Read Deuteronomy 24:7 at Bible Gateway.
Previously: deuteronomy 24:5-6, do not steal the life of the family
(Please review the teaching tools of scripture, especially the Hebrew paragraph divisions and chiastic structures. The paragraphs marked by an “s” at their close are weak paragraphs, which indicate a change of facet but not a change of theme or topic. The paragraphs marked by a “p” at their close are strong paragraphs, which indicate the completion of a theme or topic.)
Deu 24:7 is the final section explaining Do not steal, the eighth commandment. The eighth commandment is explained in Deu 23:15-24:7, and this is my summary of it. These is one Hebrew paragraph in this section:
Deu 24:7 {s} Theft of persons a capital offense punishable by death
“If a man is found kidnapping any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and mistreats him or sells him, then that kidnapper shall die; and you shall put away the evil from among you.” Deu 24:7
Kidnapping is a capital offense; this is the only theft which is punishable by death in Torah. The crime of kidnapping receives the same severe punishment as murder, because in each case, the victim’s life has been taken from him. In the case of murder, the victim’s physical life is literally ended. In the case of kidnapping, the freedom and way of life which the victim has chosen for himself, is ended for him against his will. If he is sold, he becomes the slave of another and his way of life has ended. If he is kept by the kidnapper, he then becomes his kidnapper’s slave (whether the kidnapper uses him for labor or not, because he is being held against his will and not allowed to return to his family) and his way of life has ended.
The explanation of the eighth commandment, in fact, begins and ends with instruction concerning the intrinsic freedom of human beings. Because human beings are created in the image of God, they belong to themselves, and no man can own another in righteousness. Therefore theft of persons is punishable by death, since it ends the self- determined life, and if an escaped slave is not returned to his master, no theft against the master has occurred.
This is why God is against tyranny as a form of government, and aids the oppressed in the overthrow of tyrants. Tyrants treat citizens as personal property and remove self- determination from them. They are slave owners, in a sense, just on the grandest scale possible. This is why Benjamin Franklin said that rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God. He and many of our founding fathers had far more wisdom and knowledge of God’s ways than we do in our generation.
Continued: deuteronomy 23:15-24:7, eighth commandment chiastic structure
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