, the bull has had the habit of goring and the owner has been warned but has not kept it penned up and it kills a man or woman, the bull is to be stoned and its owner also is to be put to death. However, if payment is demanded, the owner may redeem his life by the payment of whatever is demanded. This law also applies if the bull gores a son or daughter. If the bull gores a male or female slave, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of the slave, and the bull is to be stoned to death.” Exodus‬ ‭21‬:‭28‬-‭32‬ ‭

Here’s the principle: you are responsible for what you know. 

• if you own a bull and without any warning it kills someone, you are not liable.
• But if you own a bull and you had been warned about its behaviour but did nothing, you are liable.
• The key is this: what did you know, and what did you do about it?

Now let’s apply that in to our situation. To churches and organisations where people can get harmed.

‘Bulls” are everywhere, sadly.

Inaction towards risk of harm, patterns of bad behaviour, being silent when silence is culpable, this means you cannot be seen as neutral. 

Here’s a question: when we’ve been warned, do we act — or do we wait for it to get worse? Saying “I could see this coming” or “they have a track record of ‘goring’” is not acceptable, it wasn’t then and it’s not now.