8th Commandment: Do Not Steal

Hey, this is Tyler at Bible Project, and I edit and mix the podcast. For the last several weeks, we've been discussing the Ten Commandments here on the podcast, as well as sharing videos on each command and more resources at tencommandments.bibleproject.com. We hope you've enjoyed being on this journey with us, because now it's our turn to hear from you.

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Maybe it was small, maybe it was something big. The sole purpose for stealing is you want to benefit from something that you are not currently benefiting from. You take something of value that you didn't earn or work for. I want that. I'm gonna take it. Dig even deeper. How did you justify taking it? Everything that my neighbor has is God's gift to them. And one way of thinking about Dealing stems from this probably unconscious belief that I think that God should have given that gift to me.

Ha ha ha. That should be mine! Today, we're going to talk about the eighth command, do not steal, and how actually this command is an opportunity for gratitude. Deuteronomy six says, He will give to you large and fine cities that you didn't build, and houses full of all sorts of things that you didn't fill. Everything that we have is a gift to us. Eighth command is a call for the is cool. But as we're gonna see in today's episode,

Flip over do not steal into the positive, and this command becomes profound. It's a call to the Stuff. You really have to believe that God has given me what I need and more, and that God has given my neighbor what they need and more, and I'm gonna help them be good stewards of what God's given to them. And I dig into the not steal. Thanks for joining.

Hello, Jonathan Collins. We're talking about Ten Commandments. Yeah, we are. And we're cruising. Yeah. We're moving. We're getting to the final few. Yeah. Yeah, we're gonna talk about the eighth commandment. Yeah. First we had this conversation about that these are the ten words. And by calling them words.

we are allowing ourselves to think of these more as mere instructions. These are instructions, these are commands. But there's something even broader going on which is that these are like a reorientation. to a way of relating to God and others. Yeah, that's right. Underneath each command. Is a value, is uh a deeper commitment or a view of God and other people. Yeah. Yeah. And how I relate to them. Another big thing has been how the ten commands

are the first ten words of a larger covenant commitment that God invites Israel into on Mount Sinai. That's the story they're found in. And there's forty-two more commands given right after the tent. And those forty two actually pick up the language and often the values and ideas underneath the ten and we'll fill them out. And we're gonna see this with Do Not Steal.

Actually the laws themselves within the context flip over the eighth command in a way that's really cool. It forced me to think about a great many things. Yeah. That I'm gonna now force you to think about. But yeah, don't steal. First, let's do something real basic. Let's learn the Hebrew word underneath here. The Hebrew word here translated as steel, that's the Hebrew word ganav or gimel nun bait. It's the letter B, that last li bait, the last letter is but.

But in Hebrew, if there's a vowel before base You soften the b into a v. So you turn the B into a V. Yeah, it's actu yeah. So there's actually lots of words that are spelled with this letter bait, but they're often transliterated in English letters with a V. Mm. I'm excited. Yeah. So that's what's going on here. Okay. These three little commands six, seven, and eight. are the three commands that are just two words in Hebrew. The word lo, not, and then the verb. Who means not.

Lo means not and then you get the verb. So you will not kill, you will not commit adultery, you will not steal. All three of those are two words in Hebrew. Lotir tsach, lotinaf, lotigno. Those are the only three in all the ten that are like that and they've been put next to each other. So that's meaningful. Okay. They're like a little triad. Little package.

We noted this earlier, but these three relate in kind of like a descending scale. All three of these are about you and another person in your community. You don't have the right to take their life. You don't have the right to take their spouse or have sex with their spouse. You don't have a right to their stuff. Yeah. So all of them are about things that are valuable or belong

to my neighbor. One is their life, one is their spouse, one is their stuff. So it kinda feels like there's a bit of a descending scale. Oh right. But what's interesting is if you look at other laws elsewhere in the Torah, And you look at the consequences. Like what if you break commands six, seven, and eight? What's like what's the result? So we talked about this, murder or killing, especially with intent. Mm-hmm.

Is a capital crime. Yeah. So in Exodus 21, whoever strikes someone so that they die will be put to death. Murder's capital crime. Adultery is a capital crime in in the Torah. A theft It's not a capital crime. Okay. So Exodus twenty two, if a guy ganavs an ox or a sheep and then let's say he slaughters it, that is like makes it for dinner. Yeah. Or maybe he sells it. then it doesn't say he will be put to death. It says he will pay five oxen for the ox, and four sheep for the sheep.

That's some weird math. Ha ha ha. Yeah. Five times the value. Five times the value of the. Four times for sheep. For a sheep. Yeah. It's not one to one. And then Mm-hmm. Ox are different than sheep. I guess you know, sheep are valuable. Yeah. But yeah, it's clearly there's in this cultural context, which is like a uh farming. Yeah. Hilly region farming context. So sheep are what you graze with, yeah.

You get wool and meat, but oxen, yeah, you could maybe s slaughter one for a big feast, but mostly they're work horses. You're plowing your farm fields with them. So let's say this. If you take someone's life You are Hmm. I guess one reason you might is to benefit from it in some way. Like there's stories about murdering someone'cause you want their stuff. Okay. Like there's a story about King Ahab where he wants this guy novel. Nice vineyard.

So one reason you might kill somebody is for economic benefit for yourself. But sometimes people murder each other just'cause they're mad or they lose their temper or they hate them or they want to get revenge. There's not a like economic benefit involved. So I guess maybe what's different about stealing The sole purpose for stealing is we'll get into this a little more, but you want to benefit from something that you are not currently benefiting from. And my neighbor's has that benefit.

So I want that. I'm gonna take it. Yeah. You take something of value that you didn't earn or work for. So the it makes sense then that the consequence is about restoring value, but like even more so to compensate for the wrong. Yeah, why are they even more so? Yeah, okay, let's meditate on that. So you are restoring the thing that you took. I stole one ox, I have to pay you back one ox, but then I gotta give you four more. I guess what you're saying is that the relational damage

And the damage to like our social fabric also has a value. Mm-hmm. And that's been ruptured too by that act. Yeah,'cause when you steal something, you're also beginning to shape an environment, aren't you? 'Cause my other neighbors looking on will all of a sudden be like, What? Oh What my My stuff's not safe. And so you're actually harming your whole community and you're compensating for that. Mm-hmm. Let's keep a pin in that one.

There is actually one act of stealing, though, that is a capital crime in the laws of the Torah. and that is stealing a person. Oh, yeah? Yeah. Yeah, there's no word for kidnapping as such. in the Hebrew Bible, but the act of kidnapping is referred to in the Hebrew Bible, but it's called gonavish, stealing a human, stealing a person. So in Exodus twenty-one, there's the law whoever steals a human and sells him, or he's found in his possession, he shall be put to death.

So that's interesting. If you steal an ox, you gotta pay five back. Steal a human, your life is forfeited. It's intense. The super intense, yeah. So the first kidnapping in the Bible is actually among God's chosen Chosen. Yeah. Uh the story of Joseph and his brothers. And you know, Joseph got that special coat from his dad. He had these dreams about how he was gonna become the ruler of the family.

And so his brothers already don't like him. Mm-hmm. And then his brothers start telling on them, like about, you know, mistakes that they make and they're just like this punk, he's gotta go. So in Genesis thirty-seven, Joseph is sent by his dad with a bunch of food'cause his brothers are out shepherding a bunch of sheep in the fields and they want to murder him.

That's what a bunch of brothers say, like let's kill him. And then Judah, the fourth born of Jacob, says What profit is there if we kill him? Yeah. There's no economic gain in killing them? No. Oh, yes, yeah. And just then he's gonna be dead. Yeah. But we've got an opportunity here. He says, Come, let's sell him. Here's some Ishmaelite traders coming. Yeah.

Kidnapping is in the framework of the Bible, like the assumption is the only reason you would steal a person is to sell them and make a lot of money. Yeah. I think that's still today the reason why people kidnap. Yes, yeah, I s boy. Well, Sal or Ransom. That's right. So taking someone's stuff, taking someone's person. They're v viewed as equal acts, but on a scale of value, clearly stealing a person. It's equivalent to murder. Yeah.

In terms of the consequence. Yeah. Whereas stealing the rocks is not That itself, I guess I think maybe that's worth its own just moment to pause and reflect reflect on that. That the value of human self determination, their ability to be an image of God and have Freedom and responsibility. To realize their potential and do what God's made them to do. that is like taking their life. Yeah. Yeah. Murdering them is one way to take away their freedom, but stealing and selling them Yeah.

is an equivalent way. And both of those are put on the same level. In the value set of these lots.

Let's notice that the ox and the sheep are Are not just like possessions that my neighbor Has like maybe like a pot or a Chair. Okay. Like those are possessions. Yep. So why didn't it give those examples too? Or like his tent? Yeah, or his tent. Yeah. So the ox and the sheep are the means by which my neighbor Generates income and value in the community. Yeah, th those are the things that are focused on. So I suppose that For me, this equivalent would be like my library or my computer.

Your work tool. These are my work tools. The things that I regularly use to generate something of value. You know, I have s I think I've stolen a book from you. And that I haven't I've had it at my house for a while. And um I clearly have. Forgotten. And if I keep forgetting, I will never give it back. Yeah. So I owe you four or five bucks. What's Okay. What are we gonna settle on here? Is it a sheep or is it an ox? I don't know. I think your books are your ox.

Wow, okay. Did you s but it seems like you stole it without fully knowing it. Yeah. I don't know. We'll w we'll work that over over lunch. Oh yeah, you can buy me lunch or something. I don't know. Yeah. Um but the point is is that why the ox and the sheep? These are the things that my neighbor uses to like sustain a livelihood to provide for those who are dependent on them, to produce something of value in my community.

So it's not just stealing their stuff, but it's about threatening their ability to lie. be an image of God flourishing and adding value to my community. There's like an there's a communal orientation to this. It's not just me and my neighbor, because what my neighbor does with their ox and their sheep is actually something that fits into the web of support for the whole community. Mhm. That seems significant.

Yeah. Are there other times where other examples are used? Mm-hmm. Other than the work tools or the work animals? Yeah, we'll see. Okay. We'll see. And that leads to an interesting observation.

Let's go to an analogy. Okay. To understand something that I thought was interesting. So if we're going to like two six year olds Fraternal twins. Okay. Brother and sister. All right. Hey Johnny, don't steal your sister's Yeah, those are her crayons. Those are her crayons. But are they? Are they actually her crayons? Your sister have a job yet? No. Her parents. Mm-hmm.

That is your parents gave her those crayons. So also there's this added layer to this isn't just about inalienable right to private property. I th that's at work, I think, in these laws. When you name ox and sheep, you're naming something that was actually given to them. Like they didn't make the ox or the sheep. So Wait, say that again? Hm.

My neighbor didn't make the ox or the sheep. They acquired it at some point. But it does raise this larger question of like, well, how does my neighbor have any of this stuff in the first place? How do I have any of the stuff that I have? So it's fundamental to the story of Israel that everything that they have in the land is given to them as a gift of God.

Okay, so wait, I just want to follow your analogy. Uh-huh. So you're saying if you think about how a brother and sister they can steal from each other But in some way it's all the family stuff. Yeah. Now you're stepping back from that and saying, if we're all a human family and God owns everything, then what does it mean for you to have stuff and I to have stuff? Yeah.

I'm trying to identify the deeper value underneath the command. Don't steal. Yeah. Do not steal. Why? Well, on the first level, it doesn't belong to you. It belongs to your neighbor. That's their stuff. So that's like one level. But now let's go a deeper level under that. Really my neighbor's stuff? Well that's interesting because Let me just sample a couple things that Moses said to us in the book of Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy six ten it will happen when Yahweh, your Elohim, brings you all into the land that he swore to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. He will give to you. large and fine cities that you didn't build. And houses full of all sorts of things that you didn't fill. And hewn cisterns that you didn't dig out, and vineyards and olive grows that you didn't plant, and you will eat and you'll be satisfied. Or Deuteronomy eight, Yahweh your Elohim's bringing you into a good land.

full of streams of water and springs and even underground water, and a land of wheat and barley and olive trees and honey, A land where nothing will be lacking and you will eat and be satisfied, and you will bless Yahweh your God because of the good land that He's given to you. Okay. So kinda the ground floor underneath Israel being in the land and having any of the stuff that they have, their animals, their crops, their houses and their families, the baseline is that all of it is a gift of God.

And when that struck me, that led to but a more almost a more meaningful meditation on why it is that I wouldn't steal from my neighbor then. Yeah. Okay. So what you're saying is A simple logic to do not steal is you have stuff, I have stuff, we have rights to our own stuff. Yeah. And let's respect those rights that we have. I own things, you own things. And what you're saying is you're pressing on it, going, actually, that's not really how the Bible thinks about stuff. Mm-hmm. Like

God owns everything. Mm-hmm. It's all a gift to us. Mm-hmm. So if that's the case, then what is the logic behind do not steal? Because we wouldn't then say, Hey Tim All your stuff is a gift from God, so I'm just gonna borrow your car this weekend. Ha ha. Right? Yeah. Well maybe. Yeah, I could ask you. You could ask me. But I I couldn't just take it. I can't just text. Ticket. That's right. So what is the logic behind Mm-hmm.

than respecting someone else's possessions if it isn't as simple as you own stuff I own.

Yeah, that's right. Yeah. So Everything that my neighbor has is God's gift to them. That's a gift that God gave to them. And one way of thinking about stealing, then, it actually stems from this probably unconscious belief. That I think that God should have given that gift to me. That should be mine. Okay. Clearly God made a mistake'cause Well, I think that that should be mine. Yeah. That should be my gift. God hasn't given me that gift, but he ought to have and he gave you that gift.

It's just an interesting way. interesting. To think it through. If the baseline of Israel having anything in the land, including their ox and sheep, is that God gave it to them, well God didn't give me enough oxygen. and give me what I need. Or what I want. Or what I want. And it's often hard to tell the difference given given human psychology. Yeah. So it's a failure to recognize that God gave my neighbors something that

I don't know, they may not deserve, they may deserve it, they may have earned it, they who knows. But the point is that they have it and God gave it to them. Yeah, it changes the focus from my relationship to my neighbor to my relationship with God. Mm-hmm. In that Do not steal because respect property rights of your neighbor. gonna help my relationship with you, my relationship with my neighbor. And that's good. Like that's actually that's a good reason.

What you're drawing attention to though then is how this affects my relationship with God and my psyche for how I think God is relating to me, which is do I believe that God is generous enough? It's interesting behind this too is like Can I trust that when God gives things to people, He has a plan for that. He has a purpose for that. Mm-hmm. Cause sometimes it just doesn't feel like that. It doesn't Yeah, sure.

Right. It feels like people have stuff for all sorts of reasons and sometimes it Yeah. Maybe God is out of the picture completely. Yeah. Totally. In an one sense, you can observe somebody and they have more stuff than you think they deserve. But even notice like all the mental energy then we put into thinking about whether somebody deserves the stuff that they have. Ha ha. Yeah. I think occupies a lot of our time.

Instead you could use that energy to thinking about what has God given me and what am I supposed to do with what God's given me. Yeah.

Yeah, now there is another twist here because all Israelites, speaking of ox and sheep, were to give regularly a tenth or tithe of their crops, of their animals, and then the firstborn Of like any time you're you know breeding from a new animal, the firstborn, like of a new cow, you dedicate to God by giving it to the temple. So that's also a layer here where if I take someone's ox. I'm actually

not just taking from what belongs to them. I'm not just taking what God's given to them as a gift. I'm actually taking from what they have to give thanks back to God as well. Which is also another is so like I might think my neighbor has like too many nice cars. More cars than they need. And it probably wouldn't ever occur to me to say, Well, I want to take one of their cars.

Well, I probably shouldn't because I would be taking away their opportunity to give thanks to God for the c cars that they have. That's not something that would occur to me. But I think it pr it was supposed to to an ancient Israelite. Huh. There's almost three layers here. I'm taking it's what belongs to them'cause they're an image of God and so it's about their dignity. It's what God gave as a gift to them.

And so who am I to say what God should or should not give to them or to me? And then third, if I'm taking from my neighbors especially here from their ox or their sheep, then I'm actually taking away their ability, part of their ability to give thanks to God, in this case by giving it back to God.

Well, just to play devil's advocate. Yeah. Let's say there's someone who's clearly not living a life in gratitude to God. They're clearly just not living that way. And they have a lot of stuff. Yeah, yeah. And then let's say I can kind of manufacture some sort of almost victimless crime because their stuff's insured. Yeah.

So if I s take it, they're gonna get it back. Yeah, totally. And the insurance company, you know, their business model will work and you know maybe some shareholders somewhere are gonna lose a fraction of a penny, but I mean Yeah. What big deal is that? Is that is this the Robin Hood type of thing? Are you gonna give it to the poor? Take from the rich and give to the poor? Who wasn't gonna give it to the poor in this situation? It further complicates it, I suppose. Got it. Yeah.

The redistribution. Yeah, on your own terms. Interesting. Well, so maybe, you know, when Jesus talked about wealth, he talked about it as a potential tyrant. Yeah. Demon So yeah, I suppose you could even distort the narrative even more and you'd be like, I'm liberating my neighbor. Ha ha ha. from their enslavement of m mammon by you know. But then all you know, I guess uh you could also flip it to say

One of the ways that my neighbor is going on their journey through the test before God, probably their stuff. And I'm not in the equation between them and God and their stuff. And God has given them what He's given them, and that is a test of their trust. That's not mine to interfere with. I'm not God. How can I mature and grow an inner reflex? for noticing when I'm beginning to make a value judgment about what God has given to my neighbor or what a group of people is doing with their stuff.

And yeah, it's interesting the mental gymnastics we can begin to do about whether that should belong to me, or some of that should belong to me. Yeah. There's something about not being satisfied with what I have and feeling kind of the right to to take more when I can, even if it wasn't right. Mm-hmm. Maybe there's a noble purpose to take something. Yeah.

And so there's all those mental gymnastics is what you're saying. Yeah. Yeah. And you're saying there's a simplicity and a beauty of just saying, I have what I have, God has a purpose for that. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Just the baseline is the Israel's existence in the land and all of their sheep and all of their oxen, which was like one of the primary ways that the Israelites Generate their livelihood.

All of that is first and foremost described as a gift of God. And so if that's the main framework I have when I think about stuff. The gift of God. Really, I guess it's rooted in a scarcity or a like an abundance mindset. Yeah. It takes it back there. Mm-hmm. But that's such an interesting way to think about Why you wouldn't steal? Mm-hmm.

Different than property rights. Yes. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And then not only that, but then oxen or sheep are one of the ways that me and my neighbor Say thank you to God is to take what God's given to me and to give it back to God. In case of dedicating it to the temple, and that taking my neighbour's oxen and sheep actually affects their ability to be.

Yeah. From property rights to the gift of God to my neighbor, to their ability to say thank you back to God, and this rooted in like an abundance.

versus scarcity mindset. Mm-hmm. Let's pull our next move, which has typically been to try and invert or reverse the law from a negative into a positive. Okay. With don't murder, we flipped it over and we were like trying to m what what would be the positive statement? It's being your brother's keeper, to put it in the language of Genesis four. Not just how do I prevent

my neighbor from dying, but how do I help create conditions for their life to be protected and flourish? And that opens up like, whoa. Yeah. So many different ways to think about Don't take their stuff, let them keep it. That's a positive way to say it. Don't take it away, do let them keep it. because we're going beyond property rights. Mm-hmm. Let's ask a question. So what are the different ways my neighbor can lose their stuff?

Hm. One way might be'cause I take it. Mm-hmm. But is that the only way? That my neighbor can lose their stuff? If their stuff is God's gift to them and part of the way that they can say thank you back to God, I have a responsibility that I not be a person who takes it. Yeah. But is that the end of the responsibility? Is there something deeper about a responsibility I have towards my neighbor and their stuff?

Okay. So if you have a perspective that We all have stuff because it's a gift from God and from our perspective it might not make any sense. Yeah. And it might often seem unfair or arbitrary. Yeah. Yeah. But I can trust that God has a plan. And so when I look at someone in their stuff, I'm not looking at merely their accumulation of wealth or their possessions. What I'm looking at is they have a story in which God is working something out with them. And

It's a journey for them. Yeah. And I don't know exactly what it is. It could be God's working on them to detach more from their stuff. It could be that God wants them to enjoy the abundance of their stuff in some way at this moment. Yeah. I don't know. Yeah. Yeah. And so in the same way that I'm supposed to Help. the thriving of a human life instead of do not murder, or the thriving of a family life instead of do not commit adultery.

There's something about supporting kind of just the thriving of other people and whatever their journey is. Yeah. We're seeing their relationship to their stuff. Part of my responsibility as a neighbor.

Well so and maybe here, f before we get to the result, let me say why this even came to my mind in the first place. So remember we're we have the Ten Commandments and then we have the forty two that come right after. So what's interesting is In the forty two commands, you only get one more repetition, and that's if a guy steals his neighbor's oxen or sheep, he has to pay back five oxen. Oh, this is from the forty two.

Yeah, that's from the 42. So you're like, okay, all right, that spells it out. But then right after and around that are a whole bunch of other laws that use the word steel, but that in a in a really interesting way. And they're like little case studies, they're almost like little parables. Okay. Uh this is from Exodus twenty one verse ten. So let's say a guy gives his neighbor a donkey, an ox, or a sheep, any animal, for keeping. For guarding. Okay. You'd look after my stuff. Yeah.

Yep. And let's say the animal dies. Or let's say it gets injured. Or let's say it's taken captive. Like you're it's like like bandits. But no one saw. So it dies, it gets injured, or it's taken captive, but nobody was around. Then they're gonna have to make an oath before Yahweh between the two of them. that he, that is the one entrusted, didn't send out his hand towards his neighbor's property. And so the owner will take back, like the dead or injured animal.

the guy entrusted with it will not have to restore anything. Okay. You lent me something. You lend me a sheep. Scheib got sick and died. Mhm. I am like, hey, I didn't do anything. Yeah. Who's probably sick before I was like? Yeah, he had already knows when you got here. Yeah, tough. Uh. Sorry. Sorry. And and then the owner can't demand that he restore. Doors. That's right. The sheep. Yeah. You don't owe me four more sheep back. Yeah. Okay. Okay. But let's say that that sheep was stolen.

From the guy who wa it was entrusted to. Okay. Didn't get sick and die, he got stolen. Got stolen. Then you gotta restore Pay back the owner. According to the measure of force. Interesting. Okay. Huh. So what's the difference between it dying, getting injured, or taken captive? Yeah, what's taken captive mean? Like kidnapped? No, like a bunch of bandits come out of the hills with swords and clubs. Well isn't that stealing? Apparently there's a difference. What's the difference? Yeah.

Well, okay. Let's let's think about what is the difference. If a bunch of guys come with swords and clubs, and uh it says here no one's around. So I guess that makes it seem like stealing. But like let's say you're having dinner and like you see somebody You see raiding like Vikings. Yeah. Yeah. I'm changing cultural locations here. But like a bunch of a Viking ri raiding ship comes up, you know, and they put a sword to your throat.

And Zlack, you know, take your sheep, but then one of them belongs to your neighbor. Yeah. And it's like, well what are you gonna do? So there's some difference of responsibility. Okay, hold on. Yeah. But what's the difference between then So what am I supposed to think of about the story of being stolen? Exactly. Yes. Is that So apparently at being stolen, there's a difference of levels of responsibility. I g the assumption I think.

I'm sorry, I was getting hung up on how is the Viking thing not being stolen? It is being stolen. So there okay, so there's no difference between it being taken captive and stolen the on the level of like It's Yeah. Someone else took it. That didn't belong to them. Apparently there is some difference in levels of responsibility. If my life was at stake, I would Oh okay. Ca that's the subtext of the raiding party. Taken captive. Life's at stake. You're in danger. Okay.

If you had prevented it from being taken, you could have died. I see. Um versus if it was stolen. That means you were just being negligent. It's about negligence. Okay. I think that's what's underneath it here. Now it's very kind of dense. Let's look at the next little variation. Let's say it's torn to pieces that it's got attacked Yeah, got attacked by a lion. Bring it as a witness. So bring the mangled body. Yeah. Obviously a wolf got this.

Yeah, totally. Then he does not have to restore for what was torn to pieces. Okay. So If it dies, it's injured or taken captive or attacked by a wild animal. Mm-hmm. You don't have to restore. on the hook. But if it was just nabbed from the sheep pen. You do have to. So there's some value underneath this here that that is relevant to flipping over the do not because if you steal it, you have to pay back. Yeah. Let it be stolen. Yeah, if it was entrusted to you.

Yeah. Stolen, you have to pay back. There's something different with it being stolen from under your care. That's different than well, it was sick and it died or it fell and it got injured or a raiding party came or a wolf came. Mm-hmm. In fact, thinking of a wolf and like a raiding party to like kind of in symmetry is helpful. Ja, dat, exactly. Something different than just hey, you were negligent, you didn't watch over your neighbor's property like you would have watched over your property.

That's it. You just pointed at me. It's got that's gotta be it. Okay. I didn't watch over my neighbor's property like I would have watched over my property. Yeah. Because I wouldn't have done anything with the wolf, I wouldn't have done anything with the raiding party. I couldn't have prevented a yeah a an injury and I couldn't have prevented like a s a sickness. Yeah. So I could have cared enough to make sure someone wouldn't come and steal it. Yeah.

Yeah. So w I probably do spend a lot of mental energy if I'm an Israelite. Sheep herder. taking whatever precautions to make sure my sheep don't get stolen. Mm-hmm. So I think the presumption here is about a carelessness or negligence or I didn't treat what belongs to my neighbor like I would treat my own.'Cause the difference between being stolen and getting taken captive is about being able to prevent it. Yeah. Uh that's just interesting little case study here.

Yeah. Now in this case study it was entrusted to you, so it's like hey. Yeah. Yeah. For a while, treat this like it's yours for me on my behalf. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And so it kinda sounds like what you're saying is there's wisdom here. Yes. Yeah. For maybe that's how we should be thinking about our neighbors' stuff all the time. Yeah, apparently when my neighbor we're gonna take it one more step, but and when my neighbor gives me something that belongs to them

for guarding, I have a responsibility to treat it like I would my own. Yeah. Which then makes you think like, well, but it's not my own. Mm-hmm. But now it is. So that but it it's become my own because they gave it to me. Okay, let's look at another case study. This one's from Deuteronomy twenty two.

You will not watch. the ox of your neighbor, or his sheep. Or his goat going astray. Yeah, you're watching an ox just like wander off into the Your neighbors. Your neighbor's ox wander off into the wilderness. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. You will certainly return it to your neighbor. Don't ignore it. Yeah. Now let's say your brother, that is your neighbor. Brother and neighbor are interchangeable here.

Let's say your brother, that is your neighbor, doesn't live near you. Or let's say you don't know who he is. Isn't that a good use of brother? Oh okay. You don't know who your brother is. But he's c he's an Israelite. Okay. That's the point. Yeah. So Let's say that's a good idea. I don't know who his oxis is. Yeah, so if I know, I recognize like, oh that's that red heifer. Yeah, I've seen that. Right. Obviously it belongs to someone. Yeah. That's Daisy.

Just Daisy. I know Daisy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She wanders away all the time. So okay. That's Bob's or whatever, that's Moshe's. But let's say I don't know who that belongs to. Yeah, yeah. You should bring it into your house. Okay. Keep it with you until your brother comes looking for it. Then give it back to him. This is also what you should do with his donkey.

And this is also what you should do with his garment. And this is also what you should do with any of the lost property of your brother that you find. you are not allowed to withhold your help. Hmm. Yeah. And then one more last flip, you will not see the donkey of your neighbor or his ox fallen on the road and ignore it. You must help them and get up along with them. So this kind of takes even further. Yeah.

Right. Because in the last example, it was a special scenario where I said, Hey, would you please take care of my stuff? We have this little agreement. Yeah, okay. I'll take care of stuff. Yeah. In this situation, it's just saying, actually, just think that way all the time. Yeah. Yeah, that's right. See your neighbor's stuff wandering away, treat it like your own. You would go get it. Yeah. Go get it. Mm-hmm. Even if you don't know whose it is. Which is great. Yeah. Yeah.

Even if it's just a garment. Mm-hmm. And you're just like well obviously they don't care. Tell story in your mind of like, Well, I don't care enough about their stuff. Totally. Oh dude, this happened to me not very long ago on a morning run. Mm up at the park and there's this park bench that I run by every Sunday morning. Yeah. And there was a really nice Patagonia jacket. Yeah. On it. And nobody was around. Yeah. Right. And it was so funny. I had did all this like mental work.

Someone's gonna take it. I was like, that's a nice jacket and uh you know, of course we're so subtle. in our minds. Because I like as I was coming up, I was like, Could that fit? Like, does it fit me? And then I'm like, What am I thinking? Like some they're gonna be right back or they forgot or they walked away and they're gonna remember. Yeah.

But I had to like tell myself a story about why that's not mine. Yeah. I had to tell myself. So maybe I'm just revealing that I'm a really screwed up person. I think that's normal. Yeah. And how wonderful is it when someone returns your stuff? Yeah. You know? Yes. It's happened to me a number of times. One time in particular, I I left my backpack at like a coffee shop and some wonderful woman took it. I didn't have a password on it. So she like logged in. Whoa, really?

Yeah. And then she figured out who I was. Wow. And she emailed me. Yeah. Wow. That's amazing. It's amazing. Yeah, okay. Let's think about that. But it was wonderful. Yes, okay. Why is that so striking to us? That feels like, whoa, somebody went above and beyond. What that woman was doing was living by the the wisdom of Deuteronomy twenty two. Yeah. So let's think back. Do not steal, do not take what belongs to your neighbor. Why? Well, they have a right to it. Hm.

It is also God's gift to my neighbor. And it's not mine to interfere with. And God didn't give me that gift. And I might have an issue with that. But that's a part of my journey with God. Why involve my neighbor? Or deprive them of what God has given to them. Also, I'm depriving them of their ability to give thanks to God for that thing that they have that God gave to them. also their responsibility for their My responsibil I have a responsibility. That's where we're going with

That's the wild leap. So you're saying flip it over. And there's instead of Asking myself, can I be content with what God's given me? I can actually ask myself, can I help be a steward of other people's stuff with them? Well yeah, help them steward their stuff. Yeah, that's right. That's like the Just extra generous. Totally. Yes, you really have to believe. The God has given me what I need and more. God has given my neighbour what they need and more.

So that even if it falls into my possession accidentally. Or I see it in danger. And I can tell myself a little story of like, well, I guess they were neglectful. I guess they don't deserve their Ha ha ha. Yeah, that's right. So th I think this is a part of the method of meditating on the laws of Torah's wisdom literature. I mean look where we ended. That's really profound. What is my obligation to my neighbor about their relationship to their stuff?

It's not just about respecting property rights. Jag kan börja där. Yeah, it is about that, uh but it's about more. But it's about more. It's about do I believe that everything is a gift? Do I believe that I have what God has designed for me? And even more. Can I start to view other people's stuff? Like I view my stuff in terms of how I would treat it and look after it and care for it. And would I help other people steward their stuff well? Mm-hmm.

'Cause everyone's on a journey with how they relate to God and they relate to their stuff. Yeah. Yeah he did. And it's a complicated journey. It's a really complicated journey. Mm-hmm. Mm. Yeah. It gets to the core of our values and our desires. Yeah. Yeah. And so I can say, well, you know, I know how you should deal with your stuff. But let me have it.

Yeah. And you obviously don't care about it enough. Maybe I should have it. Mm-hmm. Or why do you deserve I I can make myself God in that situation, instead of make myself a true like brother and say This is cool. God gave you this thing. I want to help you steward what God gave you. Mm-hmm. That's a very it's a very generous mindset. Yeah. Yes it is. You know I I have one friend It's been a friend a long time. Who I would say.

Right when I think of this value, somebody who helps other people with their stuff. Hm. Someone comes to my mind. Oh really? Yeah. One of the most generous people I've ever met. Like all the way back in college and But one of the ways he shows that generosity is he loves to help people do stuff if they own any property or home. Mm-hmm. With their own He loves to like rent stuff or he works in

He works in proximity to a lot of like machinery and outdoor machinery and so it's easy for him to get tools and excavators. Mm-hmm. He just loves that. Like let me come help you cultivate your Like vegetable garden. Like help d dig out that hillside to make a patio or whatever. And he helps other people steward and enjoy their property. Yeah. And he just loves that. I just have never met anybody like that.

Yeah, because it's such a free spirit because you could instead just be like, Why do they they don't deserve that big deck? Yeah. That nice garden. Like what? Yeah. I don't have something like that. Instead it's

God's working with them. Mm-hmm. And they have that for a reason. Mm-hmm. I don't need to get entwined in like, do they need to give that away? Do they have too much? Is it taking over their h like, let me just come and just help them steward it. Mm-hmm. And in That's a really beautiful place to start a relationship.

You have heard that it was said do not steal. Did I say to you? And I say to you look after your neighbour's stuff. Go to their house and give them suggestions about how to enjoy their stuff even more. Look after it as if you would your own, and give thanks to God for what He's given to you. That was a little presumptuous. Or maybe no. I'm imitating I'm imitating rabbi. Presumptuous to to say what Jesus might have said.

Yeah, totally. But no, I I I'm trying to do my own meditation. And I think what was remarkable to me was by just doing these key word searches, I found my mind doing that and I was like, This surely was how Jesus did it. Like how did he get to these? Right, insights. Yeah. And that he did in the Sermon on the Mount by quoting the Ten Commandments. You've heard that it was said, Don't commit adultery. And I say to you, and then he

inverts it and deepens it. Yeah. So Yeah, maybe you would say instead of and I say to you is and God says to us. Yeah, that's right. And God's Jesus can pull that and I say to you. That's right. Yeah. That's the presumptuous. Yeah. There you go. That's cool. Okay. Well, there's a lot there to go ponder. Yeah. Let's do another one. Number nine, shall we? Yeah, the next one. Next one. Yeah.

Um you will not bear false witness. Do you not lie? Do not lie as an example. Next week we'll look at the ninth command, which we often say as do not lie. But actually, it is do not bear false witness. Focusing specifically. on a communal type of lying in a legal setting. If Israel is meant to be the light shining in the darkness in the city on the hill, God really wants to have even their communal justice systems.

Stand apart from the typical types of corruption and distortion that they're liable to. That is what's at stake in the Ninth Command. Bible Project is a crowdfunded nonprofit and we exist to experience the Bible as a unified story that leads to Jesus and everything that we make is free because of the generous support of thousands of people just like you. Thank you so much for being a part of this with us. Time. My name is Melanie and I'm from Chicago.

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