What Does the Bible Say About Reparations?
Are reparations biblical? Absolutely! To pay reparations means to make amends for a wrong that was done. Another word for this is restitution, and the law required the person responsible to restore more than what was lost.
For example, in Exodus 22:1 it says:
“If a man steals an ox or a sheep and kills it or sells it, he shall repay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.”
In Leviticus 6:1-7, an offender had to repay what was lost, plus extra, plus take a sacrifice to the priest to atone for sins.
If he has sinned and has realized his guild and will restore what he took by robbery or what he got by oppression or the deposit that was committed to him or the lost thing that he found or anything about which he has sworn falsely, he shall restore it in full and shall add a fifth to it, and give it to him to whom it belongs on the day he realizes his guilt. And he shall bring to the priest as his compensation to the Lord a ram without blemish out of the flock, or its equivalent, for a guilt offering. And the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord, and he shall be forgiven for any of the things that one may do and thereby become guilty. (Leviticus 6:4-7)
In Luke 19:1-10, Jesus went to the house of a tax collector named Zacchaeus. He said to Jesus, “The half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this house.” In view of Christ, Zacchaeus made reparations.
But how about reparations for slavery? In Deuteronomy 15:12-15, it says when a master freed his slave, he was supposed to load him up.
And when you let him go free from you, you shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and also out of your winepress. As the Lord your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. (Deuteronomy 15:13-14O
But anyone who was not a slave is not entitled to compensation, and anyone who did not own slaves is not required to make restitution.
In Ezekiel 18, the Lord said that if a man fathers a son who sees the sins of his father and does not do likewise, he shall not bear the penalty for his father’s iniquity. “The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself” (Ezekiel 18:20).
All have sinned against God and owe a debt so great we could not pay it. But by faith in Jesus, we are forgiven our debts, so we must forgive our debtors (Matthew 6:12)
…when we understand the text.
(This video is by WWUTT. Discovered by Christian Podcast Central and our community — copyright is owned by the publisher, not Christian Podcast Central.)