Exodus 22

Today's Passage: Exodus 22

“Payback!” Such a fun word to shout at someone else, but a very disheartening word when shouted at us personally. Movies and music are frequently based around payback. Books have page upon page depicting the triumph and tragedy of payback.

God’s law in Exodus 22 is that of payback, or as the ESV calls it: restitution. It’s literally on repeat in this chapter, and clearly it is close to the heart of God in some way. The laws described by God in this passage can be both encouraging and confusing; ones our justice-driven hearts can get behind and some that we shake our heads at trying to make sense of how it fits into the Christian life.

One thing we do know is that God IS a God of restitution. Even the New Testament hints at this principle (Galatians 6:7, for example). What should cause our hearts to beam with joy is the simultaneous thought that just as God is a God of payback, He is also a God of mercy and grace.
The gospel is a megaphone that shouts God doesn’t always pay us back for what we’ve done. The death and resurrection of Jesus, the wrath of God that was laid on Him, the full pardon of sin through Christ’s atoning death all point out that God is delighted to NOT pay back to the measure of what we’ve done.

While we may struggle to understand God’s heart and motive for the laws He laid down in Exodus 22, we can, at the same time, see the work of Jesus and the mercy of God displayed toward sinners who by right deserve to be paid back with judgment for our transgressions.

Here, the words of Romans 5:8 ring true: “for while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus made restitution for our sin; not by condemning us for it, but by dying in our place so that God’s fury toward our rebellion would be forever satisfied.

Thank you, Jesus, for the payback you gave through giving of Your own life that we might, in You, be found innocent and blameless.

Written By: Drew Dukes

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