Random Thoughts on Mishpatim

More random thoughts for your amusement and edification:

• Ex 21:12-14 - Premeditated murder is worse than murder, but both deserve death. Motive and state of mind are irrelevant. The insane and incompetent should be executed for murder along with the cold-blooded killer. Not that I trust any level of our current governments with that responsibility. If somebody I respected was in charge, maybe. See the below comment on Ex 22:1 for one possible way to reduce the ratio of ass to brain and heart in the judiciary.
• Ex 21:15,17 - Striking one's parents in a way that might put their lives in danger or even mortally cursing them also deserves death.
• Ex 21:16 - Kidnapping is stealing a life and should be punished by death.
• Ex 21:18-19 - If you hurt someone you have to make it right. "Eye for eye, tooth for tooth" is not retribution, but restitution.
• Ex 21:20-21, 26-27 - Slaves have rights. They are not to be mistreated, but cared for, provided for, educated, and set free with a hefty retirement. Even so much as a lost tooth is cause for freedom. The slavery that is often described as having taken place 150 years ago in America bears almost no resemblence to the slavery allowed by God's Law. A biblical slave had more legal protections than your average American tax payer today.
• Ex 21:22-25 - This isn't just about miscarriage, but also premature delivery. Even so, the guilty man is to pay a fine, and the fine is to be commensurate with the injury caused. That was always the true meaning of "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth." It was always about restitution, not retaliation.
• Ex 21:28-36 - If you knowingly do things that put other people in danger, you should be treated as if you are the danger. Be careful. If you dig a pit, you will fall into it.
• Ex 22:1 - Punitive damages for theft should be given to the victim. Judges and police should not be paid, especially not out of fines levied on the guilty, but should be strictly volunteers. In the amount of the fine, no allowance is made for either poverty or wealth. The punishment must be the same regardless of the perpetrator's ability to pay.
• Ex 22:2 - If a thief is caught in the act of breaking into your home, you may assume that he is there to hurt you or your family, and you should not be punished for killing him. Concerning Yeshua's instructions to turn the other cheek: He was not teaching pacifism. He was telling you to be slow to anger, and to not retaliate. "Do not lay hands on anyone quickly," whether for good or evil, but if someone is breaking into your home in the middle of the night when you are there, they are demonstrating a willingness to hurt or kill you to get your stuff. They don't deserve any sympathy, and certainly not the protection of the law.
• Ex 22:3-4 - If stolen goods are recovered intact, the thief should give the items back plus 100% of their value. Once again, poverty or wealth on the part of the perpetrator are irrelevant. If he can't afford the fine, he should be made to work it off.
• Ex 22:5-6 - The key in dealing with accidental damages is restitution. The idea is not to punish someone for making a mistake, but to get them to make it right. Punitive damages for real negligence should be strictly limited regardless of the resources of the perpetrator.
• Ex 22:7-9 - If someone claims something that is not his, the punishment is the same as if for outright theft. He tried to steal through argument rather than force, but he still stole.
• Ex 22:10-15 - No one is to be held at fault for damages to borrowed property due to causes beyond the borrower's control. The lender accepts a certain amount of risk in the mere ownership of a thing. However, if the damage is due to the borrower's negligence or misuse, then he is to make it right.