Please turn with me in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 5. Our focus tonight is the eighth word, specifically verse 19. I do want to begin reading in verse 6. It's good to see the commandments and their context and their interrelatedness one to another. Beginning in chapter 5 of Deuteronomy at verse 6. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. Honor your father and your mother as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long and that it may be well with you. in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. 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 desire your neighbor's house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's. These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly. in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud and the thick darkness, with a loud voice, and he added, no more. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, thank you for the word. Thank you that it speaks to every area of our life. Thank you as well that it has a specific commandment relative to the protection of a person's property. We ask that you would give us clarity of thought concerning these things, Give us grace to appreciate this word among the others, and we pray that you would help us to put these things into practice. As we just sang, and as the Psalter everywhere promotes, may we indeed, as your people, love your law. May it be our meditation day and night. May it be the case that we would say with the Apostle that the commandments of God are not grievous, they're not burdensome, they're not something that should cause us any trouble whatsoever. God, we pray now that you would forgive us for our sin, that you would fill us with your spirit, and we ask through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen. Well, as we have seen, the two tables of the law, the first four commandments deal with our duty toward God, and these last six deal with our duty toward man. And certainly, the prohibition against theft is absolutely necessary. Like it or not, we are dependent on stuff. We cannot continue long in this world without food, without water, without shelter, without clothing. And God the Lord obviously knows that. God the Lord owns all things. And out of his sovereignty, he gives us things to sustain life. So when somebody takes from us those things that support life, it is in effect an indirect attack upon man's life. And so it is good for us to understand this commandment, how it applies in our current situation, and how we ought to find instruction therein. So I want to look similarly as we have in the past at first the prohibition of the command, secondly the reason for the command, And then thirdly, the positive aspect of the command. So while it is negative, you shall not steal, positively we infer or imply or learn certain things from this particular commandment. But in the first place, the prohibition of the command, the basic thrust of the Eighth Commandment has to do with the unlawful taking of another person's property either by force or by fraud. And there are various crimes, various sins associated with this eighth word. I want to just give you a sample of those particular things that are found in the Old Testament and in the New Testament as well. In the first place, we have the act of burglary. That is what transpires in Exodus 22, verses 2 and 3. Exodus 22, verses 2 and 3. When someone unlawfully enters the dwelling place of another person to deprive them of their property. entering a dwelling with the intent to steal. Notice in Exodus 22 verse 2, if the thief is found breaking in and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt for his bloodshed. If the sun has risen on him, there shall be guilt for his bloodshed. He should make full restitution. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. So burglary is the unlawful entering into the dwelling of another person to deprive that person of their property. In the second place, robbery. Robbery is similar in terms of the desire to deprive another human being of their stuff. But robbery uses violence. Robbery uses intimidation. Robbery means that you're not only seeking to deprive them, but you're going to hurt them should they get in the way of that particular activity. It was robbers that fell upon that man, that man that the Good Samaritan ultimately tended to in Luke's Gospel. The Lord Jesus identifies them as such. They rendered bodily harm to the man, and they deprived him of his goods. Robbers or robbery is seen in Proverbs chapter 1 in verses 10 to 19. In the third place, a prohibition or the prohibition against theft includes kidnapping or what we might call man stealing to seize a human being and detain them unlawfully and usually for ransom. Now the specific prohibitions that we find in Exodus and Deuteronomy particularly are probably not, you know, a wealthy couple has a son or a daughter and some bandits or bad guys take him and then hold him for ransom. Certainly that is included. The idea is probably kidnapping in order to sell them into slavery. Now in terms of the commandment, the prohibition and the eighth word, the typical remedy or the typical sanction or the typical penalty for violating the eighth word is restitution. And we'll see that more as we proceed. But when it comes to man stealing, when it comes to kidnapping, that was in fact a capital offense. It was indeed a capital offense. Exodus 21 verse 16, Deuteronomy 24 verse 7. In fact, you can turn to Deuteronomy 24 and verse 7. It's good to be familiar with where these things are in your Bibles. It's good to have an understanding of this Old Covenant law and to see the affirmations and the confirmations and the repetitions in the New Covenant as well. Notice in Deuteronomy 24, 7, if a man is found kidnapping any of his brethren of the children of Israel and mistreats him or sells him, then that kidnapper shall die and you shall put away the evil from among you. This is repeated, not with the penal sanction, but the prohibition against Kidnapping is repeated in 1 Timothy 1 and verse 10. So this is an application, certainly, of the Eighth Commandment, kidnapping. We might file hijacking an aircraft under such a category as well. There is a threat there to deprive persons of their lives, of their freedom, of their liberty, and that sort of thing. In the fourth place, a violation of the Eighth Commandment is seen in the act of fraud. Fraud. This is probably something that's a bit closer to home. I doubt we're all going to go out and steal people. I doubt we're going to fall upon men on the way to Chilliwack or downtown Chilliwack and beat them up and deliver blows and steal from them. I doubt that we're going to sneak into our neighbor's house under the cover of darkness and put a a ski mask on and go through his stuff and try to find what we want. But fraud is something that's probably closer to home in our particular situation. And there's various ways that we can engage in fraud. It is simply a deception deliberately practiced to secure unfair or unlawful gain. And there's several illustrations of fraud in the scriptures. In the first place, moving of a landmark. Deuteronomy 19, 14, 27, 17, Proverbs 22, 28, and Proverbs 23, 10. Moving a landmark, trying to benefit ourselves by hurting someone else. That is fraud. In the second place, another application of the sin of fraud or the crime of fraud is the use of unjust weights. Now this is something that comes up several times in the book of Proverbs. An unjust weight is an abomination to the Lord. Several times in the book of Proverbs. It truly is amazing. I count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 instances in 31 chapters against this act of an unjust weight. The idea being is that we are cheating somebody by fraud and we are benefiting ourselves. It's also contained in Leviticus 19 verses 35 to 37. There is an illustration of it in Isaiah the prophet's day, specifically in Isaiah chapter 1 verse 22. The prophet condemns the nation by saying, your silver has become dross. Now that's not an unjust weight per se, but it is a fraudulent activity nevertheless. Your silver has become dross. What does that mean? certain things to silver to make it go further. The prophet goes on to say, your wine mixed with water. Why would they mix water with wine? To make it go further. Rushduni says the reference in Isaiah 1.22 is to false weights. Silver replaced with baser metals or heavily alloyed with them, and to false measures, a quart of wine made into a gallon by mixture with water." You see, fraud is something that can happen and probably does if we are not careful. Remember this morning, there is in us, in that disposition of heart where we have an ambition, we have a desire, we want privilege, we want position. Well, as well, we want what's best for us. And if we have to shave off some rough edges, if we have to hurt somebody, it may not be as bad as falling upon them and dealing out blows and going through their wallets. But nevertheless, brethren, we have to walk carefully before our God and not defraud others. Another example is the exploitation of hired workers, Deuteronomy 24, 14. The book of James. James speaks very condemning language to his audience because they hold back the wages from those to whom it is due. This is unrighteous behavior. If a man works for you, he has sweat for you, he has labored under the heat of the day, then you pay him what you agreed upon at the end of that day so that he doesn't go away hungry or cold by virtue of the fact that you are a cheapskate. In the fifth place, the act of extortion. Acquiring property by undue legal power or undue influence. Proverbs 22, 22, and 23, but as well Matthew 23. You can turn to Matthew 23 to see an example of extortion. Acquiring property by undue legal power or undue influence. Matthew 23, verse 14. This is Jesus' pronouncement of woes against the religious leaders of his day, the scribes and the Pharisees, these hypocrites, this brood of vipers. Notice what he says in 23.14. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore, you will receive greater condemnation." Now, we oftentimes condemn the Pharisaic practice of the long prayer. A man who prays and he prattles on and he continues on and on and on and on and on to the point where people are just about wanting to go bats or go batty, but what we oftentimes fail to neglect is you devour widows' houses. What does Jesus mean by that? Well, these religious leaders were respected in the community. And when a woman's husband died, she would seek counsel. She would seek guidance. She would seek instruction. She would want to know how she can secure her assets, how she can make sure that she's able to live and able to breathe and able to drink water and function in society. I believe what our Lord is speaking to is the illicit practice of these religious leaders capitalizing upon these women at a time of grief and misery. It is a form of extortion. It is a form of exercising undue legal power or undue influence upon somebody that is in a position of disadvantage. In the next place, a violation of this commandment is seen in the destruction of property. The destruction of property. Exodus 22, 6. Exodus 22, verse 6. If fire breaks out and catches in thorns so that stacked grain, standing grain, or the field is consumed, he who kindled the fire shall surely make restitution. This is the destruction of property. This is as bad as theft. If you take it from me or you destroy it, the end result is the same. I can't use it. If you deprive me of it or you destroy it and I am no longer able to use that good or resource, the end game is the same. You have committed thievery and that is prohibited. Verne Poitras says, the destruction or expropriation of property is an indirect attack on the human life supported by it. Perhaps if you've been following the news over the last little while, to the south of us, expropriation has been spoken about. It's called eminent domain, but it's the same idea. The eminent domain means that the government can seize a person's property, and for the benefit of everyone, they can engage in this sort of particular activity. Well, that's expropriation. That is not legit. That is not right. wrong and we should not allow or want to see such things take place. And then as well, as we consider this particular commandment, we ought to at least include as a violation of the Eighth Commandment, though it is more properly a violation of the first four commandments, what we might call religious theft. Religious theft, I don't mean walking into a church and stealing the piano or walking into a church and stealing the hymn books. I've wondered at times, when we used to get break-ins here, what are they going to take? What do they want here? There's not like gold and it's not bedazzled up here like it might be in a papist church. I mean, that's not what I mean though. Malachi chapter 3. The Lord God, through the prophet, speaks to this whole issue of religious theft. Gary North has said once, men want religion but they want it cheap. And I think that's what was going on in Malachi, the prophet's day. Notice in 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. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed me, even this whole nation. I mean, talk about deprivation. If you are going to deprive or it's a sin to deprive another human being of that which is their due, God the Lord uses the language of robbery when the people of Israel engage in religious worship and they do not bring their tithes and offerings to Zion. The Lord God says in verse 10, bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And try me now in this, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. Another passage is found in Matthew 22, 21, when Jesus is asked, is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar? We all know Jesus' answer, don't we? Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and give to God what is God. Now, if Caesar has a right to our money via taxation, it would only naturally and reasonably follow that God as well has a right to our money via tithing, offerings, contributions to the Church of the living and true God. I am not speaking about these things or preaching about these things so we see a boost in the giving. I really don't do those sorts of things. This is a moral, spiritual, ethical issue. It may be the case that you don't steal candy bars from Walmart. It may be the case that you don't cheat Revenue Canada. It may be the case that you pay your debts on time. It may be the case that you don't operate in a fraudulent or negligent manner. All those things I say praise God for. But if you are robbing God, brethren, that is as much a moral, spiritual, ethical issue as is a violation of the others. We need to understand, if it's lawful to pay to Caesar what is Caesar's, the text does not stop there. We typically spiritualize, give to God what is God's. Yes, we'll pray. Yes, we'll go to church. Yes, we'll read our Bibles. Yes, but in the context, it's talking about taking coins out of your pocket and handing them over to Caesar. Why can't the connection be seen that if God has called upon his people to tithe, they dig down deep and they give to God. Brethren, religious theft is herein condemned by the Lord Most High through the prophet Malachi. Now, in the second place, we ought to consider the interdisposition. We're still dealing with the prohibition of the command. But it's not just the external act. There are sins of the heart that are connected to this Eighth Commandment. The first, of course, being the sin of covetousness. Now, we're going to deal more with this when we get to the Tenth Commandment, so I'll simply mention it here. The sin of covetousness. Eighth and Tenth go hand in hand in a whole host of ways. As well, the sin of discontentment. Discontentment, you may not be a thief, you may not engage in one of these particular practices, which by the way is just a sampling of sins or crimes related to the Eighth Commandment. You may not engage in the external act, brethren, but you can have the disposition of a thief when you're discontent, when you're murmuring and raging against God Most High for the things that he has or more specifically has not given to you." And as well, related to this Eighth Commandment, at least in terms of a sin of the heart, is idolatry. Matthew 6.24, when we see stuff as something that is so captivating, when we see goods as something so captivating, we make Mammon our God and God will brook no rivals. The Lord Jesus Christ says in Matthew 6.24, you cannot serve God and Mammon. The Apostle Paul in the book of Ephesians and in the book of Colossians links covetousness with idolatry. Idolatry. It is sin. Now, second, in terms of our broader outline, what is the reason for the commandment? Well, in the first place, the sovereignty of God. The earth is Yahweh's and the fullness thereof. Turn to Psalm 115.16, for instance. The earth is Yahweh's and the fullness thereof is Psalm 24, 1. But in Psalm 115 at verse 16, we ought to appreciate what we find concerning the ownership of God and the stewardship of man. Verse 16, the heaven, even the heavens are the Lord's, but the earth is given to the children of men. Now the Lord God is sovereign over all things. He has comprehensive ownership. The Lord God in His goodness, as we read here in verse 16, the earth He has given to the children of men. Now, when He has given the earth to the children of men, He does so according to His sovereignty. He does so according to His good pleasure. According to the gracious landowner parable, He is not beholden to men. He does not own men. There is nothing that we have that can constrain Him to do one thing or the other. Now, Deuteronomy 8, verse 18 says that God makes men wealthy. It is the Lord God who gives wealth. In the gospel record, the Lord Jesus Christ says, the poor you shall always have with you. So what's the point? God the Lord is sovereign. God the Lord owns everything. And God the Lord in his infinite wisdom has made some men to be wealthy, some men to be poor. Or if you are in North America, probably in the middle class. This is God's sovereign purpose and plan. The property that he gives to us so that we may steward it. You realize that it's not the case that we own the things we have. I'm not talking about the Canadian government. I think ultimately they own your property, but I'm talking about in terms of the macrocosmic picture. God owns everything. We are stewards. We are stewards. One of the things you as parents ought to jump onto when your children are starting to formulate words. One of the first words in most of their vocabulary is what? Mine. Mine. Maybe your kids are different, but I remember that at least being in the top five list in my home. Mine, mine, mine. Now there's a couple of different ways I think we ought to approach that. We ought to say, you know, everything is ultimately God's. The Lord God owns all things. He gives you that. Now bring this down to their level to be sure. He gives you that little baby doll so that you may use it. You are a steward of it. But on the other hand, brethren, we ought to teach our children something about the Eighth Commandment. There are property rights, and when a child has a certain special thing, maybe they don't have to share everything they have, unless we're cultivating citizens for the body politic. Now, I think kids should share. That ought to be in them. We ought to instill that in them. But if they have something extra special, it's not community property. We ought to be able to set down some parameters and some guidelines to show that there are such things that aren't community property. A man has a right to own a particular thing. The Lord God made it this way because why? He's sovereign over all things and he has given us possession of these things to steward for his glory and for our life-sustaining capacity. The position of man, we are image bearers of the living God. And then as we've seen, as I've already quoted Poythress, it is an attack upon man. And this is a reason for the prohibition. If I steal your stuff, I am indirectly attacking your very life. That is the reality of it. And of course, the law of God specifies throughout as we've just seen a sampling of tax that the Eighth Commandment is to be taken seriously and it is in place for a particular reason. So the prohibition, the reason, now thirdly and finally the positive aspect of the command. The first place, the necessity of diligent labor. The necessity of diligent labor. What's the opposite to thievery? Industry. What's the opposite to theft? Go get a job. Paul makes that connection in Ephesians 4.28, which we'll see in a few minutes. But in the first place, the fourth commandment speaks directly to the issue of work. In six days you shall labor. Yes, it is the Sabbath command of the Lord our God that we rest on Sunday. We cease from our normal activities. The Lord is good. The Sabbath was made for the man. It's not a drudgery. It's not a hardship. It's not a bad thing. God, in His infinite mercy and grace, gave this gift to His children so that we can rest, so that we can find blessing, so that we can call the day holy. As well, the fourth commandment contains a necessary word on work. Six days you shall labor. The eighth commandment as well speaks to the necessity of work. The mandate to labor, the mandate to avoid being in the position wherein you might steal. The wise man in Proverbs 30 says, give me neither poverty nor riches. Why? Because if I am poor, I will be tempted to go out and steal. Well, what's the pathway to neither poverty? Well, what's the pathway to not engaged in poverty? It is through diligent labor. But some specific passages, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, on this necessity for diligent labor. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. verses 9 to 12. I've often thought that if persons did a study of what Paul tells Christians they're supposed to look like, it would look a whole lot different than what we think Christians should look like. Look at 1 Thessalonians 4.9, but concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another. And indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more, that you also aspire to lead a quiet life. You know, not everybody's going to be an activist. Not everybody's going to be out there protesting. Not everybody's going to be out there doing those, you know, supra-extra things in order to revolt against the moral order and the society. No, the most of us ought to be aspiring to lead a quiet life. I love this next clause, to mind your own business. I think Christians have difficulty with that, don't we? We like to mind business, but we like to mind other people's business. What's Solomon say in the book of Proverbs? Keep what? Keep your brother's heart with all diligence for out of it spring the issues of life. Keep your wife's heart because out of it spring the issues of life. Keep your pastor's heart because out of it spring the issues. No, keep your own heart with all diligence. In other words, mind your own business and to work with your hands as we commanded you. that you may walk properly toward those who are outside and that you may lack nothing." Turn to 2 Thessalonians. 2 Thessalonians chapter 3. Familiar passage to any who have children and have tried to get them to eat their peas. Or to, I'm sorry, to pick up their room before they eat their peas. You don't pick up your room, you don't get to eat peas. I have a proof text for this. Don't I? If you don't work, you don't eat. If you don't clean your room, you don't get peas. Knowing kids, they'd probably say, I don't want peas anyway. That's when you just want to say, forget it. Go sit out in the garage until you're 21. Just kidding. Notice, 2 Thessalonians 3.6. I should set the context here. What's going on in Thessalonica? What is happening in Thessalonica? Why does Paul speak a lot about eschatology in the Thessalonian correspondence? Eschatology, the doctrine of or study of last things. Essentially this, the Thessalonians thought that Jesus was going to return at any moment. The Thessalonians thought that Jesus was going to return at any moment. Now, having that mindset What do you think the Thessalonians likely did? They likely quit their jobs, sat on their roofs, prayed and sang hymns until Jesus came to collect them. Makes sense, doesn't it? If you knew Jesus was coming at, you know, six o'clock, you might not be here. You might be at home, holding hands with your family, ready to roll. The point is, the Thessalonians thought that Jesus' return was imminent at any moment. He will be here, so why go to work tomorrow? Good way to get out of a difficult work situation, isn't it? I don't want to go and deal with this nasty business at work. Thankfully, Jesus is going to come. This is why Paul is emphasizing this point with these people. He wants them to work. He wants them to lead a quiet life. He doesn't want them sitting on their roof chanting hymns until Jesus returns. Go out, get a job. Now notice in 2 Thessalonians 3.6, But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us. For we were not disorderly among you, nor did we eat anyone's bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us. For even when we were with you, we commanded you this, if anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. What's the point? Brethren, if you don't have a job and you show up at the church's love feast and you keep eating their food, they're nice, they're kind, they're gracious, and they'll keep feeding you their food. But if you are able-bodied and able to work, at some point that becomes thievery. And the apostle condemns this. Verse 10, for even when we were with you, we commanded you this, if anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busy bodies. Now those who are such, we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread. We ask Paul, what do you want from the rank and file of God's people? I want them to work. I want them to mind their own business. I want them to aspire to lead a quiet life. I want them to show up on Sunday and worship the Lord by participating in the word and sacrament. That's what Paul wants for his people in this current age. The Westminster Larger Catechism asks, what are the duties required in the Eighth Commandment? And an endeavor by all just and lawful means to procure, preserve, and further the wealth and outward estate of others as well as our own. The Proverbs are filled with an emphasis on diligent labor. Proverbs 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 27, 28, There's simply too many to rehearse here. If you're interested in them, give me an email, I'll send you the specifics. Thomas Watson said this concerning diligent labor. He said, the bread that tastes most sweet is obtained with most sweat. Isn't that beautiful? The bread that tastes most sweet is that which is obtained through most sweat. See, brethren, there is virtue in hard work. When a man has no job, it's not only that his pockets are empty, but there is something lacking in him. He is an image bearer of the living God. He has a drive. He has initiative. He has this dominion instinct or principle. And so it is a double penalty to not only have no money, but to have no job. Watson continues, a godly man would rather fast than eat the bread of idleness. Vain professing Christians talk of living by faith, but do not live in a calling. They are like the lilies of the field. They toil not, neither do they spin. He says an idle person is the devil's tennis ball, which he bandies up and down with temptation until at last the ball goes out of play. I didn't even know they had tennis back then, but Watson's using it as an illustration. Listen to this, they are like the lilies of the field, they toil not, neither do they spend. Brethren, diligent labor is enjoined upon us by the fourth and the eighth commandment. In the second place, a positive aspect of the command is the necessity of charitable love toward others. Notice in Paul, in Ephesians 4, 28, let him who stole steal no longer. It's a good rule as a new Christian, if you used to steal, don't steal anymore. Some suggest that the verbal tense used implies that this was still happening. Paul says, let him who stole, steal no longer. The context is the conduct of the new man in the Lord Jesus. He says, let him who stole, steal no longer, but rather let him labor. We could include this with the previous point. But I include it here because of what he goes on to say. Working with his hands, what is good that he may have something to give him who has need. You see, so positively, we are not only not to deprive others of their substance, of their resources, of their wealth, but we are to try and contribute to and to help them and to promote that. And especially if we have poor brethren in our midst, we come alongside of them and we engage in what Paul says here. That we may have something to give him who has need. See, there's something more noble about a new car. There's something more noble about a new lake house. There's something more noble about a nice packaged holiday at wherever you might go. There's something more noble than those things. And it's working hard for the glory of God so that you may help others. I think the church getting their minds wrapped around that collectively would be a helpful and beneficial thing. And I don't mean that here specifically. I am blessed beyond measure knowing dear brethren like you guys. And then in the third place, the necessity of biblical contentment. 1 Timothy 6, 6-10 speaks to this very clearly. 1 Timothy 6, verses 6-10. Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and harmful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." Notice in verses 17 to 19. Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come that they may lay hold on eternal life." So those are some positive aspects. Well, as we conclude, I want to look at two things in conclusion. The second just has a few sub points, so just bear with me another couple of minutes. In the first place, the penalties involved in violating the command. I've already mentioned that capital punishment was applied to kidnapping. But for the rest of it, you have to notice a stark contrast between the Old Testament law and other ancient Near Eastern law codes. What is something that other ancient Near Eastern law codes stipulated for thieves? Well, at times, punitive amputation. And that means cutting off hands, cutting off feet, cutting off things so that persons will be discouraged from ever stealing again. I'm sure that it works, but that's not what's in the scripture. There's one instance of punitive amputation in the Old Testament that I'm aware of. And that is found specifically in Deuteronomy 25, 11, and 12. And the issue there is not theft. And the issue there is probably not modesty. The issue there is probably seed. When the woman seizes another man's genitals in the midst of a fight, it is the specification that she has her hand cut off. And again, probably what is involved is the reality that the woman could permanently damage the man and ruin his ability to produce children. Again, that's the only instance of punitive amputation that I'm aware of. So when we come to Old Testament law, it is not Sharia. It is not the same thing. It is not the case that the Bible demands, if you walk into Walmart and you steal a Snickers or you embezzle funds or you do whatnot, that you are to lose hands. No, the primary objective with reference to thievery is restitution. In other words, when the thief is found, he pays back the victim. And this is absolutely lost on us today. Because if I go out and commit an act of thievery, They put me in prison to pay back my debt to society. You see, my crime wasn't against society. My crime was against a particular person. That particular person is now out twice because I've stolen from him and now I'm on his dime. As I'm sitting in prison, he's writing checks via Revenue Canada to sustain this process. If you read Old Testament and you look at Israel, guess what is conspicuously absent? A prison system. Why is that? Because when a man was found out guilty of a crime, if it was a capital offense, he was executed. If it was a property offense, he paid back. He made restitution. He made it the case that the person he deprived now was no longer deprived. And in the second place, it's not only restitution. Now, don't go out and blog or Facebook about what a wacko Pastor Butler is, but the next item is called indentured servitude. Exodus 22.6, if the man cannot provide restitution. If the man cannot pay back, then he is to engage in indentured servitude. I'm sorry, 22-3. If you go back there, you'll see 22-6 was the man who burned down other people's crops. Indentured servitude. What does that mean? Again, he doesn't go sit in a prison system where he's the victim of gang violence. but he would sell himself into slavery to this particular family and work off his debt. It's a win-win situation. The family gets back what they have been deprived and this guy gets to be, you know, catechized and instructed and live in a context of a decent family rather than being in prison only to be victimized by gangs. You see, it's not as outlandish as it may appear. It's not as barbaric as persons suggest concerning the Old Testament law. I submit that what we have currently in terms of prison systems where men go in and they are sodomized, give me the opportunity to serve a family in the context where I'm not having that and I will take indentured servitude every single time. You see, the Bible, God is pro-victim, not pro-state, not pro-criminal, but he's pro-victim. If I deprive you of something, I am to make restitution. If I do not have that by which to make restitution, then I will be your indentured servant until I pay it back, and then I get to go on my merry little way. And in the second place, how do we use this commandment? With reference to the civil use, we're doing this with each one. Remember the threefold use of the law. Civil, pedagogical, normative. Civil is that use wherein the law exercises a restraint over all persons. Certainly as individual believers, as Christians, as those in Christ, all of the things we've seen prohibited. Don't do that. Don't be a burglar. Don't rob people. Don't extort people. Don't undertake fraud. Do not be negligent. Do not destroy other people's stuff. Be responsible in terms of property, in terms of the application. to the larger context. As I mentioned this morning, we would all, everyone, whether Christian or not, churchgoer or not, every single one to a man would conclude that if a truck backed up to Walmart and loaded up a whole bunch of TVs, that would be thievery. Yet, in terms of the macrocosmic picture, governmentally, theft is a regular occurrence. The manipulation of currency through inflation or fractional reserve banking. Maybe not all have heard of fractional reserve banking. Look into it sometimes. It's a form of, if the government engaged in inflating currency, or engaged in credit expansion, or engaged in fractional reserve banking, if you or I did that, we would be called counterfeiters. Counterfeiting is a theft. It's a theft when we go down to our basement and we print our own funny money. But it is counterfeiting when the government does it as well. Unjust taxation. I'm not saying don't pay your taxes. In fact, hear me, I am not saying that. Absolutely, positively, Romans 13, 7. your taxes. But at some point you have to consider the persons you vote for and their view of taxation. Remember when Israel cried out for a king, they wanted to be like all the other nations around them. God sent Samuel to tell them what manner of king they will have. He says that He will take a tithe of all your stuff. I mean tithes from various aspects of their personal property. He's not saying this is a boon. He's not saying this is an encouragement. He's not saying that this is a good thing. He's not saying that a monarch who taxes you to death is somehow a blessing. No, the Lord God is seeking by Samuel to tell the people what the legitimacy is. You see, brethren, whether it's theft on an individual level or theft on a corporate level, it is still a violation of the Eighth Commandment. Why is communism wrong? Because it's a violation of the Eighth Commandment. Why is socialism wrong? Because it's a violation of the Eighth Commandment. You shall not steal from one to give to another. That might work if you're Robin Hood and you're doing a cute little kid's story, or some old folklore, but when the government does this with coercive power, and Christians, believers, professors of the true religion, who should know something about these things, at least enough to vote intelligently. As I said, when you go into the voting booth, you take the commandment, you shall not murder, You may have it. Between you and God, there's no way I'd cast my vote for a man who authorizes the slaughter of innocent children. You might take that into the voting booth with reference to the seventh word. There's no way I can cast my lot for a man that will engage or that will say that same-sex marriage is OK. Well, brethren, consider the eighth commandment, fiscal responsibility. When there's $18 trillion of debt, I mean, you're killing the next generation. This is irresponsible. It is sin. It is crime. It is against the Eighth Commandment. That's something we could just spend time on. The pedagogical use. Brethren, you all know your hearts. Maybe you're not catechists, and that's great. When we get to the Tenth Commandment, should be in two weeks. You can stay home that night. Actually, still come, because the means of grace are necessary. whether you've got the specific text mastered or not. But we all have a degree of covetousness in our hearts. We all have a lack of contentedness. We always want something else, don't we? This is never enough. It's never right. I wish I had this. You know, some people, you get the idea that if you handed them a $20 bill, they'd whine because it wasn't two tens. I mean, come on, you know, that's 20 bucks, 20 bucks. There's just a discontentedness about the human heart. There is a failure as well to reckon with God's absolute sovereignty over all property. He gives wealth and he makes men poor. As I said, in North America, at least in Canada, at least in Chilliwack, at least attenders of this church are probably going to fall right in between in the middle class. And sometimes we don't like that. Sometimes we want more. We want more. We're like the horse leeches, two daughters. Give, give. It's never enough. Well, thank God the Lord for His Son, Jesus Christ, who I think Psalm 15 is all about. I read that at the outset of worship. I think it is a description of what the people of God are to pursue, but I think it is a description of what Jesus Christ has indeed accomplished for His people. He swears to his own hurt and does not change. He who does not put out his money at usury, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. The Lord Christ is the most blessed person for us, covetous, lack of content people, because it is through his blood and through his righteousness we have everlasting life. Well, in terms of the normative use, I'm just going to run down the list because it's getting late. Pay your taxes. Did I say that? Make sure you understand. I don't want to preach a sermon like this and somebody says, well, I'm going to invoke my whatever rights and I'm not going to pay my taxes and I'm going to stand against the civil government. Do you know what they call people who do that? They call them prisoners. You will not win. You will not win. Pay your taxes. Pay your debts. Romans 13.8, Psalm 37.21. Honor contracts. What's described here concerning this godly man? He swears to his own hurt and does not change. He swears to his own hurt and does not change. Honor your contracts. You know, you sometimes hear people say, well, I signed on the dotted line. I didn't know it was going to be so bad. Well, you should have researched it better. I didn't know I was gonna be a slave to the cell phone company. You should have researched it before you wrote your name. The use of just weights and measures. Now this applies to those who own delis and those who do not. The just use of weights and measures. Do not jip people. Do not rip people off. The returning of lost or erroneously credited money or property. Yes, God's Word speaks to that. In Exodus 23, for Deuteronomy 22, if an ox wanders into your yard, you don't say, thank the Lord, I have a new ox. No, you return the ox to its owner. That's what you are supposed to do. The honoring of just claims and liabilities, Exodus 21, 35 to 36, 22, 10 to 13. The making of restitution for wrongly acquired property. And then as we have seen, the practice of diligent labor, charitable giving, and the cultivation of Christian contentment. Praise God, 1 Corinthians 6, 10, and 11 are in our Bibles. Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you, but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. Let us pray. Thank you, Father, that your word speaks to all these issues in our lives, and we have really just scratched the surface. Give us wisdom, God, as we approach Holy Scripture. Give us wisdom as we approach things like voting, as we approach things like responsible citizenship. Help us in our prayer lives. Help us in our daily lives to put these things into practice, to not engage in thievery or depriving others of what is lawfully theirs. and help us genuinely to be diligent in our labor, to be charitable in our giving, and to be those who are content under the good providence of God Most High. We ask that you would go with us now. We pray that you'd watch over us. Bless tomorrow as so many persons will get together with family and friends. Certainly every day ought to be Thanksgiving for us as the people of God. Lord, as we meet together tomorrow, I pray that you just bless each and every one in this church. May the time be well spent, and may God be glorified for his bounty, for his goodness, and his gifts to us. And we pray these things through Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.