The Eighth Commandment Unpacked - You Shall Not Steal (Deuteronomy 23:19-25)

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Welcome to TBPDP: "The Eighth Commandment Unpacked - Thou Shalt Not Steal"

Introduction:

• Moses revisits the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy, expanding their application to daily life.
• Deuteronomy 23:19-25 addresses the Eighth Commandment, emphasizing respect for others' possessions and fairness.

Key Points:

1. Prohibition of Interest on Loans to Fellow Israelites (Deuteronomy 23:19-20):
   • Israelites were forbidden to charge interest on loans to fellow Israelites but could charge interest to foreigners.
   • This command promotes fairness and generosity, preventing the exploitation of fellow community members.
   • The broader principle here is to be gracious in financial dealings, reflecting God's character.

Making and Keeping Vows (Deuteronomy 23:21-23):

1. • Vows to God must be fulfilled without delay, as failure to do so is considered stealing from God.
   • The emphasis is on the seriousness and voluntary nature of vows; making a vow is not required, but once made, it must be honored.

Supporting Scriptures:

• Proverbs 20:25: Warns against making rash vows.
• Ecclesiastes 5:4-5: Encourages prompt fulfillment of vows to avoid sin.

1. Respecting Neighbor’s Property (Deuteronomy 23:24-25):
   • People could eat from a neighbor’s vineyard or grain field but were not to take more than they could consume on the spot.
   • This command balances generosity and respect for property, discouraging greed and theft.

Application:

• Be Generous and Trust in God's Provision: The commands encourage Israelites to help the poor and be gracious, trusting God to bless their obedience.
• Avoid Greed and Exploitation: Charging interest to the poor and taking excessive amounts from neighbors' fields are seen as theft and greed.
• Reflect God’s Character: By following these commands, Israelites demonstrate God’s generosity and justice in their community.

New Testament Connection:

• Ephesians 4:28: Encourages believers to work and share with those in need, moving beyond merely refraining from theft to actively practicing generosity.
• Proverbs 11:24 and 19:17: Reinforce the blessings of generosity and the pitfalls of greed.
• Luke 6:32-36: Jesus teaches to love, do good, and lend without expecting return, embodying God's mercy and kindness.

Conclusion: By understanding and applying the deeper principles behind the

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Transcript

The Eighth Commandment -Thou Shalt Not Steal.  (Deuteronomy 23:19-25)

Full Transcript.

 If you've been with me as we've been going through the book of Deuteronomy, you know that many commentators suggest Moses is revisiting the Ten Commandments in this whole middle section of the book of Deuteronomy.

Sometimes this connection is clear, other times it is not. When we come to Deuteronomy 23:19 through to the end of the chapter, Moses gives several commands that seem unrelated. However, many commentators suggest that he is addressing the Eighth Commandment, "You shall not steal."

If we were reading Exodus 20, the application of the Eighth Commandment seems straightforward: don't burglarize, don't steal, don't shoplift. But in Deuteronomy, Moses includes additional instructions that don't immediately appear connected to the Eighth Commandment.

The question then becomes: how does Moses apply these commands to the Eighth Commandment?

And that is what we are going to look at today….

One commentator I read in my preparation for our study today offered some helpful insights, stating that the laws from Deuteronomy 23:19 and there relation to the 8th of the 10 commandments, “Thou Shall not steal”, as having a connection relating to the respecting of the possessions of others.

That commentary suggests that Moses is addressing what rightly belongs to others and how you should behave honestly and fairly towards to those other people with both yours and their possessions.

Let's explore how Moses applies the Eighth Commandment:

Do not charge a fellow Israelite interest, whether on money or food or anything else that may earn interest. You may charge a foreigner interest, but not a fellow Israelite, so that the Lord your God may bless you in everything you put your hand to in the land you are entering to possess.

Deuterono0my 23: 19-20)

Ancient rates of interest were often exorbitant, especially outside Israel. While it might seem, Moses is simply advising against high interest rates, a deeper examination reveals a positive principle is also being suggested in how God's people should be gracious in their financial arrangements with others.

Exodus 22:25-27 has already told us.

‘If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest. If you take your neighbour’s cloak as a pledge, return it by sunset, because that cloak is the only covering your neighbour has. What else can they sleep in? When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.

(Exodus 25: 25-27)

Here, it's explicitly stated that the borrower is poor. If the collateral is a garment, it must be returned by nightfall. The reason given is that God is gracious and expects His people to be the same. And the poor guy should not have to go cold during the night.

Leviticus 25:35-37 also says 

If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so that they can continue to live among you. Do not take interest or any profit from them, but fear your God, so that they may continue to live among you. You must not lend them money at interest or sell them food at a profit.

(Leviticus 25: 35-37)

In Leviticus, the connection to poverty is again explicit. If a fellow Israelite falls into poverty, you must help them without charging interest or making a profit. The motivation here is reverence for God and remembrance of His deliverance of you from slavery.

Importantly, the Lord emphasizes that He is their God, the One who brought them out of Egypt and into Canaan. He was gracious to them, and He wants them to be gracious to others.

Additionally, no interest should be taken from a poor person, with God's generosity serving as the example. Thus, even in Deuteronomy 23, the command not to charge interest is rooted in the idea about being gracious and generous.

This theme was also explored in earlier in Deuteronomy, in chapter 15.

7 If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted towards them. 8 Rather, be open-handed and freely lend them whatever they need. 9 Be careful not to harbour this wicked thought: ‘The seventh year, the year for cancelling debts, is near,’ so that you do not show ill will towards the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing. They may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. 10 Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. 11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore, I command you to be open-handed towards your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.

(Deuteronomy 15: 7-11)

Moses instructs the Israelites not to harden their hearts, especially as the Year of Jubilee approaches when debts are forgiven. The fear of losing money should not prevent them from lending to the poor. God promises to bless them in all their works if they are generous and trust Him. 

This teaching moves beyond just being gracious because God is gracious, to trusting God for blessings when obeying His commands.

Moses gone beyond the rigid command of the lawhere to appeal to his fellow Israelites' hearts. 

The law of debt cancellation in Deuteronomy 15 was meant to instil a spirit of generosity within the Israelites, freeing them from the love of money and things. Therefore, a calculating Israelite who refused to lend to a poor brother out of fear of not being repaid was in fact guilty of sin because this showed a lack of trust in the Lord to bless all his work.

Solomon would later write in the book of Proverbs.

One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

(Proverbs 11:24).

"Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward them for what they have done."

(Proverbs 19:17)

Think about that: when you lend money to the poor without charging interest, as Moses instructs, you are essentially lending to the Lord. The promise is that God will repay you.

Proverbs 28:8 also warns against charging excessive interest:

"One who increases his possessions by usury and extortion gathers it for him who will pity the poor."

This likely refers to charging exorbitant interest rates, and the implication is clear: such ill-gotten gains will never benefit those who are not generous in their attitude towardsthe poor.

These Proverbs reinforce the idea that generosity leads to blessing and withholding generosity leads to lack. They echo the principles Moses laid out in Deuteronomy and further illustrate the importance of compassion and trust in God’s provision. 

Summarizing the lessons across the whole Pentateuch, from Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy, as well as Proverbs we learn that the Israelites were to:

·         Give to the poor without grief.

·         Lend money willingly.

·         Trust God for blessings in their work.

You see, charging interest would worsen his condition and have the added disadvantage of potentially feeding the lender's sinful attitude of greed.

It would be like a doctor charging his own children for treatment. The underlying message is that covetousness leads to ruin, while generosity and justice prevail.

The next command in Deuteronomy 23:21-23 concerns making vows to the Lord:

21 If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the Lord your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin. 22 But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty. 23 Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the Lord your God with your own mouth.

(Deuteronomy 23: 21-23)

Here, Moses emphasizes the seriousness of making vows to God. 

Once you make a vow, you must fulfil it without delay, as failure to do so is considered stealing from God. However, making a vow is also presented as voluntary; if you choose not to make one, you are not sinning. But once a vow is made, it must be honoured promptly.

Proverbs 20:25 also warnsed.

"It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as holy, and afterward to reconsider his vows." 

This proverb highlights the danger of making impulsive vows and then failing to fulfil them. 

Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 echoes this sentiment exactly.

"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—better not to vow than to vow and not pay."

The final command in todays passage deals with respecting your neighbour’s property: 

24 If you enter your neighbour’s vineyard, you may eat all the grapes you want, but do not put any in your basket. 25 If you enter your neighbour’s cornfield, you may pick the ears with your hands, but you must not put a sickle to their standing corn.

(Deuteronomy  23:24-25)

This command allows for generosity and hospitality, permitting a person to eat their fill from a neighbour’s vineyard or grain field. However, it prohibits taking more than what can be eaten on the spot. The underlying principle is to respect your neighbour’s property and not take advantage of their generosity.

This concept was practiced by Jesus' disciples, who plucked heads of grain while walking through a field (Matthew 12:1-8). They were criticized by the Pharisees for doing so on the Sabbath, but the act itself was clearly permissible according to Mosaic Law.

These further commands we have looked at today prohibiting interest on loans to the poor, requiring prompt fulfilment of vows, and respecting your neighbour’s property are all expressions of the broader principles found in the Eighth Commandment, "You shall not steal." 

They emphasize generosity, trust in God's provision, and respect for others' belongings. By adhering to these commands, the Israelites were to reflect God's character and create a just and compassionate community based upon the wider societal application of the basis commandment..

In summarizing this passage, we see that the ancient Israelites were instructed not to steal from the poor, the Lord, or their neighbours. Instead, they were to be gracious and generous. 

If you understand that these laws relate to the Eighth Commandment, you can understand how not paying the Lord is stealing from Him, and taking too much from a neighbour’s vineyard or field is stealing from them. 

But beyond these prohibitions, the passage teaches us to the positive application of the command also about being gracious and generous, to other with the added promise that the Lord will bless us for it.

In addition to the actions, there are motives embedded in these laws. In Leviticus 25, the Israelites were to fear the Lord and follow His commands because He had delivered them from Egypt and given them the land of Canaan. 

If God’s people obey the Lord, He will bless them. So, if you think through what Moses is teaching, you see that it's not only about not charging interest; it's about understanding the deeper motives behind everything we do.

It all comes back to being God-like—acting with generosity and grace as God does.

The New Testament continues this theme. Ephesians 4:28 says,

"Let him who stole steal no more, but rather let him labor, that he may have something to give."

This highlights that it's not just about not stealing, but about using what God has blessed you with to bless others. This principle is seen throughout the Bible, starting with God's promise to Abraham in Genesis to bless him so that he and his descendants could bless the world.

Peter also emphasizes this, advising not to render curses but blessings. Thus, the principle is not just about avoiding theft but about being generous and gracious. When you do so, God promises to bless you in all that you do. 

This leads to Jesus' teaching in Luke 6, where He says we should be generous and gracious because God has been generous to us and will reward us greatly.

Probably the high point in all this is found in what Jesus said in Luke chapter 6.

 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore, be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful"

(Luke 6:32-36).

The message is clear: do not steal, be generous and gracious, and trust that God will bless you. This comprehensive approach encompasses material possessions and extends to embodying God's generosity and mercy in our actions. By doing so, we align ourselves with God's character and principles, living out the fullness of His commandments in our daily lives.