The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Leviticus 6:1-5, “Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
2 ‘When a person sins and acts unfaithfully against the LORD, and deceives his
companion in regard to a deposit or a security entrusted to him, or through robbery,
or if he has extorted from his companion,
3 or has found what was lost and lied about it and sworn falsely, so that he sins in
regard to any one of the things a man may do;
4 then it shall be, when he sins and becomes guilty, that he shall restore what he
took by robbery or what he got by extortion, or the deposit which was entrusted to
him or the lost thing which he found,
5 or anything about which he swore falsely; he shall make restitution for it in full and
add to it one-fifth more. He shall give it to the one to whom it belongs on the day he
presents his guilt offering.’”

“I sure don’t have it. I have no idea where it is. I’m not sure that you ever gave it to me.”
Have words like these ever come from you? Maybe not these exact words, but at
some point you have looked a friend squarely in the eye and denied what you knew
in your heart was not true! What you did was Robbery (vv. 2-3), and robbery is a sin
against the LORD!

Deceit is also a sin against the LORD? It differs a bit from robbery in that there need
not be anything physical involved. It’s just a bit more skillful lying. In one way, it’s a
game of pretense.

In any event, Restoration (vv. 4-5) is a requirement of the LORD! Many years ago,
a man I knew and trusted offered me an opportunity to make considerable money by
just investing a small sum. He said he had invested and it was paying back far more
than when he had started. I took him at his word and invested what at that time was
to me a considerable sum.

Time went by and the investment showed no productivity. Worse still, the productivity
had gone down instead of up! Close investigation showed that the money was gone!
Immediately, I contacted the one who had convinced me to invest, and he returned the
earnest money I had given him.

The Scripture passages above are quite clear. None of us wants to be on the losing
end of anything. Money is a commodaty we all need. Yet, we must never rob anyone.
If we do, restoration of the full amount plus 20 percent is the LORD’s clear requirement.
We cannot afford to ignore His command.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom