Two Misunderstandings about Restitution (The Bible’s Answer for Racism, Part 10)
By Ben Quine
**This article is part of a series helping us navigate this issue of racism in our world from a Biblical perspective. To read all of Ben’s articles on this subject - click on his name above by the date published and it will sort all of this articles in one place.
In the last article we learned the importance of bringing justice to a culture through biblical restitution. But before we start implementing reparations, there are two common misunderstandings that must be cleared up.
Equal treatment of all before the law and equal restitution are the bedrock principles of Old Testament law and justice.
The exception is in cases of theft, which require a twofold or fourfold payment. The underlying principle is absolute, universal, and timeless: the person who committed the offense must repay their debt in full, and this brings an end to the matter. But this must be done in the right way: if someone who is not guilty is made to pay, or if the guilty person is made to pay more or less than the required debt, it is injustice! Instead of bringing resolution, this injustice only makes the problem worse. It creates more anger, division, and enmity.
The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. (Ezekiel 18:20)
Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin. (Deuteronomy 24:16)
The Bible is clear that in order to bring justice there must be equal restitution. But it also emphasizes that children are never to be legally responsible for the sins of their parents. The restitution required by justice does not pass from one generation to the next.
Each person stands guilty before God because of our own sin, but we have not all sinned in the same ways. All of us are lawbreakers, but we are not all guilty of the same offenses requiring restitution. Each person is responsible for the payment of their own personal sins.
You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. (Exodus 20:5-6)
Yes, as children we experience the consequences of our parents’ sin, but we are not guilty of our parents’ sin. And we are not required to make legal amends or restitution for our parents’ sin. This does not in any way deemphasize the evil of sin, give an excuse for sin, or attempt to minimize the damage that has been done by sin. But leaving the responsibility solely with the individual offender is true to biblical justice, and it is a beautiful thing. How much would you owe if we calculated all the sin of all of your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, great-great-grandparents, and so on, and held you responsible to pay for all of it?
If a father abuses alcohol, begins physically abusing his wife, and is put in prison, his children will suffer. If a father is caught robbing a bank and is put in prison, his children will suffer. Woodrow Wilson did great evil in America through his support of the KKK, segregation, and his racist treatment of Americans. But his great-grandchildren are not guilty of his sins. Each of us must individually turn from the wickedness of racism, and we must bear the guilt of our own actions.
What about national sin? When Daniel was exiled in Babylon, he fasted, donned sackcloth and ashes, and wept and prayed to God on behalf of all of his people, confessing their national sin against God and pleading for forgiveness and mercy (Daniel 9:1-23). Similarly, when Nehemiah was exiled in Susa, he prayed and fasted and confessed the sin of his people and of their fathers (Nehemiah 1:4-11). He pleaded with God to remember His covenant and faithfulness to His people.
We are not under God’s contractual punishment today like these exiles were (Deuteronomy 28), but both of these godly men serve to demonstrate that it is proper for believers to make intercession for our people, and to pray to God for forgiveness and healing in our land.
Can we legally require reparations for national sin? To answer that, let’s look at a story from the life of King David:
Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. And David sought the face of the Lord. And the Lord said, “There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.” So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the people of Israel but of the remnant of the Amorites. Although the people of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul had sought to strike them down in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah. And David said to the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? And how shall I make atonement, that you may bless the heritage of the Lord?” The Gibeonites said to him, “It is not a matter of silver or gold between us and Saul or his house; neither is it for us to put any man to death in Israel.” And he said, “What do you say that I shall do for you?” They said to the king, “The man who consumed us and planned to destroy us, so that we should have no place in all the territory of Israel, let seven of his sons be given to us, so that we may hang them before the Lord at Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the Lord.” And the king said, “I will give them.”
But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul’s son Jonathan, because of the oath of the Lord that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. The king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Merab the daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite; and he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the mountain before the Lord, and the seven of them perished together. They were put to death in the first days of harvest, at the beginning of barley harvest… David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan from the men of Jabesh-gilead… and they gathered the bones of those who were hanged. And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin in Zela, in the tomb of Kish, his father. And they did all that the king commanded. And after that God responded to the plea for the land. (2 Samuel 21:1-14)
We are not told how many Gibeonites Saul had killed, or how many sons remained in Saul’s line, but since it says he “consumed us and planned to destroy us,” we know it was a planned genocide, and likely substantially more in number than the seven of Saul’s sons who were executed in public. It is possible that God’s judgment on Saul was the elimination of his family line (like Jeroboam and Ahab, 1 Kings 21:17-26). It is also possible that some of his sons participated in the genocide, but the text does not overtly indicate this, and evidence from other passages suggest it is very likely that at least some of those hanged were too young to have been involved in the massacre (1 Samuel 18:19, 2 Samuel 5:4).
It is clear though, that the Lord still required a payment to be made, despite the principle that the offender alone must be the one to make restitution. David and Gibea came to an arrangement that occurred after the death of the offender (Saul). The truly unique element in this story is the direct intervention of God. God sent the famine. God spoke and revealed the guilt of Saul. And God lifted the famine afterwards, indicating that He considered the debt fully paid. David, as the Head of State, was acting in submission to God’s spoken directive. He did not collaborate with the Gibeonite leadership until after receiving God’s verbal command to do so.
This story is unique in biblical history, and rather than being a model for individual believers, human leaders, or human governments, it is an example of God exercising His sovereign prerogative as the King and ultimate Judge. Only He can bring this kind of judgment. We do not get to decide if or when this situation is applicable – only God does.
Though we may long for restitution after the death of an offender, this is not consistent with biblical teaching. If they have died, the offenders are now in God’s hands, and He will deal with them as He wills, as He dealt with Saul and Saul’s lineage.
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19)
We all deserve to perish and face eternal separation from God. But like Mephibosheth and David, those who are in Christ are spared from God’s judgment because of the covenant promises God has made in His Word for all who believe. Saul broke the covenant with the Gibeonites, but David was faithful to his promise and rescued Mephibosheth. We can take great comfort knowing that God will be faithful and rescue us as well.
Children are not responsible or guilty for their fathers’ sin. God says that while there will be generational consequences for a parent’s sin, children are not to be held legally responsible by humans or human governments for the debts or sins of their parents. God Himself may impose separate consequences, however humans and human governments are never authorized to do so.
Biblical justice says that the Americans alive today are not guilty of or legally responsible for their ancestors’ sins of racism, oppression, slavery, or abuse. Those who committed the grave racial sins of America’s past will be held accountable by the Lord when they stand before His throne. And we do still suffer the consequences of them today: the relationships are broken. So we as children of God must work to reconcile the relationships.
Now, while a legal repayment for an offense is appropriate, this in itself will not satisfy the deep spiritual and emotional hurt experienced by the victim(s). So we need to look at the biblical path to healing… which we will begin in our next article.
If we follow God’s principles for reparations/restitution, we will be careful not to punish children for the sins of their parents. We will work for justice in our laws and law enforcement, we will pray for, intercede for, and confess the sins of our nation, and we will leave the judgment of our nation in God’s hands. We will never classify by the unbiblical category of “race” – doing so is the foundation of racism. We have inherited division and brokenness in our culture and our country because of the sins of our forefathers, and we must strive for reconciliation.
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ABOUT BEN
Connect with him at Cornerstone Curriculum
Ben Quine, the second son of David and Shirley Quine, was blessed to grow up with a Charlotte Mason/Dr. Schaeffer/Biblical Worldview education -- a tremendous gift! Through the years, Ben has served as a Cornerstone consultant, assistant, and co-author. He has written several Bible studies for the Answers for Difficult Days series, which equips churches to address the issues our culture is wrestling with today, from the foundation of Scripture. Ben is also the editor of The Worldview Library, editions of classical literature with student helps that afford the reader a deeper understanding of the concepts presented in each work.
Trained as a classical pianist and instructor, Ben is committed to inspiring his students with the love of great music and equipping them with the tools to perform at the highest level. This training has resulted in his students' successful performances from local festivals and competitions to Carnegie Hall.
Ben loves Shakespeare, Dickens, photography, listening to recordings of "the great pianists", running, biking, and spending time with his wife Julie and their three sons.