EYE FOR AN EYE

Mat 5:38

You have heard that it was said,

An eye for an eye,

and a tooth for a tooth:

I've heard people make statements like,

"The New Testament is fine,

but I could never go for that

Old Testament, 'eye for an eye' stuff."

It's interesting to me how often the phrase

"eye for an eye"

is used to illustrate something negative

about the bible.

I've wondered about that, too.

about the wisdom of trading an eye for an eye.

How could anything be so barbaric?

Recently I've learned about another concept

regarding unequal scales,

Pro 20:23

Different kinds of weights are hateful to Jehovah,

and a false balance is not good.

which was used humorously in an anecdote

about weighing two pounds more at the doctor's office

than you do at home

because the scales are different.

(The Year of Living Biblically, A.J.Jacobs)

and there are other similar statements about balance:

Job 31:6

let me be weighed in an even balance

so that God may know my uprightness.

and that got me thinking....

What were the other socieities around Judaism like?

Weren't the Jews trying to be more ethical than others?

Can we assume that in some cultures,

the slightest wrong can result in brutal retaliation?

The killing of the offender's wives and children?

The burning of houses?

Haven't wars started over petty quarrels?

So maybe "eye for an eye" wasn't promoting retaliation.

Maybe it was a plea for restraint.

A step towards fairness.

Let's not exaggerate the wrongs against us.

If retribution is demanded,

make it just.

Play Fair.

That's how I'm choosing to interpret

"An Eye For An Eye"