The 10 Commandments
Commandment 8: RIGHTS
Jon Robinson | Pastor of Discipleship
Exodus 20:15 “You shall not steal”
Welcome to our series through the 10 Commandments. Today we will consider the eighth commandment from Exodus 20:15 "You shall not steal." The Hebrew word for steal is gânab, which means to take and deceive. There is a little more to this word though. It's to take in a stealthy way, or to steal in a crafty way. The idea here is that stealing in the Hebrew mind is something that happens in the dark. One has to become familiar with doing things in the shadows, comfortable with a deceptive nature, and eventually numb to the consequences it has on others. I recall being in New York City for the first time and interacting with a kid that was selling his rap album on a compact disk. I’m somewhat of a music connoisseur and so being able to hear the local rap scene was very interesting to me. However, when I arrived at my car I realized that I had been hoodwinked and the disk I paid for was a deception. It was blank. I remember feeling like a fool and even confused how that kid could be so disconnected from the impact his thievery had on others. If I were to do something like that my conscience would eat at me and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. It even seemed like this thief enjoyed his “job.” He sold that blank disk with a smile. I’m sure he finds tourist-looking people to do this all the time and he might even make a decent wage. It’s not surprising I suppose. If you commit a sin enough it starts to dull your conscience. It’s like a drug, the more you do the less you feel its impacts and this guy certainly made an impact on me and my view of the 8th commandment.
Stealing in the Bible
So what is stealing? Robert Carver (Professor at Clearwater Bible College) did the biblical work for us by pulling out the different forms of theft we see in scripture. He states “Stealing can take many forms, including robbery (Mark 10:19), kidnapping (Ex. 21:16), human trafficking (1 Tim. 1:10), receiving stolen goods (Prov. 29:24), fraudulent business dealings (1 Tim. 3:8), using false weights and measures (Prov. 20:10), trespassing property boundaries (Deut. 19:14), injustice in contracts (Deut. 24:15), extortion (Ps. 62:10), unethical loan arrangements (Ps. 37:21), borrowing without returning (Ex. 22:14), unjust lawsuits (1 Cor. 6:7), plagiarism, and so on.” You never start big when it comes to being a thief. You start small and build from there. Parents, this is a law that you want to build into your kids' psychology. They need to know that taking their friend's toy from their house (however small) is wrong and the solution is simple. Just ask! Ask your friend if you can borrow the toy. Communicate your desire, and ask for kindness from your friend. Don’t let your kids stay in the shadows of thievery because they will get comfortable there. Stealing happens when we cut off communication with God and with our fellow man. It’s a deaf action and a blind ambition with no care for the effects it has on others. All we can see is what we want and all we can hear is our desire.
The Heart of Theft
What is at the root of stealing? We’ve said over and over that Jesus looks at the heart. It’s not just the act of stealing that God condemns but the heart of stealing. I believe at the root of stealing is the belief that you’ve been slighted. That God hasn’t given you enough. That He has unjustifiably blessed others with more. Here’s the problem, that is a material view not a spiritual view. If you were to put spiritual glasses on you would see that God’s blessing is lavish to you and you would be so consumed by His love and blessing over you that you wouldn’t even think to consider what others are receiving. Yes God has allowed some people to be born into wealth, good genetics, and great abilities but all of those things fade. His spiritual blessings are eternal and your ability to see that will keep you from stealing. Dwell on His blessing, walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).
The Consequence of Theft
We now know what stealing is but the feeling of being stolen from is a little more difficult to pin down. The consequence of stealing for the thief is clear. They will be judged by God in the end or Christ will absorb that sin on the cross. However, the person that’s been stolen from faces another consequence. The kid that stole from me left me with a feeling of emptiness. It’s like he spread his feeling of voidness, or his emptiness to me. It’s like if he had a cold and sneezed in my face and I immediately felt the symptoms that he felt even though I didn’t participate in the evil, I felt the effects of the evil. It darkened my view of humanity and helped me realize more deeply our need for Christ.
Luke 19:45-46 shares Jesus' actions in the temple, “And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, saying to them, It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers.” As New Testament believers we are now the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are made to be prayer factories. Constantly in communication with God as the Spirit moves within us and we move in tandem with the Spirit. Listen closely, as soon as we step out of that communion we begin to steal. It starts with stealing from God. We steal our time, attention, and affections from Him and give it to other things. However it won’t stop there. If we don’t love God we won’t truly love our neighbor either. Eventually, we will start stealing from them. It might not be material things but it could be reputation, or out of jealousy steal a moment from someone at work, or out of selfishness steal our family time and give it to a hobby. There is no shortage of things that we can steal. So guard your heart from this sin, and keep your kids and grandkids from falling into its snare. You shall not steal.
Welcome to our series through the 10 Commandments. Today we will consider the eighth commandment from Exodus 20:15 "You shall not steal." The Hebrew word for steal is gânab, which means to take and deceive. There is a little more to this word though. It's to take in a stealthy way, or to steal in a crafty way. The idea here is that stealing in the Hebrew mind is something that happens in the dark. One has to become familiar with doing things in the shadows, comfortable with a deceptive nature, and eventually numb to the consequences it has on others. I recall being in New York City for the first time and interacting with a kid that was selling his rap album on a compact disk. I’m somewhat of a music connoisseur and so being able to hear the local rap scene was very interesting to me. However, when I arrived at my car I realized that I had been hoodwinked and the disk I paid for was a deception. It was blank. I remember feeling like a fool and even confused how that kid could be so disconnected from the impact his thievery had on others. If I were to do something like that my conscience would eat at me and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. It even seemed like this thief enjoyed his “job.” He sold that blank disk with a smile. I’m sure he finds tourist-looking people to do this all the time and he might even make a decent wage. It’s not surprising I suppose. If you commit a sin enough it starts to dull your conscience. It’s like a drug, the more you do the less you feel its impacts and this guy certainly made an impact on me and my view of the 8th commandment.
Stealing in the Bible
So what is stealing? Robert Carver (Professor at Clearwater Bible College) did the biblical work for us by pulling out the different forms of theft we see in scripture. He states “Stealing can take many forms, including robbery (Mark 10:19), kidnapping (Ex. 21:16), human trafficking (1 Tim. 1:10), receiving stolen goods (Prov. 29:24), fraudulent business dealings (1 Tim. 3:8), using false weights and measures (Prov. 20:10), trespassing property boundaries (Deut. 19:14), injustice in contracts (Deut. 24:15), extortion (Ps. 62:10), unethical loan arrangements (Ps. 37:21), borrowing without returning (Ex. 22:14), unjust lawsuits (1 Cor. 6:7), plagiarism, and so on.” You never start big when it comes to being a thief. You start small and build from there. Parents, this is a law that you want to build into your kids' psychology. They need to know that taking their friend's toy from their house (however small) is wrong and the solution is simple. Just ask! Ask your friend if you can borrow the toy. Communicate your desire, and ask for kindness from your friend. Don’t let your kids stay in the shadows of thievery because they will get comfortable there. Stealing happens when we cut off communication with God and with our fellow man. It’s a deaf action and a blind ambition with no care for the effects it has on others. All we can see is what we want and all we can hear is our desire.
The Heart of Theft
What is at the root of stealing? We’ve said over and over that Jesus looks at the heart. It’s not just the act of stealing that God condemns but the heart of stealing. I believe at the root of stealing is the belief that you’ve been slighted. That God hasn’t given you enough. That He has unjustifiably blessed others with more. Here’s the problem, that is a material view not a spiritual view. If you were to put spiritual glasses on you would see that God’s blessing is lavish to you and you would be so consumed by His love and blessing over you that you wouldn’t even think to consider what others are receiving. Yes God has allowed some people to be born into wealth, good genetics, and great abilities but all of those things fade. His spiritual blessings are eternal and your ability to see that will keep you from stealing. Dwell on His blessing, walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).
The Consequence of Theft
We now know what stealing is but the feeling of being stolen from is a little more difficult to pin down. The consequence of stealing for the thief is clear. They will be judged by God in the end or Christ will absorb that sin on the cross. However, the person that’s been stolen from faces another consequence. The kid that stole from me left me with a feeling of emptiness. It’s like he spread his feeling of voidness, or his emptiness to me. It’s like if he had a cold and sneezed in my face and I immediately felt the symptoms that he felt even though I didn’t participate in the evil, I felt the effects of the evil. It darkened my view of humanity and helped me realize more deeply our need for Christ.
Luke 19:45-46 shares Jesus' actions in the temple, “And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, saying to them, It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers.” As New Testament believers we are now the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are made to be prayer factories. Constantly in communication with God as the Spirit moves within us and we move in tandem with the Spirit. Listen closely, as soon as we step out of that communion we begin to steal. It starts with stealing from God. We steal our time, attention, and affections from Him and give it to other things. However it won’t stop there. If we don’t love God we won’t truly love our neighbor either. Eventually, we will start stealing from them. It might not be material things but it could be reputation, or out of jealousy steal a moment from someone at work, or out of selfishness steal our family time and give it to a hobby. There is no shortage of things that we can steal. So guard your heart from this sin, and keep your kids and grandkids from falling into its snare. You shall not steal.