June 28, 2026 - The Eighth Commandment (Exodus 20:15)

The Eighth Commandment (Exodus 20:15)

Rev. Myung-Sin Choi

You shall not steal.

Introduction

I go overseas often and when I do go overseas, there are a few things that travel guides say often. They often warn me of robbers and people who try to pickpocket when you travel. When I hear those warnings, I get a little upset because even in Europe when I went to travel, there were many people who would steal from others and pickpocket. There was one individual who was enjoying their meal during brunch and he bought his coffee with him but he forgot his bread. So he went back to retrieve the bread that he forgot on the counter but the bread disappeared even though he just ordered. When he told the staff that he forgot his bread but when he went back to his table, his coffee disappeared. Europe is a nice and wealthy country but there have been high cases of pickpocketing and stealing. People think that people steal because they are lacking and poor but that is not that at all. What causes people to steal is because what has seized their mentality, heart, and conscience. No matter how poor or lacking you are, there are many poor people who live with their correct senses and conscience. We can see that people steal because they lose their senses and conscience. Today’s Biblical passage is very simple and it says not to steal but there are two types of stealing. There is theft and robbery. Stealing is theft because you are stealing from another person without them knowing. There is robbery and looting. In robbery and looting, you are doing these actions without being discreet and with full threat. Today’s message is about not stealing which means you are stealing in secret. When you steal, you are stealing from others without people knowing and doing things acting like you are not doing anything bad. This was what God was telling the Israelites and God was not giving this message out of legalism but God was telling the Israelites to heal their shortcomings and weakness. It may seem like you are not doing anything wrong but discreetly, you are stealing from others. There are two types of stealing, one where you are stealing from people and the other where you are stealing from God. 

1. The Definition of Stealing

(1) Stealing things that belong to others

Exodus 20:15, 22:1, 21:16 “If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep. 21:16 “He who kidnaps a man and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, shall surely be put to death. 29:24 and you shall put all these in the hands of Aaron and in the hands of his sons, and you shall wave them as a wave offering before the Lord. 20:14 You shall not commit adultery.” - Legalistic people may say that this is too extreme because if they steal one ox or sheep, they have to repay back five more oxen and four sheep. God is not being extreme but He is actually giving us a message of love. This is a message of love from God because if you steal then God is giving you a chance not to repeat that same mistake. Through this message, God is reminding us what is wrongly imprinted in us and changing our mentality. This is such a message of love. So next time, when you think about even stealing, you remember this message that if you steal one ox, you are expected to repay with five more oxen. 

Exodus 21:16 - There were people who kidnap people and when you kidnap people, then God said that person will be put to death. This is because you are breaking apart a family. God sees how important a family is. This shows how God is showing how important a family is and you should not break apart a family. 

Proverbs 29:24 “Whoever is a partner with a thief hates his own life; He swears to tell the truth, but reveals nothing.”- There are people who plan and conspire to steal together. When you do that then you are giving up on your soul. God is telling people to remember your soul and remember that you have a soul to preserve. 

Proverbs 20:14 “ ‘It is good for nothing,’ cries the buyer; But when he has gone his way, then he boasts.” - There are people who bargain and are able to get a product at a good price but God is telling you to live in good conscience.

(2) Stealing things that belong to God

Leviticus 5:16 “And he shall make restitution for the harm that he has done in regard to the holy thing, and shall add one-fifth to it and give it to the priest. So the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him.” - When you steal from the church then God demands a ram to be sacrificed as a consequence. God is commanding that you keep the purity of your faith. 

Malachi 3:8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.” - This Bible verse is saying that we should have the correct view of material possessions. The tithe that you give to God, you are acknowledging that God is in complete control over your life. Your tithe is your confession to God that God is your master over your life and is in complete control. You are looking up to God as the master of your life and confessing your faith when you are giving tithe. 

Jeremiah 23:30 “ ‘Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,’ says the Lord, ‘who steal My words every one from his neighbor.’ ” - There are people who use the word of God for their own advantage but God is telling you that you need to know the word of God in good conscience. You need to hold onto that God’s word was given to us for atonement. That means that we need Jesus Christ as the center of our lives and the name of Jesus Christ needs to be proclaimed within the word of God. This is the whole point of worship and the word of God. God who is alive, He is giving us His word and answers. We need to hold onto those answers. 

Matthew 24:24 “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” - This is the strategy of the antichrist. Many people get deceived by miracles and God is warning us not to be deceived by miracles by false prophets. God is telling us to confirm the fulfillment of answers through His word alone which is the true miracle. 

2. The Causes of Stealing

(1) Satan’s strategy

John 10:10 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” - Satan is the one who steals and he steals the souls of mankind. 

We can see when Satan approached Eve in Genesis 3:3, 5 “But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ‘ 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” - Satan was testing Eve if she knew of God’s word and was questioning God’s word in front of Eve. Satan was also interpreting the word of God in his own way and was deceiving Eve with his interpretation. The moment we lose hold of God’s word, Satan will steal from you. Satan will deceive and steal from you. 

The way Satan steals from you is seen in Genesis 3:5 - When Satan saw Eve who was losing hold of God’s covenant, Satan deceived and tempted Eve that her eyes will be opened to see good and evil. To be able to open her eyes means that Eve’s eyes to sin will be opened. Eve thought that if her eyes opened then she would see something beautiful. 

John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” - We can see the essence of Satan and his core nature is made of lust and greed. We can see that people of this world are full of lust and greed because we are all born as children of Satan. No one is taught this when they are born but by nature, we are born with greed and lust. This is because we are born bound by Satan. 

Even Satan tried to steal from Jesus in Luke 4:5-6 “Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.” - Satan was showing the world that he was ruling over and all of the materialist things that he was enjoying. Satan was showing the world that was full of idolatry and complete destruction to Jesus, and Satan said that this world was delivered to him. This means that this world was delivered to Satan means that this happened after Adam and Eve were deceived by Satan. At that moment, Jesus responded to Satan and commanded Satan to flee from Him. We know that Jesus Christ gave up His life for us and Jesus chose to give glory to God instead of having a painless death. This is why Jesus Christ chose atonement for us. What should you choose? You should choose the word of God. 

(2) The reason the Eighth Commandment was given

Why did God give us the word not to steal? 

Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” - God has given His children everything. God tells us not to think that we are lacking anything because God has given us everything as children of God. 

Colossians 2:3 “In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” - God is telling us the source of all blessings and treasures. In Christ, there is everything. Within Christ, there are all blessings and treasures. The people of this world only chase after what they see and can see but if we obtain the wisdom from God then we have everything. 

Philippians 4:13, 19 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” - This means that the power of God and the power of creation is ours and belongs to us. If we have the power of creation, we don’t need anything else. If we possess the power of creation, then what else do we need? Just have faith. 

Philippians 4:19 - God knows everything about us and what we need. If we just have faith and pray then God will give us His answers. God promised that He will fill our lackings and give us absolute answers. Live boldly in Jesus Christ. May you receive answers. You lack nothing. 

3. The Bartizan That Saves the World

(1) Only

Acts 1:7 “And He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.’ ” - Hold onto only. There may be situations that can make us afraid but God is telling us not to be afraid or worry about anything. Everything is within God’s authority and there is nothing for you to worry about. God is telling us to hold onto God’s covenant because He is always with us. 

(2) Uniqueness

Acts 1:4 “And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, ‘which,’ He said, “you have heard from Me.’ ” - Lay all of your worries down before God and wait for God’s promise. Hold onto God’s word and enter into prayer. Enter into 24 hours prayer. Hold onto God’s covenant and throw all of your worries away, and enter into prayer. 

(3) Re-creation

Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” - God will raise us up as witnesses to save the world. Hold onto this covenant. Hold onto God’s promise and it will be fulfilled exactly as God proclaimed it. 

Conclusion

Acts 4:32 “Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.” - The reason why the Early church members received blessings was because they knew that everything was within the control of God. Everything is within the power of God. We are just borrowing what God has given to us in this world and God is in complete control. We should just look up to God who is in complete control and do what our Creator wants us to do. Are you doing what God wants you to do? Are you living for God’s glory? Hold onto God’s covenant.