I invite you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 21. We have a lengthy portion of God's Word to read tonight. It's typically our habit to read, you know, as a family in advance of the messages, so having read that passage, my wife turns to me and says, what are you going to do with that? Now, you just heard from John 5 this morning, yes? And we don't want to be in that business at the end of days at the judgment seat of Christ and Moses accusing us, do we? These things, Jesus said, testify of Me. So it's always my burden when I come to study the Old Testament Scriptures to be seeing how that actually works itself out. So be in prayer for me as I do that, and hopefully you'll be blessed as I share some of my discoveries tonight. The title of the message is just taken from one line there, and it's purposeful. It should get your mind a-whirring. W-h-i-r-r-i-n-g, thinking about Scripture portions that actually have the word stripe in it, both Old Testament and New. Let me read that portion of God's Word for you, and then we'll pray after that and enter in. So Exodus chapter 21, and we'll begin reading at verse 12. Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death. But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee. But if a man willfully attacks another to kill him by cunning, you shall take him from my altar that he may die. Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death. Whoever steals a man and sells him and anyone found in possession of him shall be put to death. Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death. When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and the man does not die but takes to his bed, then if the man rises again and walks outdoors with his staff, he who struck him shall be clear, only he shall pay for the loss of his time and shall have him thoroughly healed. When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged. But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the slave is his money. When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman's husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free because of his eye. If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he shall let the slave go free because of his tooth. When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned and its flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall not be liable. But if the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has been worn but has not kept it in, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death. If a ransom is imposed on him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is imposed on him. If it gores a man's son or daughter, he shall be dealt with according to the same rule. If the ox gores a slave, male or female, the owner shall give to their master 30 shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned. When a man opens a pit, or when a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or donkey falls into it, the owner of the pit shall make restoration. He shall give money to its owner, and the dead beast shall be his. When one man's ox butts another's so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and share its price, and the dead beast also they shall share. Or, if it is known that the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has not kept it in, he shall repay ox for ox, and the dead beast shall be his. If a man steals an ox or a sheep and kills it or sells it, he shall repay five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep. If a thief is found breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no blood guilt for him. But if the sun has risen on him, there shall be blood guilt for him. He shall surely pay. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. If the stolen beast is found alive in his possession, whether it is an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he shall pay double. If a man causes a field or vineyard to be grazed over or lets his beast loose and feeds in another man's field, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field and in his own vineyard. If fire breaks out and catches in thorns so that the stacked grain or the standing grain or the field is consumed, he who started the fire shall make full restitution. If a man gives to his neighbor money or goods to keep safe and it is stolen from the man's house, then if the thief is found, he shall pay double. If the thief is not found, the owner of the house shall come near to God to show whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor's property. For every breach of trust, whether it is for an ox, for a donkey, for a sheep, for a cloak, or for any kind of lost thing of which one says, this is it, the case of both parties shall come before God. The one whom God condemns shall pay double to his neighbor. If a man gives to his neighbor a donkey, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast to keep safe, and it dies, or is injured, or is driven away without anyone seeing it, an oath by the Lord shall be between them both to see whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor's property. The owner shall accept the oath, and he shall not make restitution. But if it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner. If it is torn by beast, let him bring it as evidence. He shall not make restitution for what has been torn. If a man borrows anything of his neighbor and it is injured or dies, the owner not being with it, he shall make full restitution. If the owner was with it, he shall not make restitution. If it was hired, it came for its hiring fee." This is the Word of the living God. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, several things we acknowledge about Your Word. It is a living Word, an active Word, an abiding Word. It is the word that divides even to soul and spirit and joints and marrow. It is the Word that teaches us. It is the Word that rebukes us, corrects us, trains us in righteousness, that the man and the woman and the child of God might be thoroughly equipped for every good work. We acknowledge these things about this Word. And yet, we find some of these ancient words a struggle to find how it actually applies, how it actually points to the Lord Jesus Christ. And we want to be encouraged this night, and so we cry out to You for help. And Heavenly Father, we just pray that You would be in our midst as our Teacher by Your Holy Spirit, ultimately that we might be built up in our faith that we might marvel at the great gift of Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and that we might go out into the world declaring Him. For Jesus' sake we pray. Amen. I want to begin this evening talking a little bit about the worth of the Word of God in the life of the Christian, and particularly focusing on the worth of the Old Testament Scriptures. But before I actually do that, I just want to start off by saying I've never been drunk, and that's by God's grace. I've seen drunks. We've seen them in life. They don't function as they ought. I've seen the effects of drunkenness. I've seen loss of family, loss of job, loss of home, loss of life. It's a really good thing to be sober. If you're sober, you can enter fully into those things that God has given us to be engaged in in life. But I don't want to talk about that kind of sobriety. I want to talk about spiritual sobriety. In Ephesians 5 verse 18, we read, and do not get drunk with wine. We could expand that. Don't get drunk with anything in this life, any gift that God has given, but be filled with the Spirit. So I am encouraging spiritual sobriety. That spiritual sobriety comes about by the filling of the Holy Spirit. Don't get drunk with this, Paul says, be filled with the Holy Spirit. The question is, how are we filled with the Holy Spirit? It's a very important question. What you need to do with Ephesians 5.18 is you need to join it together with another passage, Colossians 3.16. You'll find the wording there is very similar with one exception. In Colossians 3, verse 16, it doesn't talk about being filled with the Spirit, but let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. So filling with the Spirit coincides and is concurrent with letting the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. You let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. You are filled with the Spirit. You will be spiritually sober in this life. We will be able to glorify our God and enjoy Him as we ought. Of course, we would acknowledge all that, but here's where we want to bring the Old Testament in. The Old Testament plays a fundamental part in our spiritual sobriety. Fundamental. But if I were to hazard a guess, if we were to visit Christian churches and Christian homes today, for any length of time, we would probably find most of them bereft of, let's call it a complete exposure to the Old Testament Scriptures. I really believe that to be the case. I talk to a lot of pastors. They're never preaching from the Old Testament Scriptures. It is a big blank to them. And that neglect not only happens among pastors, but it happens among the people of God, and it is grievous neglect. It grieves the spirit of the living God, and it will bring us to grief in our Christian lives. We need the Old Testament if we are to live spiritually sober lives. Well, how does it play into our life? I like what John Piper says here. I'm going to repeat this quote. If you want it afterwards, I can send it to you. He says this, we need the Old Testament to sober us about how holy God is. And we need the New Testament lest we despair of any hope that we could survive in the presence of such a holy God, let alone enjoy Him forever. Want me to say that again? We need the Old Testament to sober us about how holy God is, and we need the New Testament lest we despair of any hope that we could survive in the presence of such a holy God, let alone enjoy Him forever." I think he's bang on there. If you want to know how much the Old Testament contributes to our spiritual sobriety, I would just ask you to take a look at the length of it. You ever notice this? How long the Old Testament is and how short the New Testament is? I want you to consider the weight that God assigns to it. I want you to consider the repetition of certain themes. That's all purposeful on the part of the Holy Spirit of God. He knows we not only need to hear these themes, but He knows exactly how much we need to hear them. Therefore, for the sake of our spiritual sobriety, if we would be Spirit-filled, we must give ourselves to the Old Testament daily." So let's continue to read it, private devotions. Let's put ourselves under the preaching of it weekly in the Old Testament. PM service, and let's encourage others to do the same. And should we do that, we will better understand the love of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and this in turn is going to cause our hearts to well up in love for Him and for others. That's what this passage does. It deepens our love for the Lord Jesus Christ. The book of Exodus. Well again, it does relate to us a story in its first part. In its second part, a covenant. The story is a redemption story. It's a salvation story. You remember it. The Israelites in bondage in Egypt, a grievous bondage for 400 years, and then rescued by the hand of Almighty God through a mediator. then them at Mount Sinai entering into covenant with this triune God. Of course, all of this rings really familiar to us, those of us who are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. And we understand that this story, like all of the Old Testament, it's a true story. It's a historical account. It actually helps us to anticipate that greater redemption story and that better covenant that comes in the Lord Jesus Christ. This story here prefigures the greatest salvation story, our exodus from sin and death through the exodus of the Lord Jesus Christ, His death on the cross, and it anticipates the better covenant in Him. So we've looked at part one. And that ran from chapter 1 to chapter 18, and now we're in chapters 19 to 40. And I need to remind you that the second part is kind of bookended. You've got these two accounts, you know, God, you've got the people, and you're just anticipating them to come together at the mountain, chapter 19, and it doesn't happen. The covenant doesn't bring that about. God's on the mountain. The people are down below. And even with Moses, the most humble man in all the earth, the Bible says, at the very end, he can't even go into the tabernacle. And you're left hanging. You're left anticipating. Oh, there's got to be something better. There has to be something better, and it causes the people of God, the faithful of old, to look forward. Of course, this is all purposeful on the part of the living God. It's all by His express design. So having said that, we've looked at the summary document of the covenant, all those words. It's literally word, not commandment there, the ten words. And then what we have here is detail of those words, beginning particularly chapter 20, verse 22, all the way to chapter 23 and verse 19. So you've got these summary words, and then you've got detail. So we have considered the detail relating to the first word. What is the first word? The first law, let's call it that way, the first commandment. What is it? You shall have what? No other gods before Me. Well, what's the detail in the law? God is calling His people to worship Him, so what does He talk about? He talks all about altars. He makes provision for their approach, and we saw some wonderful things in that. Unhewn stones and altars out of earth and no steps. all that speaks to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We saw that detail in chapter 20, verses 22 to 26. Then we have considered broadly some laws relating to neighbor. We first of all saw in Chapter 21, verses 1 to 6, God making provision for indebtedness, and the Holy Spirit of the living God weaving in there a particular theme, which is going to be revisited in our passage tonight, the theme of ransom, the whole ransom dynamic. God wants us to get our heads around so that we might understand the ransom that Jesus Christ achieved. And then in chapter 21, verses 7 to 11, I gave you some homework. I did not actually exposit that particular text, but it's really, really interesting to me, and there God is making marital provision for poor women. marital provision for poor women. And of course, in the New Covenant, we're the poor woman. We've got nothing to offer, and yet God makes provision in the gift of His Son. So that's how that one finds itself filled to the full in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now we come to our text, and the laws here also relate to neighbor. Chapter 21, verses 12 to 32 expand in general upon the sixth word. The sixth word is thou shalt not kill. There's more than that there, but primarily that. And then in chapter 22, verse 33 to chapter 22, verse 15, those verses, those laws expand in general upon the eighth word, you shall not steal. Now, there are a lot of laws here, yes? Did you get lost in them, start to kind of glaze over? Did you thank Jesus that you're under the new covenant? You ought to be doing that as you read through these texts. And while I'll briefly go over them, I don't want us to get lost in the detail. Listen closely. What I want us to notice chiefly is the big law behind them all, and then how God cements that big law in the hearts of His people through repetition in various scenarios. There's a big law in behind them. regards to person and property, there's a repetition of that in various scenarios, and that cements that big law in the minds and the hearts of the people. And there's a reason for that. The reason for that is it helps us understand what occurred at Calvary's cross. Along the way, we're going to notice some interesting, I'm going to call them bunny trails, but they really are what I would call notable gospel anticipating insertions. Finally in all of this, in behind obligation to neighbor is Israel's obligation to God. So what therefore God prescribes in terms of consequence for breaches in the law as it relates to neighbor necessarily puts the reader in mind and on the trajectory of what God prescribes and what He demands in terms of consequence for breaches in the law as it relates to Him. To put it another way, what is prescribed by God along this horizontal plane of relationship relates to what is prescribed by God along the vertical plane of relationship. That's the introduction. two points this evening. We've got the law with respect to one's person, and then the law with respect to one's property. The law with respect to one's person, chapter 21, verses 12 to 32. Three things I want us to see here. First of all, the big law. Then we're going to look at the scenarios, I'm not going to reread them, and those gospel anticipating insertions. We're going to do the same thing under point number two. So the law with respect to one's person. So what's the big law? The big law we find in verses 23 to 25. Look at it again. I'm going to read that. I'm not going to read any of the rest. But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. You can also find this law reiterated, though not precisely the way it is here in Leviticus 24, verses 19 to 20, and Deuteronomy 19, verse 21. Who likes Latin? What is this law called? Lex talionis. Now you can go and impress your friends. But what that means, this law, this is the law of exact retaliation, listen to this, whereby punishment resembles the offense committed in kind and in degree. I'm going to repeat that. Lex talionis, the law of exact retaliation whereby punishment resembles the offense committed in kind and in degree. Let's explain it further. The law did not mean that if you cause someone to lose an eye, you had to lose an eye. That's not what it means. Note the punishment was to be in kind. Notice also it was to be in degree. That is, the punishment was designed to limit the retribution that anyone could exact. One writer said, the intention was to ensure that the punishment fitted the crime and that no punishment exceeded the hurt committed." So again, the law of exact retaliation whereby a punishment resembles the offense committed in kind and in degree. So when you get all these scenarios that illustrate, we ought to say this, that God values human life, but why does He value human life? Because man was made in the image of God to attack a fellow human being as an attack on God Himself. We recognize that? That's very clear in passages like Genesis 1.27 and Genesis 9.6. So in each of these scenarios, you've got an effect and you've got a consequence, a lex talianus consequence, punishment in kind and in degree. So in verses 12 to 14, you have murder. You kill somebody. What happens if you kill somebody? Death, right? Death. Now, in those verses, there's some interesting things there. We also see that there is a little bit of a commentary on manslaughter. So, we understand that some of those deaths that befall other human beings at the hands of other human beings are not premeditated. There is no conniving. There is no cunning, as our text puts it, but it just happens. And God makes provision for that, which we're going to talk about in a few moments, because that's one of those gospel-anticipating insertions there, this whole idea of ransom. But I also don't want to miss another thing in these verses. God let him fall into His hands. That's a wonderful insertion in there, and it just reminds us that nothing happens in this world outside the providence and the sovereignty of God. And again, we need to rest in that glorious truth and remember once again that if we are God's children, it is all for our good. But in terms of the scenario itself, murder leads to death. Now, scenario number two is in verse 15. Kids, listen to this. Listen to what happened back in the old days. If you struck your mommy and daddy, that means you die. Wow. Did you hear that? That's what it says in verse 15. One commentator said, an attack on parents was a breach specifically of the fifth word, and such disrespect would amount to rebellion against God. Now, the reason for the penalty of death, and I thought this was very, very astute, is actually confirmed by its opposite. Remember, if you honor your father and mother, what actually happens if you honor your father and mother in the Old Covenant? that may go well with you in the land, that you might have a long life. The opposite of that, death. So we see the relation between those two here. Parents, this writer says, were appointed as representatives of God, exercising his rule in the family circle. Moreover, the word used for strike, we're a little bit concerned about that, it may well have a stronger meaning of strike fatally or kill. But we will see that there is even more related to honoring parents in a little bit. Scenario number three. Still thinking Lex Talianus, still thinking the law of exact retaliation whereby punishment resembles the offense committed in kind or degree. Kidnapping or man stealing. Just talking a little bit about this this afternoon, you know, you think about the British Empire and the American Empire often justifying slavery from the Old Testament Scriptures particularly. Look, there were slaves all over the place. We're just doing the same thing, and yet they missed this command. You steal a man, you should be put to death. It's repeated in the New Testament Scriptures. Well, we're back on parents in scenario number four, verse 17. If you curse your parents, which I've got to confess, I did. When I was younger, never to their face. What's the result? You die. You curse your parents, you die. Scenario number five, verses 18 and 19, there's an unintentional injury as a result of a quarrel. What's the result? What's the consequence? Lex talionis, payment for loss of that person's time. Notice I'm not commenting on any of these things. We'll get to that. Scenario number six, verses 20 to 21, striking a slave so that he dies. He needs to be avenged according to the ruling of the judges, though we're not told exactly what that ought to be. I thought Matthew Henry was helpful at this point, and he says these things about these verses here. In verses 20 to 21, direction is given what should be done if a servant died by his master's correction. It is supposed that he smite him with a rod and not with anything that was likely to give a mortal wound. Yet, if he died under his hand, he should be punished for his cruelty at the direction of the judges upon consideration of the circumstances. That deals with verse 20. But if that slave continued a day or two," this is verse 21, after the correction given, the master was supposed to suffer enough by losing his servant, or losing the services of his servant. So we continue. We've got roughly four more scenarios. Scenario number seven, verse 22, striking a pregnant woman, which induces delivery, but the children are unharmed, there is a find. That is put forward by the offended husband, but it's determined by the judges. We're not told exactly what it is. Scenario number 8, striking a slave so that he loses a knife, freedom for the slave. Verse 27, scenario number 9, striking a slave so that he loses a tooth, freedom for the slave. Scenario number 10, which is a little bit more involved and goes from verse 28 to verse 32, if an ox gores a man to death, what about that? Death for the ox. Which ought to surprise us a little bit, until we remember, and for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning from every beast, I will require it and from man. Genesis 9 verse 5. So the ox dies. What about this? An ox gores a man to death who was given to goring in the past and the owner was warned. Well, death for the ox, death for the owner. Verse 29. Although, A ransom could be paid for his life, more on that. The scenario is further expanded to include the goring of sons and daughters, and Moses, the writer said, the same laws apply here to them, and there's also another word about slaves in verse 32. So in each one of these scenarios, it illustrates the big law, lex talionis. Let's say it again, the law of exact retaliation, whereby punishment resembles the offense committed in kind and in degree. Now, I know it's a bit of a slog going through all these kind of things, and we're going to bring it to the gospel when we get to the conclusion, but I could not resist talking about some of these little gospel-anticipating insertions that are rather obvious in the text. And the first one, there's actually two that I see here, the first one comes in verse 13. So this is where it's talking about manslaughter. But if he did not lie in wait for Him, but God let him fall into His hand, then I will appoint to you a place to which he may flee. And we actually see that in the second giving of the law. We've got the west side of the Jordan, Deuteronomy 4, verses 41 to 43, three cities there. East side of the Jordan, Deuteronomy 19, verses 1 to 3, three cities there. What were those cities called? Cities of refuge. other refuge have I none, hangs my helpless soul on Thee." That idea of refuge is all throughout the Old Testament Scriptures, and it prepares us to hear when Jesus says something like this in the gospel of John 16, verse 33, "'I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace.'" I'm the fulfillment of all those things." So it's a wonderful gospel-anticipating insertion here. The other one is in verse 30, and that's a repeat of what we have seen before in the beginning of chapter 21, this idea of a ransom for one's life. If a ransom is imposed on him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is imposed on him." Murderer couldn't do this. This means that while the owner of the ox was negligent, he was not technically a murderer, and so a ransom was permissible. This is manslaughter again. And we're not going to belabor the point, but you remember in the ransom dynamic there is the person that needs to be ransomed, that is us. There's the one who's willing to pay the ransom, that is who? Jesus. And there is the party to whom the ransom is paid. Who's that? God. The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. So I love seeing those gospel anticipating insertions in this text. But the big law, again, lex talionis, the law with respect to one's person, the law of exact retaliation whereby punishment resembles the offense committed in kind and in degree, and the living God is just drumming this into the minds and hearts of His people. Look at what it looks like. Look at what it looks like. Look at what it looks like. Then we get to the law with respect to one's property, point number two. Chapter 21, verse 33, chapter 22, verse 15, same three things here. Going to talk about the big law, which is not disconnected with the law that we saw previously. We'll look at the scenarios that are mentioned, talk about them briefly, and talk about one, gospel anticipating insertion, which particularly speaks to the bad news of the gospel. You've got to have bad news if you're actually going to have good news. So the big law is restitution. Did you see that word in the text? It's actually, in the original Hebrew, it's used fourteen times in these verses. The Yisra'il doesn't translate it the same way in the English every single time. You'll see it translated as restitution, or restoration, or repay, or pay. fourteen times in the verses. I think God is trying to say something to us, communicate something to us. One example will suffice. Look at verse 14 of chapter 22. If a man borrows anything of his neighbor, and it is injured or dies, the owner not being with it, he shall make full restitution. Now the Hebrew word there is really interesting. One commentator said, essentially that word signifies – listen to this and hear the gospel sing in this – it signifies completion or fulfillment. Therefore, to make restitution, now my words, is to make amends and entails the complete settling or clearing of accounts. To make restitution is to make amends and entails the complete settling or clearing of accounts. This is what God wants to ram home into the minds and hearts of the Israelites of old. Now we've got these scenarios that do that. Scenario number one, verses 33 to 34, man digs a pit, doesn't cover the pit, neighbor's animal falls into it and dies. The pit man shall keep the dead animal, but pay the owner the value of the animal." Restitution. Scenario number two, verses 35 to 36. One man's ox kills another man's ox. Well, the dead ox shall be shared, and the live ox shall be sold, and the proceeds divided. Unless the ox has been in the habit of goring, then the owner shall make full restoration. Now we get to chapter 22, verse 1, scenario number 3, which is a little bit involved. It goes on a little bit of an excursus, but in verse 1 we see this. A man steals an ox or sheep, and then he sells it or he eats it himself. He's got to pay fivefold for the ox or fourfold if it is a sheep. Now, here's the excursus. If the thief is killed in the process during the night, there's no blood guilt, no guilt. But if it happens during the day, there is blood guilt. One writer said, even a thief had rights that had to be protected. And as for the thief, if he cannot pay, he will be sold into slavery as a means of restitution. That's verse 4. Scenario number 4, a man allows his beast to graze in his neighbor's property. Well, he shall pay from the best of his field or his vineyard. repayment, payment, restoration, restitution. There's a settling of accounts. There's a making amends. Scenario number five, a man starts a fire which burns his neighbor's harvest, and she'll pay the full monetary worth of the harvest, verse 6. Scenario number six is verses 8 and 9, a man entrusts money or goods to the care of his neighbor, and those goods are stolen. The thief shall pay double here, but the thief, if he's not found and is suspected that the neighbor stole it, he shall come near to God for a determination. Now that's where we see that gospel-anticipating insertion. They go to God for a determination. We've got to talk about that a little bit, but let me just leave it for a few moments. Scenario number 7, verses 10 to 13, a man entrusts his animal to the care of his neighbor, and the animal dies or is lost, and the neighbor is at fault. Putting his hand to it, he shall make Restitution, presumably double if we can understand anything from verse 7, but if it is not the fault of the neighbor and he makes oath before God and brings evidence, there is no restitution. Scenario number eight, the last one, verses 14 to 15. A man borrows any animal from his neighbor and it dies. He shall make full restitution of the animal unless the owner was present when the death occurred, and then a note is included at the very end. Renting an animal from a neighbor is not included in this law. It is rather excluded. All those scenarios are just bringing to home to the people of God this idea of restitution, complete payment, making amends. Now, back to that gospel insertion that anticipates and talks a little bit about the bad news. Look at verses 7 and 9 of chapter 22. If a man gives to his neighbor money or goods to keep safe, and it is stolen from the man's house, then if the thief is found, he shall pay double. If the thief is not found, the owner of the house shall come near to God to show whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor's property." He shall come near to God. For every breach of trust, whether it is for an ox, for a donkey, for a sheep, for a cloak, or for any kind of lost thing of which one says, this is it, the case of both parties shall come before God. The one whom God condemns shall pay double to his neighbor." Now the word for God there is Elohim. It can legitimately be translated as judges, those who represent God, but it doesn't matter how you actually translate it here, whether it's judges or God. If it is God, it is God who is making the determination, because He knows what? All. He knows everything. Nothing is hidden from His sight. If it is the judges, He's revealed that to them. And again, that puts us in mind of the bad news, which relates to the good news of the gospel, and it makes the good news absolutely spectacular. The bad news is this, that everything, everything at the judgment is revealed by the living God. There is nothing, Hebrews 4 verse 13, that is hidden from His sight. All are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. And we hear a verse like that, and we ought to shudder, but then we remember we are hidden in the Lord Jesus Christ, and He has removed all of our sins from us from the east, as far as the east is from the west, and been buried into the deepest sea. But let that be impressed upon you. You will get away with nothing in this life. God will reveal all, and therefore the application is, if you're not in Christ, get in Him before it's too late. Come to Him in repentance and faith, and you will be saved, and you will be safe. So we have, in respect to property, this law, this law of restitution. Again, it means to make amends. It entails the complete settling or clearing of accounts. Now, sometimes my conclusions are short. Sometimes they're long. This one's going to be long. And this is where now this text, we've got to bring it forward. We've got to be thinking gospel thoughts. But let me preface all of this with an illustration. I love Les Mis, love watching the musical, particularly the new one, just watched it recently. You know something of the story about Jean Valjean? Everybody know that story? Well, he was in prison, if you don't know it, for five years for stealing a loaf of bread. So there's an action, there's a consequence that I want you to be thinking about. He then attempted to escape four times, and each time his sentence was lengthened by another three years. Are you doing the math? Twelve plus five, seventeen years. He also received an extra two years for resisting recapture during his second escape attempt. Nineteen years in total, ostensibly for stealing a loaf of bread. What would we call that kind of punishment? Just or unjust? Unjust. We know it intuitively just hearing the story. These laws given by the living God to the people of Israel of old, just or unjust? What's the answer? Absolutely just. We've got to say that before we bring this forward, otherwise we're not going to understand the cross. I want us to think about the two big laws in particular, and now I want us to think now not about Israel's obligation to neighbor, but our obligation to God. Think about big law number one. Think about Lex Talianus and the gospel. Think about the law of exact retaliation whereby the punishment resembles the offense committed in kind and in degree. Beloved in Christ, truly appraise your sin. Truly appraise your sin. Truly appraise its sinfulness, its ugliness, its repulsiveness by what God exacted for the payment of it. He required the death of His beloved Son on the cross. There we see exact retaliation. There we see punishment that resembles the offense committed in kind and in degree. Do you mark it? If you don't mark it, you're going to be flipping with your sin. You will not pursue Christ. You will not pursue holiness. You will not be thankful as you ought to be thankful to the living God for your salvation. That failure to encourage your brother and sister, that required that Jesus was nailed to the cross, that sin of omission. That payment you made under the table to avoid the taxman, that required the death of God's beloved Son. That forsaking of the assembly of the saints, that required the death of Christ, that exasperating of our children to wrath that nailed Jesus to the cross, the neglect of sacrificial headship in marriage, the death of Christ is what was required. Our sins are utterly spectacular. Infinite offenses committed against an infinite God, which issued in the death of infinite worth, Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. Do we mark it? Thomas Kelly wrote this great hymn. We sing it here sometimes. Stricken, smitten, and afflicted. You all know it. I love it. It has a melancholic tune. Tell me ye who hear him groaning, was there ever grief like his? Friends through fear his cause disowning, foes insulting his distress. Many hands were raised to wound him, none would interpose to save. Yet the deepest stroke that pierced him was the stroke that justice gave. Ye who think of sin but lightly, nor suppose the evil great, here may view its nature rightly, here its guilt may estimate. Mark the sacrifice appointed, see who bears the awful load. Tis the word, the Lord's anointed Son of Man and Son of God." Lex talionis. Coming to the full in the gospel, our sins required Christ's death on Calvary. Now, there's another big law. And I know that first part was heavy but necessary, but it's this law of restitution. It's glorious. It means to make amends. It entails the complete settling or clearing of accounts. And there's two things I want to talk about here. Number one, marvel that Jesus paid in full the fair price for our sin." Don't you marvel at that? It's glorious. Stripe for stripe. Did you hear that word in the text? And not just think about those other places where you know that your sins have been paid in full. Where else do you hear that word, stripe, as it relates to Jesus? by stripes you have been healed." It's exactly the same Hebrew word as in Exodus 21, 25. Isaiah 53, verse 5. I'm going to read it in the King James Version because the ESV doesn't preserve that word in the English. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed." Peter, of course, repeats this in 1 Peter 2, verse 24. So marvel here, firstly, at the complete atonement Jesus has made. Our counts have been cleared completely and forever. Everything is settled. Amends have been made. Your sins, past, present, future, nailed to the cross and taken care of." I had somebody come to me once here saying, I wish you would stop saying that. I can understand past and present sins, but don't talk about future sins, because that's going to actually undercut our pursuit of holiness. I go, no, it's not. It's the opposite. It's all paid for. I want to be holy. I want to live a thankful life. I want to live a sacrifice of praise. It's all been settled. You who are dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses by cancelling the record of debt. It's cancelled. that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross." And, of course, we hear those words of Jesus Christ in John 19, verse 30, tetelestai. What does that mean? Paid in full. Restitution, payment, restoration, done. So in view of that second big law, marvel, first of all, Jesus paid in full the fair price for our sin. No purgatory. It's not going to be raised again. When you stand in the glory of your sins, they're covered, they're buried in the deepest sea. Secondly, live in the freedom of that. Live in the freedom that a full payment has been made, particularly as you relate to your brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ. Because we're going to rub each other the wrong way. We're going to sin against each other. Remember that it's been paid in full, and live in the liberty of that. What might that look like? Well, it would look like, number one, not demanding payment from others. and actually surprising them with gospel grace. Didn't Jesus talk about that in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5, 38 to 45? He knew I was going to get there eventually, right? Jesus said, you have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. I said, you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." And particularly with regard to our brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ, again, it's already been paid for. We don't have to seek payment or any kind of vengeance, and that thought actually frees us, frees us to be a blessing to them. We need to live in the freedom of the full payment that has been made. Now, of course, there's always a qualifier in this, and some people will think, well, what… I mean, this was given to a nation state. What about, you know, public injury? I'm talking about personal injury here, not public injury. There is a place for public justice. I like what one writer said. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is not setting aside the idea of restitution itself. The government still bears the sword. not setting aside the law of the tooth as a standard of public justice. Rather, Jesus is challenging His listeners to consider their attitudes so that they respond properly to personal injustice or insult. And I would add here to respond gospelly. Gospel-ly to that personal insult. That insult, personal injury, rather than assault, public injury, is at issue here, is suggested by the mention of the right cheek being struck. It's clarified by the further illustration, if someone wants to take your tunic, let them have your cloak as well. Handling insults and matters of clothing, a basic human need, are not the realm of statecraft and public policy. In truth, all four illustrations of non-retaliation, turning the other cheek, offering the shirt off your back, carrying someone's baggage an extra mile, and lending to the one asking, correspond to the private domain. These are issues of personal inconvenience or abuse, not matters of public policy. They bespeak insult They don't bespeak assault." I think that's helpful delineation between private insult and public insult. And even if something happens in you in the public realm, and yes, seek justice in it through the court. We've got a good brother here who is the assistant crown attorney in town. So he would probably enjoy me saying this. Yes, seek it. But at the end of the day, there are imperfect justice and accounts will be settled either in Jesus or in hell. Yes, they will be settled, every single one of them. So live in the freedom of the full payment that has been made. That is going to look like not demanding payment from others, but going above and beyond. And that's also going to look like making restitution to others going above and beyond. Can you think about one wee little man in the New Testament who just responded like this? You know, He is forgiven by the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is just flowing out of Him. What's that wee little man's name? Thank you. Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today, Luke 19, verse 5. So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, he's going to be the guest of a man and a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold. And Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, since he is also a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. One writer said, The New Testament pictures the redeemed heart as willing to make restitution in just these terms. We've been freed to do that. As Zacchaeus came to faith in Jesus, he willingly declared, if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold. A heart, this writer says, that is unwilling to make restitution has not come to understand sin and redemption, faith and repentance." I would agree. May our lives be those that are lost in wonder, love, and praise for what Jesus has accomplished, and may we show it, loving others not only with the love of Jesus Christ, but also in the freedom of it. Amen. Let's pray. Thank you, Heavenly Father, for your Word. It's so rich. We confess that once again. We just pray that you would change us by it. Again, may we all leave here rejoicing in the Lord Jesus Christ, and may we be faithful declarers of that message to each other. May we live in light of it as well, and may we proclaim it to a lost and dying world. For Jesus' sake we pray, amen.