Exodus 22:6
If a fire breaks out and spreads to thornbushes so that it consumes stacked or standing grain, or the whole field, the one who started the fire must make full restitution.
If a fire breaks out
In ancient agrarian societies, fire was a common hazard, often used for clearing land or cooking. The law here addresses accidental fires, emphasizing responsibility and accountability. This reflects the broader biblical principle of stewardship over creation.

and spreads to thornbushes
Thornbushes were common in the Middle Eastern landscape and often used as natural barriers. The mention of thornbushes indicates the fire's unintended spread, highlighting the need for vigilance and care in managing one's property.

so that it consumes stacked or standing grain,
Grain was a vital resource, essential for survival and economic stability. Stacked grain refers to harvested crops, while standing grain refers to those still growing. The loss of either would have significant economic implications, underscoring the severity of the offense.

or the whole field,
The destruction of an entire field would be catastrophic, affecting not just the individual but the community's food supply. This phrase emphasizes the potential widespread impact of negligence.

the one who started the fire must make full restitution.
Restitution is a key biblical principle, reflecting God's justice and mercy. It requires the responsible party to compensate for the loss, restoring what was damaged. This concept is echoed in the New Testament, where Jesus speaks of reconciliation and making amends (Matthew 5:23-24). The requirement for full restitution underscores the importance of personal responsibility and the restoration of relationships within the community.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Fire
Represents an uncontrolled element that can cause destruction. In the context of ancient Israel, fire was a common hazard, especially in agricultural settings.

2. Thornbushes
These are often found in fields and can easily catch fire, leading to the spread of flames to more valuable crops.

3. Grain
A critical agricultural product in ancient Israel, representing sustenance and economic stability.

4. Restitution
A legal and moral obligation in the Mosaic Law, emphasizing responsibility and justice.

5. The One Who Started the Fire
This person is held accountable for their actions, highlighting the importance of personal responsibility.
Teaching Points
Personal Responsibility
The passage underscores the importance of taking responsibility for one's actions, especially when they cause harm to others.

Restitution as Justice
Making restitution is not just a legal requirement but a moral one, reflecting God's justice and fairness.

Preventive Measures
The passage encourages us to consider the potential consequences of our actions and to take steps to prevent harm.

Community Impact
Our actions can have a ripple effect on the community, and we must be mindful of how we affect others.

Spiritual Accountability
Just as we are accountable for physical actions, we are also accountable for our spiritual and moral choices.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the principle of restitution in Exodus 22:6 apply to modern-day situations where we might cause harm to others, intentionally or unintentionally?

2. In what ways can we take preventive measures in our lives to avoid causing harm to others, both physically and spiritually?

3. How does the concept of personal responsibility in this passage relate to the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament?

4. What are some practical ways we can make restitution in our relationships when we have wronged someone?

5. How can understanding the broader biblical principle of restitution help us in our walk with God and our interactions with others?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Leviticus 6:1-7
Discusses restitution in the context of theft and deceit, emphasizing the broader principle of making amends for wrongs.

Proverbs 6:27-28
Uses fire metaphorically to describe the consequences of foolish actions, reinforcing the idea of personal responsibility.

Matthew 5:23-24
Jesus teaches about reconciliation and making things right with others, which aligns with the principle of restitution.
No Trifling with BreadJ. Parker, D. D.Exodus 22:6
Responsibility for ActionsE. White.Exodus 22:6
The Penalty of CarelessnessJ. W. Burn.Exodus 22:6
Who Kindled the FireT. L. Cuyler, D. D.Exodus 22:6
RestitutionJ. Orr Exodus 22:1-16
People
Moses
Places
Mount Sinai
Topics
Break, Breaks, Burning, Burns, Bushes, Catch, Catches, Causeth, Causing, Certainly, Consumed, Corn, Cut, Damage, Destruction, Edge, Field, Fire, Flames, Forth, Full, Fully, Grain, Itself, Kindled, Repay, Restitution, Seize, Shocks, Spreads, Stack, Stacked, Stacks, Standing, Started, Surely, Therewith, Thorn, Thornbushes, Thorns
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Exodus 22:6

     4428   corn
     4520   thorns
     4540   weeds

Exodus 22:1-17

     5492   restitution

Exodus 22:3-9

     5483   punishment

Exodus 22:3-15

     5264   compensation

Exodus 22:5-15

     5511   safety

Library
Excursus on Usury.
The famous canonist Van Espen defines usury thus: "Usura definitur lucrum ex mutuo exactum aut speratum;" [96] and then goes on to defend the proposition that, "Usury is forbidden by natural, by divine, and by human law. The first is proved thus. Natural law, as far as its first principles are concerned, is contained in the decalogue; but usury is prohibited in the decalogue, inasmuch as theft is prohibited; and this is the opinion of the Master of the Sentences, of St. Bonaventura, of St. Thomas
Philip Schaff—The Seven Ecumenical Councils

Parable of the Importunate Widow.
^C Luke XVIII. 1-8. ^c 1 And he spake a parable unto them to the end that they ought always to pray, and not to faint; 2 saying, There was in a city a judge, who feared not God, and regarded not man [an utterly abandoned character]: 3 and there was a widow in that city; and she came oft unto him, saying, Avenge me of [rather, Do justice to me as to] mine adversary. [In Scripture language widowhood is symbolic of defenselessness (Ex. xxii. 22-24; Deut. x. 18; xxvii. 19; Mal. iii. 5; Mark xii. 40),
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Ciii. Zacchæus. Parable of the Pounds. Journey to Jerusalem.
(Jericho.) ^C Luke XIX. 1-28. ^c 1 And he entered and was passing through Jericho. [This was about one week before the crucifixion. Jericho is about seven miles from the Jordan and about seventeen and a half from Jerusalem.] 2 And behold, a man called by name Zacchaeus; and he was a chief publican, and he was rich. [See p. 76. It is probable that Zacchæus was a sub-contractor under some Roman knight who had bought the privilege of collecting taxes at Jericho, or perhaps the privilege of all
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Epistle Xl. To Mauricius Augustus.
To Mauricius Augustus. Gregory to Mauricius, &c. The Piety of my Lords in their most serene commands, while set on refuting me on certain matters, in sparing me has by no means spared me. For by the use therein of the term simplicity they politely call me silly. It is true indeed that in Holy Scripture, when simplicity is spoken of in a good sense, it is often carefully associated with prudence and uprightness. Hence it is written of the blessed Job, The man was simple and upright (Job i. 1).
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Appeal to the Christian Women of the South
BY A.E. GRIMKE. "Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not within thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place: but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this. And Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer:--and so will I go in unto the king,
Angelina Emily Grimke—An Appeal to the Christian Women of the South

Epistle xvii. To Felix, Bishop of Messana.
To Felix, Bishop of Messana. To our most reverend brother, the Bishop Felix, Gregory, servant of the servants of God [246] . Our Head, which is Christ, to this end has willed us to be His members, that through His large charity and faithfulness He might make us one body in Himself, to whom it befits us so to cling that, since without Him we can do nothing, through Him we may be enabled to be what we are called. From the citadel of the Head let nothing divide us, lest, if we refuse to be His members,
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Feast of the Dedication. The Jews Attempt to Stone Jesus and He Retires to Peræa.
(Jerusalem and Beyond Jordan.) ^D John X. 22-42. ^d 22 And it was the feast of the dedication at Jerusalem: 23; it was winter; and Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. [The feast of dedication was one of eight days' duration and began upon the 25th Chisleu, which, according to the calculation of M. Chevannes, fell upon the nineteenth or twentieth of December, a.d. 29. The feast was kept in honor of the renovation and purification of the temple in the year b.c. 164, after it had been desecrated
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

A Summary of the Christian Life. Of Self-Denial.
The divisions of the chapter are,--I. The rule which permits us not to go astray in the study of righteousness, requires two things, viz., that man, abandoning his own will, devote himself entirely to the service of God; whence it follows, that we must seek not our own things, but the things of God, sec. 1, 2. II. A description of this renovation or Christian life taken from the Epistle to Titus, and accurately explained under certain special heads, sec. 3 to end. 1. ALTHOUGH the Law of God contains
Archpriest John Iliytch Sergieff—On the Christian Life

Jesus' Last Public Discourse. Denunciation of Scribes and Pharisees.
(in the Court of the Temple. Tuesday, April 4, a.d. 30.) ^A Matt. XXIII. 1-39; ^B Mark XII. 38-40; ^C Luke XX. 45-47. ^a 1 Then spake Jesus ^b 38 And in his teaching ^c in the hearing of all the people he said unto ^a the multitudes, and to his disciples [he spoke in the most public manner], 2 saying, ^c 46 Beware of the scribes, ^a The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat: 3 all things whatsoever they bid you, these do and observe: but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Circumcision, Temple Service, and Naming of Jesus.
(the Temple at Jerusalem, b.c. 4) ^C Luke II. 21-39. ^c 21 And when eight days [Gen. xvii. 12] were fulfilled for circumcising him [The rite was doubtless performed by Joseph. By this rite Jesus was "made like unto his brethren" (Heb. ii. 16, 17); that is, he became a member of the covenant nation, and became a debtor to the law--Gal. v. 3] , his name was called JESUS [see Luke i. 59], which was so called by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. [Luke i. 31.] 22 And when the days of their
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Development of the Earlier Old Testament Laws
[Sidenote: First the principle, and then the detailed laws] If the canon of the New Testament had remained open as long as did that of the Old, there is little doubt that it also would have contained many laws, legal precedents, and ecclesiastical histories. From the writings of the Church Fathers and the records of the Catholic Church it is possible to conjecture what these in general would have been. The early history of Christianity illustrates the universal fact that the broad principles are
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament

The Blessing of Jacob Upon Judah. (Gen. Xlix. 8-10. )
Ver. 8. "Judah, thou, thy brethren shall praise thee; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; before thee shall bow down the sons of thy father. Ver. 9. A lion's whelp is Judah; from the prey, my son, thou goest up; he stoopeth down, he coucheth as a lion, and as a full-grown lion, who shall rouse him up? Ver. 10. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto Him the people shall adhere." Thus does dying Jacob, in announcing
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

The Eighth Commandment
Thou shalt not steal.' Exod 20: 15. AS the holiness of God sets him against uncleanness, in the command Thou shalt not commit adultery;' so the justice of God sets him against rapine and robbery, in the command, Thou shalt not steal.' The thing forbidden in this commandment, is meddling with another man's property. The civil lawyers define furtum, stealth or theft to be the laying hands unjustly on that which is another's;' the invading another's right. I. The causes of theft. [1] The internal causes
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

Exodus
The book of Exodus--so named in the Greek version from the march of Israel out of Egypt--opens upon a scene of oppression very different from the prosperity and triumph in which Genesis had closed. Israel is being cruelly crushed by the new dynasty which has arisen in Egypt (i.) and the story of the book is the story of her redemption. Ultimately it is Israel's God that is her redeemer, but He operates largely by human means; and the first step is the preparation of a deliverer, Moses, whose parentage,
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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