God's Laws: Property Damage and Theft

Exodus Chapter 22

5 If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another man's field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution.
6 If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.
7 If a man shall deliver unto his neighbour money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man's house; if the thief be found, let him pay double.
8 If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall be brought unto the judges, to see whether he have put his hand unto his neighbour's goods.
9 For all manner of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing, which another challengeth to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whom the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double unto his neighbour.

Let's say you are a farmer and you have a goat. Your goat gets loose and goes over to your neighbor's house and eats up all the tomato plants your neighbor spent so much time planting and taking care of. Or maybe you have a dog and it goes over and digs up all the flowers in your neighbor's flower garden around the house. You will be responsible for replacing all of the lost crop with the best you have to give.

You know those teenagers who wanted to smoke in an overgrown California field and caught the field on fire, and the fire burned out of control until it burned forests and houses...you get the picture. They are responsible for all the homes that are destroyed, according to God.

And, remember when you loaned your friend that barbie to play with and some mean girl stole it? That mean girl should give you TWO Barbies...or maybe a Barbie and Ken doll, too, to pay for it. But, if that mean girl didn't steal it, and it still came up missing, you could take her to court to decide if she was just hiding it because she wanted to keep it.

Regardless, whatever is lost or stolen has to be repayed double.