Whatever Happened to the Ten Commandments?

The Eighth Commandment

Your shall not steal
(Exod. 20:15).

Just as we saw in the Seventh Commandment that the holiness of God sets him against uncleanness, so we will now see in the Eighth Commandment that the justice of God sets him against theft and robbery. That which is forbidden in this commandment is meddling with the property of another. Theft is laying hands on that which belongs to another—the invading of another's rights.

The Eighth Commandment is one of the most terse of the commandments. In those four short words God has encompassed so much that he wants to teach us about our possessions and how to handle them. Does it not seem embarrassingly obvious? 'You shall not steal.' Of course we would not steal! That seems so clear and easy But God has a way of packing into the shortest, clearest little phrase so much profound truth, expecting us to explain and expound his commandments, drawing out of them the riches with which he has loaded them.

DUTIES REQUIRED IN THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT

The duty to be truthful, faithful and just in our contracts and commerce:

He who walks uprightly,
And works righteousness,
And speaks the truth in his heart...
In whose eyes a vile person is despised,
But he honors those who fear the LORD;
He who swears to his own hurt and (Psa. 15:2,4).

Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying...
Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless,
The alien or the poor.
Let none of you plan evil in his heart
Against his brother? (Zech. 7:4, 10).

'These are the things you shall do:
Speak each man the truth to his neighbor;
Give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace;
Let none of you think evil in your heart against your neighbor;
And do not love a false oath.
For all these are things that I hate,?
Says the LORD (Zech. 8:16?17).

The duty to render to everyone his due:

Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor (Rom. 13:7).

The duty to make restitution of goods unlawfully obtained:

If a person sins and commits a trespass against the LORD by lying to his neighbor about what was delivered to him for safekeeping, or about a pledge, or about a robbery, or if he has extorted from his neighbor, or if he has found what was lost and lies concerning it, and swears falsely?in any one of 4 The Eighth Commandment these things that a man may do in which he sins: then it shall be, because he has sinned and is guilty, that he shall restore what he has stolen, or the thing which he has extorted, or what was delivered to him for safekeeping, or the lost thing which he found, or all that about which he has sworn falsely He shall restore its full value, add one-fifth more to it, and give it to whomever it belongs, on the day of his trespass offering (Lev. 6:2?5; compare with Luke 19:8).

The duty to give and lend freely, according to our abilities and the necessities of others:

Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. . . Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you (Luke 6:30, 38).

But whoever has this world?s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? (1 John 3:17).

Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need (Eph. 4:28).

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith (Gal. 6:10).

The duty to be frugal:

So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, ?Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost? (John 6:12).

There is desirable treasure, And oil in the dwelling of the wise, But a foolish man squanders it (Prov. 21:20).

The duty to further, by lawful means, the wealth of others as well as our own:

If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you (Lev. 25:35).

If you meet your enemy?s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him again (Exod. 23:4).

Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others (Phil. 2:4).

SINS FORBIDDEN IN THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT

The sin of theft or robbery:

Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need (Eph. 4:28).

Do not trust in oppression,
Nor vainly hope in robbery;
If riches increase,
Do not set your heart on them (Psa. 62:10).

The sin of receiving anything that is stolen:

Whoever is a partner with a thief hates his own life; He swears to tell the truth, but reveals nothing (Prov. 29:24).

The sin of using false weights and measures:

Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD,
But a just weight is His delight (Prov. 11:1).

Diverse weights and diverse measures,
They are both alike, an abomination to the LORD (Prov. 20:10).

The sin of unfaithfulness in contracts:

When will the New Moon be past, That we may sell grain?
And the Sabbath, That we may trade wheat?
Making the ephah small and the shekel large,
Falsifying the scales by deceit? (Amos 8:5).
The wicked borrows and does not repay,
But the righteous shows mercy and gives (Psa. 37:21).

The sin of extortion:

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence (Matt. 23:25).

'In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion, and have forgotten Me,' says the Lord GOD (Ezek. 22:12).

The sin of usury:

He who does not put out his money at usury,
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be moved (Psa. 15:5).

The sin of bribery:

For the company of hypocrites will be barren,
And fire will consume the tents of bribery (Job 15:34).

The sin of taking or withholding from our neighbour what belongs to him:

For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor,
He has violently seized a house which he did not build (Job 20:19).

Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth (James 5:4).

Getting treasures by a lying tongue
Is the fleeting fantasy of those who seek death (Pray. 21:6).

The sin of idleness:

For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies (2 Thess. 2:11).

He who is slothful in his work
Is a brother to him who is a great destroyer (Pray. 18:9).