Deuteronomy 5:17 – 21 “You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house or field, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
MURDER!!! ADULTERY!!! THEFT!!! SLANDER!!! At first, the Israelites must have thought, “Well, we understand why God is forbidding these things, but what do they have to do with coveting? Can’t I admire my neighbor’s possessions or his wife?”
Both the Mosaic Law and the lex talionis of the Code of Hammurabi stated that the penalty for premeditated murder was death. The Mosaic Law listed six cities of refuge where people who had inadvertently caused someone to die could escape. But murder is the theft of a life and the theft of everything that person might have accomplished for himself or herself, for his or her family, and for his or her community. Murder tears at the fabric of a community.
Theft of possessions equally destroys communities Sixty years ago, in many small towns in America, nobody locked their doors. People felt safe. When people are fearful, they must spend resources protecting themselves, leaving less to build up communities. In areas damaged by conflict, even the land might not recover for decades.
Bearing false witness or slandering someone is also a form of theft. In this case, it is the person’s good name and their reputation that is being damaged. Recently we learned of a situation in which one family member deliberately spread falsehoods about another, both in the family and in the community. Such lies have long legs and are impossible to erase. Again, communities that thrive on gossip are not safe for anyone.
In 1953 Arthur Miller brought forth a play about the Salem witch trials entitled The Crucible. One of the themes of the play was the manner in which good people could be not only slandered, but also killed on the testimony of those who were later found to be deceived or to be lying. Miller wrote this play at the time Joseph McCarthy was conducting anti – Communist hearings in Congress. Even at a distance of decades, it is impossible to tell whose innocent reputations were destroyed.
Yet another pitfall of bearing false witness is the fact that one is purporting to tell the truth before God and men. Falsehood under these circumstances can have eternal consequences.
Even though adultery is tolerated and sometimes even admired today, the fact remains that adultery is wrong. Adultery destroys families. God designed the family unit to have a father and a mother to provide security and to raise children in a safe atmosphere. Adultery destroys relationships and leaves children stranded and confused.
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house or field, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” It is interesting that this commandment, the tenth, actually forms the basis for the sins described in the previous commandments. Murder, adultery, slander – all begin when one person lusts after another’s reputation or possessions or spouse. Deeds begin with thoughts, and sins are born in the heart. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
As we read these commandments, we might feel a bit smug; after all, we have never done anything of the sort! But that tenth commandment is the one that catches all of us. While we might not have acted on our envy of someone else’s reputation or professional achievements, or their house or car or family, at some point in our lives, we have looked at what we have and longed for something else.
All of us suffer from heart disease – the disease called sin. But praise God, there is a remedy. We are not captives of our sins because Jesus Christ has shed His Blood for them and has made a way for us to escape from ourselves. If we will only ask Jesus to help us, He will give us the power to change and to live holy lives. The process of change is a life – long one, but the rewards are peace and joy and contentment.
PRAYER: Father God, thank you for loving us and for caring for us. Thank You for making a way so that we are not trapped in our sins. Help us to confess our sins to You, knowing that You will forgive and will give us the grace to change into Your likeness. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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