An Eye for an Eye and You (Deuteronomy 18 & 19)

Deut. 19:21b:

"...life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot."

When Jesus came along, He changed things by saying that we are to love our enemies. But the verses here in Deuteronomy 19:21b show that God has a clear sense of justice. If a person is responsible for depriving another person of their life or their body parts, they should also lose their life or body parts. Perhaps it is to serve not only as a punishment but as a clear deterrent to evil doings. God understands the value of everything, which is one reasons I believe He set out laws in the Old Testament that seemed very harsh.