Exodus 20:15 Thou shalt not steal.

Just four words in the English, but only two words in the Hebrew, the EIGHTH Commandment says:

lō’ gānaḇ (pronounced gaw-nab’)

The words mean “you shall not carry away or steal”. The earliest use of this word is found in the story of Jacob and his father in law Laban. Laban was aging, and wanted Jacob to stay with him and tend to his herds of goats and flocks of sheep. Jacob agreed to do so, but only if Laban gave him all the speckled or spotted goats and black sheep. Laban quickly agreed to this, as the animals that were spotted or the black sheep were considered inferior quality (Genesis 30:32-36). The majority of Laban’s flock was pure white, and the goats were pure white or black. So it seemed as if Jacob was making a lopsided deal. But Jacob was in communion with God, and the Lord told Jacob how to breed the animals so as to birth speckled animals (Genesis 31:10-12). Laban was trying to STEAL from Jacob, and God wasn’t going to have it. In the end, Jacob ended up with a greater herd of speckled and spotted animals.

God knows the DNA of every person, creature, and living thing. It was nothing for God to direct Jacob in the breeding of animals to enrich His people!

Sadly, when Jacob took his leave of Laban, and carried his superior flocks and herds off, his wife Rachel “had STOLEN (gānaḇ) the idols that were her father’s” (Genesis 31:19). Rather than trust in the Lord as Jacob was learning to do, she superstitiously stole Laban’s idols, thinking they would bring blessing upon the household. Jacob allowed Rachel to keep Laban’s idols until Genesis 35:

Genesis 35:1-4 (ESV) God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” 2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments. 3 Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.” 4 So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree that was near Shechem.

By keeping idols, Jacob’s family was STEALING GLORY from God. They had to put away all their theft before God could change Jacob to ISRAEL:

Genesis 35:9-12 (ESV) God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. 10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel. 11 And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. 12 The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.”

While Jacob had family members stealing God’s glory and worshiping false gods, God could not bless him as He wanted to do. With repentance comes blessing. “You shall not steal”.

People Rob From God When They Worship Money

God spoke to His people in:

Malachi 3:8-12 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. 11 I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. 12 Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

God gives us blessing every day. He does not want us to worship that which He has given us, but to worship Him. In faith, we return a portion of our time and tithe (our money) to the ministry of God. In the early Church God established Apostles and Pastors who tended to the Church of Christ. The Apostle Paul wrote:

1 Corinthians 9:7-12 (ESV) Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk? 8 Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? 10 Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. 11 If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more?…

1 Timothy 5:17-18 (ESV) Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”

When you hoard your money, stashing it away, greedily worshiping it rather than contributing to God’s Kingdom, you have in essense robbed God. Your treasure is not to be your bank account, but God your Savior. Jesus warned:

Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

When you leave this earth, your bank account will not go with you, nor will your home, your cars, your four wheelers, your fishing boats, or your businesses. When you stand before God every possession you have held onto a worship will not be with you. All that will be with you is your relationship with the Father through Christ. The Bible says:

Matthew 6:24 (ESV) No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (see also Luke 16:13)

It Is Wrong To Rob God, But It Is Also Wrong To Rob Government

When Jesus walked this earth, a number of groups of people despised what He had to say. One day the Herodians (supporters of Rome and King Herod) and the Pharisees (supporters of the written Law of God and the traditions of the elders) came together to try and trap our Lord. Jesus had been teaching the Jews in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, and large numbers were gathered around Him.

Matthew 22:15-22 (ESV) Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. 16 And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20 And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.

If Jesus had answered “As a Jew, I don’t want to give to Rome”, the Herodians would have reported Him as a traitor to the nation. If Jesus had said, “Yes, we should pay our taxes to Rome”, the Pharisees would have said Jesus was a traitor to Israel. But Jesus merely had them hold up a coin. Every coin minted is minted by the government. Jesus asked, “Whose inscription is on the coin?”, to which they replied, “Caesar’s”. Jesus said:

render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, that is, Pay your Taxes!

render to … God the things that are God’s, that is, give glory and tithe to the Lord!

The government provides services to its citizens to protect them from foreign invasion and internal evil. The government has been given authority by God to protect not only the people of God, but all citizens so that they might hear the Gospel of salvation. When citizens do not pay their fair share the government cannot hire police, fire, and military services. As I am coming up on tax season (as we all are) I am aware that as an American citizen it seems like – at times – I’m taxed to death. However, taxes pay for services that we all need, whether we like it or not. The Bible tells us:

Romans 13:1-4 (ESV) Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. … 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

The One Who Steals – The Thief – Is Not Saved

Those who are saved by faith in Christ do not follow their old pattern of life. The Apostle said to the Church:

1 Peter 4:15-16 (ESV) … let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. 16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

The thief brings suffering on themselves as well as others. Judas Iscariot, one of the Apostles chosen by Christ, “was a thief” (John 12:6). He started out down the wrong path by stealing from the treasury of the Apostles. After a time, the money Judas so wanted led him to selling Christ for 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12-13; Matthew 26:15; Matthew 27:9). After realizing that he was instrumental in the murder of the Lord of Glory, Judas “hanged himself” (Matthew 27:5) and was buried in an unmarked grave in a place called “The Field of Blood” (Matthew 27:8). Peter said of Judas:

Acts 1:17-18 For {Judas Iscariot} was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. 18 Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.

People who steal often believe that they are not hurting anyone – not really – but they are. They are hurting themselves, and those around them. An NPR article entitled “Major Retailers Blame Theft For Their Decision To Close Locations” noted:

“Target announced this week that it will close nine stores in locations where the company has experienced too much crime. Whole Foods and Nordstrom recently closed locations in San Francisco for the same reason. Shoplifting is a problem, and so are looting incidents…”

The largest retailer in the whole world is Walmart. It is closing half its stores in Chicago. One article notes:

“In December 2022, {Walmart CEO Doug} McMillon noted that theft rates at Walmart alone were “higher than what it has historically been” and called it a significant “issue” facing the industry.” Walmart closed 20 locations in 2023 nationwide. “Eight of the closures were in Illinois, two in Oregon, and two more in Georgia, per Daily Mail. The remaining stores were scattered across 12 states, with one closure each in Florida, Washington, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, New Mexico, Texas, Wisconsin, Virginia, Arkansas, and Hawaii. Walmart is one of 19 other retailers that closed a combined 2,847 locations as of Christmas”.

Theft by shoplifting and robbery closes stores down in high crime neighborhoods. Bed Bath and Beyond, Party City, and Rite Aid filed for bankrupcy because of theft. When stores close down in neighborhoods, liberals say that it is because of racism. No, it’s because people steal. There is a principal of retailing that states:

If your OUTGO exceeds your INCOME, your UPKEEP will be your DOWNFALL.

Stores have tried combating this by locking up items most likely to be stolen. Sadly, customers will avoid such places. “Thou shalt not steal”. When you steal, you end up not only hurting others, but you also hurt yourself. God tells His Children – saved by faith –

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.

May God touch our hearts with His Word! Amen.