Exodus 22:1-5: a reflection

1“If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall pay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. 2If the thief is found breaking in, and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt of bloodshed for him. 3If the sun has risen on him, he is guilty of bloodshed. He shall make restitution. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. 4If the stolen property is found in his hand alive, whether it is ox, donkey, or sheep, he shall pay double. 5“If a man causes a field or vineyard to be eaten by letting his animal loose, and it grazes in another man’s field, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field, and from the best of his own vineyard.

Among the laws God gives is a set dealing with theft and damage, and they share a common requirement: restitution. A thief must repay what he stole, and more; one who lets his animal graze another's field, damaging it, must make it good from his own field. It was not enough to feel sorry or to stop the wrong; the one who had taken or damaged what belonged to another was required to make it right, to restore, even to repay beyond what was taken.

Notice what the law required: not merely remorse, but restitution. To have wronged another by taking or damaging what was theirs called for actually making it right, restoring what was lost, repaying what was taken. Feeling sorry was not enough; the wrong had to be repaired, as far as possible, by concrete restitution. God's concern was not only that the wrongdoer feel bad, but that the one wronged be made whole.

That points to something true about real repentance. Genuine repentance is not only feeling sorry for what we have done; where we have taken or damaged what belongs to another, it includes making things right, restoring what we can, repairing the harm we have caused. When Zacchaeus repented, he did not merely feel sorry; he repaid those he had cheated, and more. Where you have wronged another, taken what was not yours, damaged what belonged to them, do not let repentance stop at feeling sorry. Make it right where you can; restore what you have taken, repair the harm you have done, seek to make the one you wronged whole. True repentance includes restitution, the concrete making-right of the wrongs we have done, not merely regret over them.

Lord, among your laws were those dealing with theft and damage, and they required not merely remorse but restitution: the one who had taken or damaged what belonged to another was to make it right, to restore, even to repay beyond what was taken. Point me to what this teaches about real repentance. Genuine repentance is not only feeling sorry for what I have done; where I have taken or damaged what belongs to another, it includes making things right, restoring what I can, repairing the harm I have caused. When Zacchaeus repented, he did not merely feel sorry; he repaid those he had cheated, and more. Where I have wronged another, taken what was not mine, damaged what belonged to them, keep my repentance from stopping at feeling sorry. Help me make it right where I can; help me restore what I have taken, repair the harm I have done, and seek to make the one I wronged whole. Let my repentance include restitution, the concrete making-right of the wrongs I have done, not merely regret over them.