Exodus 20:15: The Eighth Commandment

So far in the Ten Commandments, we have seen that there is always more than meets the eye.  These commands call for a deeper obedience than just what’s on the surface of the command.  The same thing is going to hold true for the eighth commandment, which prohibits stealing.  In the eighth commandment (Exodus 20:15), which reads, “You shall not steal,” God actually commanding His people to have a proper attitude towards money and possessions.  We learn here that as God’s people, we too must cultivate a proper attitude towards money and possessions.  I firmly believe the key to cultivating such an attitude is learning to treasure and trust Jesus Christ as we should and also learning to love our neighbor as we should.  Let’s pray for God to give us grace today to do so and then let’s consider just what this commandment is requiring of us as God’s people.   

I.              Understanding the Eighth Commandment

In order to understand just what this commandment is calling for, we first need to consider WHAT stealing is.  Stealing is taking what does not belong to us without another’s knowledge or consent.  What’s interesting is that “nearly 90 percent of evangelical Christians claim that they never break the eighth commandment,”[1]but if you just follow that simple definition through to its end, you will find that even the church today is a den of thieves!  First of all, in the United States today, property theft occurs in some form every three seconds.[2] But there are many ways in which we take things that belong to others. 

Moving boundary markers we forbidden in Scripture because it was considered taking someone else’s property (Deuteronomy 19:14; 27:17).  Using inaccurate weights and balances (what we would call overpricing) was also considered stealing in Scripture (Deuteronomy 25:13-16).  So was charging interest (Exodus 22:25).  But it is also stealing to borrow money and not pay it back.  When an employer doesn’t pay a fair day’s wages for an honest day’s labor (James 5:1-6), they are stealing from their employees.  But not putting in an honest day’s labor for a fair day’s wages is stealing your employer’s money and time.  Embezzlement is stealing.  Fraud can be stealing.  Kidnapping is stealing.  So is tax evasion.  Identity theft is stealing.  When we make bogus insurance claims or disability claims, we are stealing.  Whey we lie to the government about our income in order to get extra benefits, we are lying and stealing. This is part of what’s wrong with our country: we are a bunch of lazy thieves who would rather take from the government than work for a living!  When you illegally download music or movies, you are stealing.  Plagiarism is stealing.  Taking things from work that we are not authorized to is stealing.  Every helped yourself to items that are provided in a hotel room after staying there?  If you have, then you are a thief. 

One you may not have thought about is how we steal time from the Lord when we use the Lord’s day for something other than He has prescribed.  Chrysostom said not to share our wealth with the poor is theft from the poor.[3]  Also, in Malachi 3:8-10, God says that when we withhold tithes and offerings, we are robbing Him!  [8] Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. [9] You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. [10] Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.

(Malachi 3:8-10 ESV) And these are just a handful of examples!  Luther rightly asked that if we were to hang all the thieves in the world, where would we find enough rope?[4] (Rockwell)

It is also important think through WHY we steal in order to understand what this commandment requires.  Why do people steal?  Stealing begins with coveting and greed.  In other words, it is desiring what does not belong to us that leads to taking what does not belong to us.  Coveting will be addressed in the tenth commandment, but for now consider this train of thought one-step further.  Why do we covet?   The reason we covet is because we are not content with what we have.  Stealing is the polar opposite of contentment with what God has provided.  In this light, the prohibition against stealing is also a charge to be content with what God has given to us.  God has ordained that men should earn their bread by the sweat of their brow, and with that portion which we thus honestly obtain, we must be satisfied.[5]

The final thing we need to consider in order understand what this commandment requires is HOW the rest of the Bible applies this commandment.  The rest of the Bible applies this commandment in a way that makes most all of us guilty of breaking it as well.  Listen to Paul’s words in Ephesians 4:28: “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.”  Paul takes the eighth commandment to mean more than simply not taking what belongs to someone else.  According to Paul, this commandment seems to address one’s overall heart attitude towards money and possessions, and it calls us to be people who are hard working and generous.  This commandment then, is not just prohibiting stealing, but is calling for godly stewardship as well.  Godly stewardship is flows out of the understanding that God owns everything and that we are not owners of anything, but stewards (or managers) of what God has graced us with.  (Bridges)

II.            Keeping the Eighth Commandment  

Now that we have a better understanding of what the eighth commandment requires, how can we obey it?  First, we must TRUST and SUBMIT to Our God.  Philip Ryken points out that when we take what does not belong to us, we sin against God in two ways.[6]  For starters, every theft is a failure to trust in God’s provision.  It expresses a lack of faith that God has or that God can provide what we need.  Also, every theft is an assault upon God’s providence.  It also expresses a discontentment with how God has allotted things in His universe and it actually robs what God has provided for someone else.  We also add to this that every theft is also a failure to joy in God’s sufficiency.  We take because we don’t believe God is enough. 

Secondly, in order to keep this commandment, we must LOVE Our Neighbor.  Remember what Paul said in Romans 13:8-10, that love does no wrong to a neighbor: [8] Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. [9] For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” [10] Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. (Romans 13:8-10 ESV)

Martin Luther said we break the eighth commandment whenever we take advantage of our neighbor in any dealing that results in loss to them.[7]  Have you ever had something stolen from you?  How’d that make you feel?  That’s what we’re doing to our fellow man when we steal from them in any way. 

Because stealing is also a sin against our neighbor, repentance in this areal also involves restitution.  The Old Testament contains a threefold differentiation for the punishment of theft: (1) the death penalty is for kidnapping (Exod 21:16; Deut 24:7) and stealing of God’s property (Josh 7); (2) the punishment for the theft of livestock and valued goods is usually double the value (Exod 22:4[3],7[6],9[8]); (3) fourfold or fivefold replacement is demanded if cattle or sheep were slaughtered or sold (Exod 22:1[21:37]).[8]  In the New Testament, we see restitution as part of Zacchaeus’ repentance: “And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, ‘Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor.  And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold’” (Luke 19:8 ESV). 

In order to keep this commandment, we must trust and submit to our God, we must love our neighbor, but we must ultimately LOOK to Our Savior Jesus Christ.  We must look to Him first because He has kept this command for us.  Jesus never desired or took anything that belonged to someone else in thought, word, or deed.  The irony of that is the fact that the universe and everything in it belongs to Him in the first place!  The good news of the gospel is that Jesus’ humble obedience is credited to all those to repent of their sins and trust in Him. 

We must also look to Jesus because He has paid the penalty for all of our thievery and covetousness.  On Calvary’s hill, Jesus was crucified between two thieves.  Jesus was numbered with these criminals in fulfillment of Isaiah 53:12 and considered a thief so that we would not be.  You and I should have hung there.   I am the third thief, and so are you, but because Jesus loves thieves and robbers, He has taken our place and born the punishment for our sins.  We see Jesus’ great love for thieves displayed on that hill: [39] One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” [40] But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? [41] And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” [42] And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” [43] And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43 ESV)

This thief was nailed to a cross and could only confess his sin and beg Jesus for mercy.  When he did so, Jesus pardoned Him and the very blood that this thief was watching gush out of the Son of God washed him clean of all his wickedness.  This is the love of Christ that is offered for you today.  Will you confess your sin and surrender to Him as well? 

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[1] Philip Ryken, Written in Stone, 173

[2] Rooker, Mark (2010-04-29). The Ten Commandments (New American Commentary Studies in Bible and Theology) (Kindle Locations 3897-3898). B&H Publishing. Kindle Edition.

[3] Chrysostom, referenced by Philip Ryken, Written in Stone, 177

[4] Martin Luther, quoted by Philip Ryken, Written in Stone, 174

[5] A.W. Pink, The Ten Commandments, 48

[6] Philip Ryken, Written in Stone, 174

[7] Ibid, 172

[8] Rooker, Mark (2010-04-29). The Ten Commandments (New American Commentary Studies in Bible and Theology) (Kindle Locations 3873-3874). B&H Publishing. Kindle Edition.