The Eighth Commandment (Exodus 20:15, Deuteronomy 5:19)
My wife and I just sold and bought a house. And there was a lot of paperwork involved in both of those things. I complained the whole time but I do understand that there was a very good reason for all of the paperwork. Well, one reason for the paperwork was very good. The other agitates me a bit. The reason that agitates me is the government regulation reason. There were entire documents to sign that had to do with some government regulation that oversaw part of the process. That seemed to me to be a hassle that I just didn’t want to deal with, but there is one very good reason for the large stack of paperwork and it is that people can be dishonest and steal.
We live in a fallen world with dishonesty all around us. And this paperwork is our society’s way of helping us not fall into some sort of trap and be robbed of huge investments. Another example of this came from a discussion at Walmart.
One day in Fort Smith I was buying one item at a Walmart. The cashier asked, “do you want me to bag this.” And I jokingly answered, “No, as long as no one is going to think I’m stealing it as I walk out the door.” He was a manager of that store and said, “You joke, but we are probably going to be shutting down the Walmart Neighborhood Market across town because so many people walk out with merchandise that they are getting really close to losing money.” And then I walked through the doors that have alarms in them to catch people who are stealing from their store.
Now we come to the command not to steal. It is another one of those simple, one sentence commands. It simply says,
“You shall not steal.” (Exodus 20:15 ESV)
Now, let’s look at how we should apply this command to our lives.
As has been the case throughout our look at the Ten Commandments, I would like to summarize the positive side of this commandment, or what the commandment is protecting as well as how this means that we should live.
This commandment means that individuals have the right to private property and that property is to be protected. People are also responsible as individuals to be kind.
Be Kind With Your Property
The individual has always had a responsibility to be kind. Many of the books of the Prophets in the Old Testament discuss this at great length. Not only were the people of Israel punished for their mistreatment of the poor, but so were Israel’s neighbors. And the whole idea behind that is that people within a civilization had a responsibility to be kind with their property.
“If you go into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, as many as you wish, but you shall not put any in your bag. If you go into your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor’s standing grain.” (Deuteronomy 23:24-25 ESV)
It was understood that when someone visited your home, they were to be able to eat their fill. You were to be kind with what you had, but they were not allowed to just take things from you. That is why they could eat their fill but they could not take more than that. And that is also why they were not allowed to harvest grain with a sickle, but were able to pluck ears of grain with their hand. It was a way of saying that a person should be kind with what they have while also saying that they had the right to own their own property.
“And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.” (Leviticus 23:22 ESV)
“When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.” (Deuteronomy 24:19-22 ESV)
These two passages are about the kindness that the people of Israel were to have for their neighbor. They were not to take everything that their land could produce for themselves. Though they had a right to what the land produced because it was their property, they were commanded to be kind with what they had. Portions of their produce were to be left for the person in need.
A good illustration of this in action is found in the Book of Ruth that we discussed a few Sunday Nights ago.
“And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech.” (Ruth 2:2-3 ESV)
Ruth was gleaning from the edges of these fields, which was set apart for those in need. It makes sense that she would stumble upon someone’s field if she was working the edges of a few different properties. She went after the reapers and picked up what was left behind, which is part of what was commanded in God’s Word concerning kindness with property.
Kindness That Prioritized Work
And here I want to say something that is possibly a bit controversial in our discussion. The Bible teaches kindness to the poor. It also teaches that we should give to those in need. But it also teaches, through passages such as these, that a hand-up is to be sought when it is possible rather than a hand-out. There are times when that is not possible. And because we live in a society that is all based on money this can be difficult to do at times, but it does seem that this system was advocating for helping those in need, but they still had to work for it when possible. This was food that they needed, and it was left behind for their collecting, but they still had to go and do the collecting. They still had to work for their survival.
In a society that increasingly demeans the value of work this idea will be seen as more and more unpopular. But it is something that we should keep in mind. Sometimes people lose their jobs and what they need most in the moment is an immediate influx of cash. And we live in a fallen world where people have been rendered unable to work. But a lot of times people in need do need to be working for what they get.
So, we have a right to property, but we are also supposed to be kind with that property.
Do Not Steal Or Defraud
We easily understand the fact that pocketing something out of a store without paying for it is not the only way to be a thief. And the Bible expresses that idea as well. There are different deceptions that are covered under this command found in the Pentateuch.
“You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD. “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning.” (Leviticus 19:11-13 ESV)
There are a few different instances listed here. It all really has to do with dealing truthfully with people in business transactions. Theft is being discussed alongside lying and he makes a point of saying that an employee should be paid promptly. Simply put, if you say that you are going to pay someone, then you should pay them when you say that you are going to pay them.
I worked as a farmhand for a guy once that was unreliable with his pay. He spent most of his afternoons and evenings drunk in his airconditioned tractor, which is probably part of the reason he didn’t always have the money to pay me promptly. But he would run over the electric fences so that his cattle and horses would get out of their proper places, which would leave me spending hours putting them back in their pens the next day because he didn’t get out of bed until 10 or so. He would say something to the affect of, “You don’t do much for the first few hours of the day.” And I would respond with something to the effect of, “Did you see that pile of cow manure right in front of your house? Do you still see the cows there? Where is the cow that left the manure in your front yard now? How do you suppose it got there?” And after a bit of back and forth I would eventually get paid. But there were times when I’d get paid half at one time and half later because he didn’t actually have the money, but he did have me working that week. That is not how things should be.
I have had multiple friends that worked in restaurants where the owner of the place would give them hot checks knowing there was no money in the bank. They would be promised make up pay only to go through this for a month or so until they had to quit and work for actual money.
It is dishonest and it is theft to not pay someone what they are owed when they are owed it. This would apply to an employee, but it would also apply to someone you hire to do a job at your home.
“You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” (Leviticus 19:35-36 ESV)
Just balances are scales that measure as they are supposed to do. In our terminology a person buying a pound of flour was to get a pound of flour upon purchase, not 7/8 of a pound. To sell a pound of flour to someone and only give them 7/8 of a pound is stealing.
Here is another text that is very similar.
“You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, a large and a small. You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small. A full and fair weight you shall have, a full and fair measure you shall have, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. For all who do such things, all who act dishonestly, are an abomination to the LORD your God.” (Deuteronomy 25:13-16 ESV)
This can be applied to all sorts of things. I remember a gas station in Harrison that got into legal trouble because they were watering down their gasoline. And I’m sure that you have seen theft happen a plethora of different ways using deception like this. It is stealing and against God’s Law.
And here is another deceptive thing that was done in ancient times.
“You shall not move your neighbor’s landmark, which the men of old have set, in the inheritance that you will hold in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.” (Deuteronomy 19:14 ESV)
It was the moving of property lines without the other party knowing. Anyone who has been involved in land surveying has probably heard of this sort of thing happening. I have heard crazy stories about court cases involving matters such as these. Again, it is deceptive and it is stealing.
A Note of Differentiation Between Our Time And Ancient Times
I would like to end with a sort of rabbit trail. The punishment for theft was much different than it is in our day. The criminal was to make restitution for the stolen items when he was caught. That was given to the victim.
“And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, When a man or woman commits any of the sins that people commit by breaking faith with the LORD, and that person realizes his guilt, he shall confess his sin that he has committed. And he shall make full restitution for his wrong, adding a fifth to it and giving it to him to whom he did the wrong.” (Numbers 5:5-7 ESV)
They didn’t pay a fine to the government, restitution was made for the wrong committed. In other words, the victim was made whole. They got back what was taken from them and then some.
And again the same thing is seen in Exodus 22:1-13.
“If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall repay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. If a thief is found breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him, but if the sun has risen on him, there shall be bloodguilt for him. He shall surely pay. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. If the stolen beast is found alive in his possession, whether it is an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he shall pay double. “If a man causes a field or vineyard to be grazed over, or lets his beast loose and it feeds in another man’s field, he shall make restitution from the best in his own field and in his own vineyard. “If fire breaks out and catches in thorns so that the stacked grain or the standing grain or the field is consumed, he who started the fire shall make full restitution. “If a man gives to his neighbor money or goods to keep safe, and it is stolen from the man’s house, then, if the thief is found, he shall pay double. If the thief is not found, the owner of the house shall come near to God to show whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor’s property. For every breach of trust, whether it is for an ox, for a donkey, for a sheep, for a cloak, or for any kind of lost thing, of which one says, ‘This is it,’ the case of both parties shall come before God. The one whom God condemns shall pay double to his neighbor. 1″If a man gives to his neighbor a donkey or an ox or a sheep or any beast to keep safe, and it dies or is injured or is driven away, without anyone seeing it, an oath by the LORD shall be between them both to see whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor’s property. The owner shall accept the oath, and he shall not make restitution. But if it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner. If it is torn by beasts, let him bring it as evidence. He shall not make restitution for what has been torn.” (Exodus 22:1-13 ESV)
There was a difference in the penalty process. But, I would argue, it was better. This way the victim could be made whole.
Applying It
Every week we end with applying this concept using the three uses of the Law.
As a mirror this reveals to us ways in which we have sinned and need to repent of if we are still practicing. Theft doesn’t have to be pocketing someone else’s stuff. There are numerous ways to break the commandment and if we have then we need to turn from that sin, make restitution as best we can, and seek forgiveness from them and from God. That forgiveness is only found in Christ.
As far as the Civil use of this commandment goes, we should seek to uphold property rights and laws against theft in our country. And we should seek to elect people who will uphold the Law. Looting stores every time we are upset about something is still theft and we should seek to have people in office who will protect our right to hold property and protect our property with the force of the law.
And in this we see what pleases God. We see that it pleases God when we use our stuff in a kind and generous way. And it also pleases God that we do not steal from others.
R. Dwain Minor