Exodus 21:12

The Bible says in Exodus 21:12-17, “He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death. And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee. But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die. And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death. And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death. And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.” Of course, these verses are talking about the death penalty, and are giving situations where the death penalty should be enforced for the people who lived during the times of the Old Testament and who therefore lived under the law. The law was very unforgiving. Breaking of the law often brought death. The law was given with thunderings and lightenings and darkness and an earthquake for a reason. Those who lived under the law were expected to keep the law or else suffer severe punishments.

One of the Ten Commandments said, “Thou shalt not kill.” Now in Exodus chapter 21 we are seeing how this commandment was being enforced: by the death penalty. Even though the law was very severe, it still allowed for fairness. For example, the intent of a person is considered. If someone killed another person by accident, then the death penalty was not imposed. It is very clear that in the Old Testament only premeditated murder is given the death penalty. In these verses in Exodus chapter 21 three other actions result in the death penalty: Striking one’s mother or father, stealing a human being and selling him or her into slavery, and cursing one’s mother or father. These crimes are actually a failure to observe the following commandments: “Thou shalt not steal,” and “Thou shalt honor the mother and thy father.”

Some other situations where people should not receive the death penalty are given in Exodus 21:18-22, “And if men strive together, and one smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed: If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed. And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished. Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money. If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.” The first situation here is based upon fairness. What’s fair is fair. If someone causes another person to miss work, then that person is responsible for paying for that, as well as for any medical treatment. If two men are fighting and somehow a pregnant woman is hurt and loses the child, the man who accidently injured the woman is responsible to make restitution, and the woman’s husband along with the judges will decide what that restitution will be. We can see that these principles are based clearly upon the concept of individual responsibility. Individuals are responsible to their neighbors for their actions. Be careful what actions you choose to take because you will be held accountable for them both before God and before man.

The Bible says in Exodus 21:23-25, “And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” One of the start realities about the law is that it is based upon the principle of retribution. People get exactly what they deserve: no more and no less. Another word for this is “justice.” One of the problems with this type of justice is that it leaves no place for grace or for mercy. Notice that Jesus said in Matthew 5:38-42, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.”

This difference between the Old Testament law and the teachings of Christ is a good example of the truth that Jesus brought a newer and a higher teaching than the law. There are differences between the Old Testament and the New Testament. One of those differences has to do with the difference between law and grace. It says in John 1:17, “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” The new replaces the old. This truth is what Jesus was talking about in Mark 2:21-22 when Jesus said, “No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.”

Jesus said, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.” Don’t do things the way you are told to do them in the Old Testament. There is a new way and a better way to do them now. For one thing it is best to interpret “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth” from the Old Testament as being given for judicial proceedings. If someone is guilty, they should be punished. It is always an injustice to let the guilty go free. That is one of the things that is so amazing about the imputed righteousness that we receive by faith in Jesus. Jesus found a way to justify us even though we are not just. That is exactly the point that is being made in Romans 3:26 that says, “To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”

One of the problems with following the principle “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth” in your personal life is that will amount to always taking revenge on people. But Christians should be known for their forgiving attitudes. It is the people of the world who are vengeful, but once you have learned about the mercy of Christ, you should show the same mercy to others. This is taught often in the New Testament. Jesus said in Matthew 5:7, “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” It says in First Peter 3:9, “Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.” Jesus also said in Matthew 6:14-15, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” The Bible says in Matthew 18:21-35, “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.”

Another problem for anyone who takes “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth” and applies it to their personal relationships is that they set themselves up as judge and jury. But only God is Judge. Jesus said in Matthew 7:1, “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 12:17-20, “Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.”

The Bible says in Exodus 21:26-27, “And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish; he shall let him go free for his eye's sake. And if he smite out his manservant's tooth, or his maidservant's tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake.” The message is clear: indentured servants should be treated properly. If any one of them is injured because a man did “smite” them, that servant should immediately be given his freedom instead of waiting for the seventh year. Notice that this is an Old Testament passage and “smiting” someone is discouraged and looked down upon. One of the dangers of any kind of physical punishment is that it can easily result in physical injury. That is probably one of the reasons that physical punishment of children is not encouraged in the New Testament. As a matter of fact one of the requirements for being a pastor is that he cannot be a person who smites others. It says in First Timothy 3:3 concerning the qualifications for a pastor, “Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous.”

The Bible says in Exodus 21:28-36, “If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit. But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death. If there be laid on him a sum of money, then he shall give for the ransom of his life whatsoever is laid upon him. Whether he have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him. If the ox shall push a manservant or a maidservant; he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned. And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit, and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein; The owner of the pit shall make it good, and give money unto the owner of them; and the dead beast shall be his.[ And if one man's ox hurt another's, that he die; then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the money of it; and the dead ox also they shall divide. Or if it be known that the ox hath used to push in time past, and his owner hath not kept him in; he shall surely pay ox for ox; and the dead shall be his own.” Once again this is an emphasis on personal responsibility. You are responsible for your possessions and for your property. If something goes wrong, you are responsible to make it right. This passage has the classic example of a hole on your own property. You are responsible to cover the hole so that no one or nothing will fall into it. God is emphasizing personal responsibility. The judgment is coming. You will give an account to Jesus for everything that you have done, and for everything that you could have done, but did not do.

___________________________________________________