Today we are going to look at the world of the text of the Eighth Commandment, as found in Exodus 20: 15:

You shall not steal.

Each of one of these commandments, when we read deeper into the Hebrew and what is happening in the text and we have found that to expand the understanding and see the deeper points and meaning behind the texts.  Today’s though is different. It literally means exactly what we think it would mean.  Don’t steal.  If it is not yours, don’t take it.  It’s pretty simple.  Don’t steal.  If it is not yours, don’t take it.  It’s really that simple.

As we’ve seen these commands are lived out within the community.  Not committing adultery is also about respecting the marriage of another person.  In a society, particularly a society where the Lord God is King (as it was for Israel) you have to see your neighbor as someone of great worth.  You are to love your neighbor, care for your neighbor, want what is best for your neighbor.  And taking from them, even something small, that is not yours is not wanting or living out what is best for them.  We are called to respect each other.

That love, that respect, that is the foundation for a functional and healthy society.  So, let us not steal from our neighbor. But even more, let us love and respect our neighbor.

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