Do Not Steal
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Intro: According to Paul Harvey, in 1989, CBS sent a camera crew to Ft. Worth, Texas, to do a special story on big city crime. As the crew was unloading its equipment, their $30,000 camera was stolen. That was a good introduction for their story. If there were ever a command that needed to be obeyed in the USA, it would be this one. Nothing seems safe or secure any more. Thieves seem to steal at will and get away with it. One bank teller put it this way. She had been robbed three times by the same man. A police officer asked whether she had noticed anything specific about the criminal. The teller replied, “Yes, he seems to be better-dressed every time he comes into the bank.”
In 1992, there were 672,000 robberies, 3 million burglaries, and 8 million larceny thefts.
Mattoon, R. (2007). Treasures from Exodus (Vol. 2, p. 206). Rod Mattoon.
It's estimated that someone is a victim of theft every 5.5 seconds. The next most common crime is burglary, which involves breaking and entering.
In 2021, the nationwide robbery rate in the United States was 60.9 cases per 100,000 of the population. [BLM and Antifa crowd destroyed most liberal cities through theft and vandalism]
A Portland, Oregon, clothing shop permanently shut down this month after facing a string of break-ins that has left the store financially gutted, according to a note posted to the front of the store. "Our city is in peril," a printed note posted on Rains PDX store reads, according to KATU2. "Small businesses (and large) cannot sustain doing business, in our city’s current state. We have no protection, or recourse, against the criminal behavior that goes unpunished. Do not be fooled into thinking that insurance companies cover losses. We have sustained 15 break-ins … we have not received any financial reimbursement since the 3rd." [FOX News, 11-22-22]
Tonight we look at the eighth commandment.
Text; Exodus 20:15
15 “You shall not steal.
This command was given specifically to encourage the respect of others’ property. This is an important element for a stable society. It is closely related to the 10th commandment of not coveting your neighbors goods.
The most common theft in the time of God giving the Commands would be the theft of land and false weights in the market place.
Theft of Land
14 “You shall not remove your neighbor’s landmark, which the men of old have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.
17 ‘Cursed is the one who moves his neighbor’s landmark.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
False Weights
36 You shall have honest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
1 Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord, But a just weight is His delight.
But the sin of stealing has its roots in the Garden of Eden.
15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;
17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
Eve decided to take what did not belong to her instead of thanking God for what He had graciously provided for them!
1. The Root Cause of Stealing;
1. The Root Cause of Stealing;
The thief believes God cannot provide for him so he takes from another
17 But they sinned even more against Him By rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness.
18 And they tested God in their heart By asking for the food of their fancy.
19 Yes, they spoke against God: They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 Behold, He struck the rock, So that the waters gushed out, And the streams overflowed. Can He give bread also? Can He provide meat for His people?”
The temptation of Covetousness and Greed
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.
15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
The Solicitation from Satan
27 Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.”
Satan is the master thief who is out to ruin and rob our lives of God’s best for us and His blessings.
2. Common Thefts we don’t always Acknowledge;
2. Common Thefts we don’t always Acknowledge;
Debt Theft- when someone [Christian] defaults on any debt they owe and files bankruptcy the rest of the worlds taxpayers have pick up the cost, stealing their livelihood.
4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed—
5 Better not to vow than to vow and not pay.
21 The wicked borrows and does not repay, But the righteous shows mercy and gives.
Tax Theft- when people cheat on their taxes, the rest of the tax payers have to again pick up the cost, stealing part of their livelihood.
17 Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?
19 Show Me the tax money.” So they brought Him a denarius.
20 And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”
21 They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
7 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.
Tithing Theft- when we don’t tithe we are stealing from God
8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.
9 You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation.
Identity Theft- when someone steals your personal information—such as your Social Security Number, bank account number, and credit card information. In the spiritual realm it is when we allow Satan a foothold in our lives and we begin to act as someone we are not.
19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Close;
Satan is adept in teaching us how to steal our Master’s glory.
Charles Spurgeon
Just Be Honest!