Daily Scripture Reading Leviticus 5:17 - 6:18
There was a lawyer who lost $100,000 when his legal secretary embezzled funds over a multi-year period. After she was caught, the secretary was convicted, ordered to pay restitution, and sent to jail. However, the lawyer never got his money back because the secretary was in jail and had no ability to earn any money to make restitution.
This is a common problem in modern society because the punishment for many crimes is incarceration. It is good to get criminals off the street so that they cannot commit more crimes; however, when incarceration prevents restitution, it does not bring justice to the victims. The victims continue to suffer due to the permanent loss of their property.
The judicial system spelled out in the Mosaic Law had a different approach to justice. It was not based on putting people in jail. Instead, there was a strong emphasis on forcing criminals to make restitution. Perhaps we need more of that mentality today.
The fourth and fifth chapters of Leviticus explain the process of offering sacrifices when people sinned unintentionally.
Lev. 5:17 ¶ “Now if a person sins and does any one of the things which Yahweh has commanded not to be done, but he was unaware, still he is guilty and shall bear his punishment.
Lev. 5:18 He is then to bring to the priest a ram without blemish from the flock, according to your valuation, for a guilt offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his error in which he sinned unintentionally and did not know it, and it will be forgiven him.
Lev. 5:19 It is a guilt offering; he was certainly guilty before Yahweh.”
Look at the word “certainly”. Even when a man sinned unintentionally and unknowingly, he was still guilty before Yahweh and the sin had to be dealt with.
Lev. 6:1 ¶ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Lev. 6:2 “If a person sins and acts unfaithfully against Yahweh and deals falsely with his companion in regard to a deposit or a security entrusted to him or through robbery, or if he has extorted from his companion,
The crimes listed in this verse are robbery and extortion.
Lev. 6:3 or has found what was lost and dealt falsely about it and sworn falsely, so that he sins in regard to any one of the things a man may do;
The crimes listed in this verse are keeping someone else’s property and lying about it.
Lev. 6:4 then it shall be, when he sins and becomes guilty, that he shall return what he took by robbery or what he got by extortion, or the deposit which was entrusted to him or the lost thing which he found,
Notice the word “return”. The punishment for robbery, extortion, and stealing was restitution.
Lev. 6:5 or anything about which he swore falsely; he shall make restitution for it in full and add to it one-fifth more. He shall give it to the one to whom it belongs on the day he presents his guilt offering.
Take note of the words “add to it one-fifth more”. This was an important part of the deterrent. If a thief had only been required to return what was stolen then there was not much deterrence against stealing because a thief had little to lose. However, by forcing a thief to restore more than he took, a potential thief was deterred from stealing by the risk that attempting to steal might mean he ended up with less than he started with.
Lev. 6:6 Then he shall bring to the priest his guilt offering to Yahweh, a ram without blemish from the flock, according to your valuation, for a guilt offering,
The need to bring a sacrifice was also a deterrent since anyone considering thievery knew that getting caught would force them to lose an animal.
The punishment for thievery, fraud, and extortion in the Mosaic Law was a requirement to restore more than had been stolen. That served two purposes. It brought justice and closure to the victim. It also punished the criminal and served as a deterrent to committing crime.
The punishment for those same crimes in modern judicial systems is oriented primarily around incarceration. That is not completely bad since it is a good idea to get thieves off the street. On the other hand, throwing a thief in jail and creating a situation where the thief cannot make restitution victimizes the victim a second time because the victim is permanently without whatever was stolen from him.
We should consider if our justice system should place more emphasis upon restitution for non-violent crimes rather than incarceration. Perhaps we should create incarceration systems where inmates can work and earn enough real money to make restitution.
Lev. 6:7 and the priest shall make atonement for him before Yahweh, and he will be forgiven for any one of the things which he may have done to incur guilt.”
Notice the words “atonement” and “forgiven”. Restitution was not enough. Fraud and extortion were sins against God, so there had to be atonement so that the thief could be forgiven by God.
Lev. 6:8 ¶ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Lev. 6:9 “Command Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the law for the burnt offering: the burnt offering itself shall remain on the hearth on the altar all night until the morning, and the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it.
Look at the words “kept burning on it”. The fire on the altar was to burn around the clock.
Lev. 6:10 And the priest shall put on his linen robe, and he shall put on undergarments next to his flesh; and he shall raise up the ashes to which the fire reduces the burnt offering on the altar and place them beside the altar.
Lev. 6:11 Then he shall take off his garments and put on other garments and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place.
Take note of the words “clean place”. There were even regulations regarding the disposal of the ashes. They could not be dumped anywhere. They had to be taken outside the camp to a clean place.
Lev. 6:12 And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it. It shall not go out, but the priest shall burn wood on it every morning; and he shall lay out the burnt offering on it and offer up in smoke the fat portions of the peace offerings on it.
Lev. 6:13 Fire shall be kept burning continually on the altar; it shall not go out.
Lev. 6:14 ¶ ‘Now this is the law of the grain offering: the sons of Aaron shall bring it near before Yahweh in front of the altar.
Lev. 6:15 Then one of them shall raise up from it a handful of the fine flour of the grain offering, with its oil and all the frankincense that is on the grain offering, and he shall offer it up in smoke on the altar, a soothing aroma, as its memorial offering to Yahweh.
The word “handful” tells us only a portion of the grain offering was burned on the altar.
Lev. 6:16 What is left of it Aaron and his sons shall eat. It shall be eaten as unleavened cakes in a holy place; they shall eat it in the court of the tent of meeting.
Don’t miss the words “Aaron and his sons shall eat”. The priests were given a portion of the sacrifices as their income since the tabernacle service was their full-time job.
Lev. 6:17 It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it as their share from My offerings by fire; it is most holy, like the sin offering and the guilt offering.
Lev. 6:18 Every male among the sons of Aaron may eat it; it is a perpetual statute throughout your generations, from the offerings by fire to Yahweh. Whoever touches them will be set apart as holy.’”
The judicial system spelled out in the Mosaic Law served as both a deterrent to crime and a system for delivering justice to the victims. The victims were awarded the return of what had been taken from them; plus, one-fifth more. That served as a deterrent because anyone who was tempted to steal knew they may end up having to pay back more than they stole.
Under the modern judicial system, victims of theft and fraud are often awarded restitution, but the thieves often don’t have the means to make restitution. When the fraudster spends years in jail, they don’t have the ability to earn money and make restitution. Thus, the victims suffer long after the actual crime because they are permanently without whatever was taken from them. We need to consider the possibility that our judicial system would be better if we put more emphasis upon restitution as punishment for non-violent crimes.
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”