Making It Right — TDW Kids

Give It Back, and More

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When Jesus came to his house, Zacchaeus stood up and said, “If I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold” (Luke 19:8). Restore means to give back. Zacchaeus wanted to make right anything he had done wrong to other people.

God cares about people who are wronged. When we cheat or hurt someone, we sin against God and we harm that person. Long before Zacchaeus, God's law told His people what to do about both.

Give it back. In Leviticus 6, God said that a person who got something by lying, stealing or cheating had to give all of it back. Then he had to add one fifth more (Leviticus 6:1-5). One fifth more means a little extra on top of what he took.

Tell the truth first. Numbers 5 says the person had to confess the wrong first. Then he paid it back, with one fifth more, to the person he had wronged (Numbers 5:6-7).

Four sheep for one. God's law also said that a thief who stole a sheep and sold it had to pay back four sheep (Exodus 22:1). That was a very big payback. It showed how much God cares when people lose what belongs to them.

Zacchaeus chose more. No one was making Zacchaeus pay. He chose the big amount himself: four times as much. He also gave half of his goods to the poor (Luke 19:8).

An offering too. In Leviticus 6, after paying back his neighbor, the person also brought an offering to the Lord. Then the priest made atonement for him, and God forgave him (Leviticus 6:6-7). Paying back a neighbor could not take away the sin against God. Only God could forgive that.

What we owe God. We can give back a toy or say sorry to a friend. But no one can pay God back for sin. “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).

Jesus paid. God gave His own Son for us. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). Jesus died for our sins and rose again, and when we trust Him, our debt to God is paid.

Why Zacchaeus gave back. Zacchaeus did not make things right to buy Jesus' love. Jesus had already come to his house. He made things right because his heart had been changed.

What to do. If you have taken something, give it back. If you broke something, help fix it or replace it. Tell the person you are sorry, and ask God to forgive you too. Ask a parent or another grown-up to help you do it.

Zacchaeus' promise used the language of repayment: “if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold” (Luke 19:8). The Greek verb for restore is apodidomi (say: ah-poh-DEE-doh-mee), to give back what is owed. He did not only say he was sorry. He planned to repay.

Shalam. In Exodus 22 and Leviticus 6 the Hebrew verb for restore is shalam (say: shah-LAHM), to make whole. It belongs to the same family of words as shalom (peace). Repayment aimed at more than balancing accounts. It put peace back between people.

Leviticus 6:1-5. Lying about something left in your care, robbery, cheating, or keeping something lost and lying about it: God treats each one as unfaithfulness against Him as well as a wrong against a neighbor. The guilty person paid back the full value, added a fifth, and gave it to the owner on the same day he brought his offering.

Confession first (Numbers 5:6-7). Numbers 5 gives the order: first confess the sin, then repay it in full, plus a fifth, to the one who was wronged. Confession named the wrong. Repayment dealt with the damage it had done.

Fourfold (Exodus 22:1). The law required a thief who had stolen and sold a sheep to repay four sheep. When Nathan told David about a rich man who took a poor man's lamb, David answered, “he shall restore fourfold for the lamb” (2 Samuel 12:6). Zacchaeus applied that heavy measure to himself, and no court made him do it.

Two directions. In Leviticus 6 repayment came with an offering. The neighbor received back what he had lost, and the guilty person brought his offering to the Lord; then the priest made atonement, and he was forgiven (Leviticus 6:6-7). Repaying a neighbor was right, but it could not remove guilt before God.

The greater debt. Our sin against God is a debt no added fifth can cover. God dealt with it Himself. He forgave us, “having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us ... having nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14).

Fruit, not payment. Paul preached that people “should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance” (Acts 26:20). Turning to God comes first, and the works show that it is real. Zacchaeus' restitution came after Jesus called him.

Application. Is there something you need to make right: a thing to return, a lie to correct, a debt to pay? Confess it to God, who forgives fully through Jesus. Then, together with a parent or another trusted adult, go to the person, say what you did, and make it right as far as you can.

From Taking to Giving

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Zacchaeus made two promises. He promised to pay back anything he had taken wrongly, and he gave half of his goods to the poor (Luke 19:8). He did not just stop doing wrong. He started doing good.

Steal no longer. Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus about this. Someone who used to steal must stop. Then he should work hard with his hands, so that he will have something to give to people in need (Ephesians 4:28).

A big turn. That is a turn all the way around: from taking from people to giving to people. Zacchaeus made that kind of turn. He promised to pay back anything he had taken wrongly, and he began to give to the poor.

Samuel's honest life. When the prophet Samuel was old, he stood in front of all Israel. He asked them if he had ever taken anyone's ox or donkey, or cheated anyone. He promised to give back anything he had taken. The people said he had never cheated them (1 Samuel 12:3-5).

Nothing to fix. Samuel shows us that it is good to make things right. It is even better to live in a way that leaves nothing to make right.

Owe love. “Owe no one anything except to love one another” (Romans 13:8). Pay what you owe. The only debt that never ends is love.

Honest where people can see. “Have regard for good things in the sight of all men” (Romans 12:17). That means doing what is honest and good where everyone can see it.

A new heart. God promised, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you” (Ezekiel 36:26). Only God can change a taker into a giver.

Made for good works. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Ephesians 2:10). We are not saved by good works. We are saved for good works.

Jesus gave everything. Jesus “gave Himself for us” (Titus 2:14). He died on the cross for our sins, and He rose again. When we trust Him, He starts to make us givers like Him.

What to do. This week, think of one way to give instead of take. You could share a snack, give your time or help at home. Ask a parent to help you choose, and ask God to give you a giving heart.

Zacchaeus' answer had two parts: “I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold” (Luke 19:8). Repayment dealt with the past. Giving turned his life in a new direction.

Ephesians 4:28. Paul told the believers in Ephesus that whoever stole must steal no longer. Instead he should labor, working with his hands at what is good, so that he would have something to give to whoever has need. Paul did not stop at not stealing. He went on to giving.

Put off, put on. Paul teaches believers to put off the old way of life and put on the new one, created by God in righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:22-24). Each old habit gives way to its opposite: lying to truth, stealing to giving.

Samuel's challenge (1 Samuel 12:3-5). At the end of his years of leading Israel, Samuel asked the people whose ox or donkey he had taken, whom he had cheated or oppressed, and from whom he had taken a bribe, and he promised to give it back. The people answered that he had cheated no one. An honest life leaves nothing hidden that still needs to be put right.

The debt of love (Romans 13:7-8). “Render therefore to all their due.” Then: “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.” Settle every other debt. Love is the one we keep paying our whole lives.

In the sight of all (Romans 12:17). “Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.” Honesty is not only private. Other people should be able to see it.

A new heart (Ezekiel 36:26). No one becomes a giver just by trying harder. God promised, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you.” Zacchaeus' open hand came from a changed heart.

Created for good works (Ephesians 2:10). “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Grace comes first and good works follow, so Zacchaeus did not buy his salvation.

The Giver behind it all (Titus 2:14). Christ “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” He died and rose to set us free from sin and to make us eager to do good.

Application. Ask where you are still a taker: of time, attention, things or credit. Then choose one way this week to give where you used to take, and ask God to keep changing your heart.

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