In
Exodus 21:18-27, the Book of the Covenant show how to deal with acts of
violence that resulted in bodily hurt. In Exodus 21:28-36, God went on to deal
with bodily harm due to negligence. People do get hurt or killed when others
live carelessly and inconsiderately. In such negligence, innocent people often
had to bear the grave consequence of their carelessness. God, who takes a
serious view of life, would not allow His people to be insensitive and
thoughtless. So here He laid down conditions to deal with people who show negligence.
Most
negligence dealt with here in these verses have to do mainly with animals
because they are hard to predict. An animal could act up without warning.
Sometimes they act up because they were provoked. And at other times they could
go on a rampage without warning, even when not provoked. Therefore, the
responsibility rests on an owner to ensure that when they act up others would
not be hurt or killed. Failure to do so made an owner culpable of committing a
criminal offence. God here set some guidelines on how to resolve such an
incident should it occur. In verse 28 we are told, “If an ox gores a man or a
woman to death, the ox shall surely be stoned and its flesh shall not
be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall go unpunished.” This is pretty
straightforward. When an animal takes the life of someone, it had to die and
the owner would not be punished if he was not aware of his animal’s violent
habit.
However,
if an owner was aware that the animal has a history of being violent and did
not take precaution to restrain it, he would be held responsible. If he failed
to ensure that his animal was restrained, he would be liable, even when he was
not the one who had caused the hurt or the death. God was making clear that the
owners must exercise responsibility for being owners of their animals. If any
of an owner’s animal killed or caused any injury to others, he would be held
responsible. Being also a merciful God, the law prescribed in these verses
allow the family of a victim to show mercy. Rather than demanding death,
the family could allow the owner to make restitution by receiving a ransom.
In
Exodus 21:33-36, we can see a great principle. God said, “If a man opens a pit,
or digs a pit and does not cover it over, and an ox or a donkey falls into
it, the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he shall give money to
its owner, and the dead animal shall become his. If
one man’s ox hurts another’s so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox
and divide its price equally; and also they shall divide the dead ox. Or if it
is known that the ox was previously in the habit of goring, yet its owner has
not confined it, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead animal shall
become his.” In essence, these verses show us that we are not only responsible
for what we do but that we are also responsible for what we fail to do. God
expects one to bear the cost of one’s carelessness. The whole idea is for us to
live mindfully and considerately in a society. When we become irresponsible and
careless, and other members of the community are injured by our passivity, we
will have to bear the consequences. God wants us to be responsible people and
when we do so, we exist harmoniously with each other.
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