Grace and Peace Episode 53
Presbyterian Church of Easton
October 3, 2021
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:2
Heidelberg Catechism
110 Q. What does God forbid in the eighth commandment?
A. God forbids not only outright theft and robbery, punishable by law. But in God’s sight theft also includes all scheming and swindling in order to get our neighbor’s goods for ourselves, whether by force or means that appear legitimate, such as inaccurate measurements of weight, size, or volume; fraudulent merchandising; counterfeit money; excessive interest; or any other means forbidden by God. In addition God forbids all greed and pointless squandering of his gifts.
Deuteronomy 5:19 “You shall not steal.”
The eighth commandment prohibits the taking of property owned by someone else. You are not permitted to steal what belongs to another. The Hebrew word here is very broad. It refers to the stealing of anything, including a person, something we would call kidnapping.
The biblical punishment for stealing is that you must compensate the victim and pay punitive damages. You must compensate the victim for the lost animal and then add either four cattle or three sheep for every animal stolen.
What is most surprising about the eighth commandment is that it applies to everyone. In most ancient civilizations the king owned everything. And if the king already owned everything he could not be accused of stealing. But God gave the property to families. This land stayed in families generation to generation forever. The land was not owned by a king. So the economic system of the Bible is one based on private property. Individuals owned the means of producing an income for themselves and family. And the government could not take this away.
The biblical principle of private property stood and remains standing today. This principle of private property is enshrined in the Constitution of the United States of America. In the Fifth Amendment we read: “No person shall … be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus, help us to remember the principle that property belongs to individuals and family. Help us to always remember this ownership and keep us from stealing what belongs to another. Amen.
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