In today’s study we finish the 10 commandments with the commands to “not lie,” not “bear false witness” and to not “covet.” While all commands intended to protect the community, these commands have never been more important than they are today. Join the Pastors as they explore what makes these commands so essential for every Christian alive and how we can become more intentional disciples every day.
Don’t miss out on the ongoing video study of the Westminster Catechism here! https://youtu.be/lR9OM1GQ-bo
Thank you for joining us, we sincerely help that this study encourages you in your understanding of the Bible. Please be sure to share this with anyone who you think might be interested in joining us. If you want to subscribe for future episodes, go to our website pastortalk.co.
Pastor Talk Quick Links:
- Learn more about the Pastor Talk series and view our previous studies at https://pastortalk.co
- Subscribe to get the Pastor Talk episodes via podcast, email and much more! https://pastortalk.co#subscribe
- Questions or ideas? Connect with us! https://pastortalk.co#connect
- Interested in joining us for worship on Sunday at 8:50
Transcript
00:00:00:16 – 00:00:24:39
Clint Loveall
Everybody. Welcome back. Thanks for joining us. If you’re in the area, stay safe. Stay warm as we deal with some ice and weather today. But whether wherever you are, thank you for joining us. We continue our way through Exodus 20, the Ten Commandments. We left off that verse 15 a again, a pretty simple commandment you shall not steal.
00:00:25:46 – 00:00:54:05
Clint Loveall
Not difficult to translate, but not difficult to understand. Certainly within the community, the idea of trust, the idea of property, the idea of not taking what doesn’t belong to you is important. As we said, I think pretty strongly in the last couple of days. One thing that we appreciate about the commandments is that they are not just the literal commandment itself, but point us to a deeper reality.
00:00:54:05 – 00:01:32:42
Clint Loveall
And so, yes, of course, do not steal means what it says, but it also means how we think about property, how we gain material or wealth for ourself, how we treat others, how we share. There’s a great number of places we can jump off here, Mike. And I think, you know, as we stated it, maybe even overstated yesterday, one of the most important things about the commandments are that they point us to, I think, more broad discussions than they might just simply say on their own.
00:01:33:23 – 00:01:56:25
Michael Gewecke
So one of the interesting facets of these commandments, clean, is that they overlap each other, that they have differing emphasis, but they are often running the same direction. And, you know, I think that is very much true with the commandment you shall not steal. We’re going to see in just two commandments this idea of not coveting or desiring after another person, which of course is an aspect of self to wanting one another has.
00:01:56:25 – 00:02:18:30
Michael Gewecke
And so taking it for yourself. I do think that we need to name that theft is not just, you know, pulling on a mask and going into a store and taking things out the till, you know, whatever is gotten through, ill gotten means is included here. And I do think that we live in a world in which people like shortcuts.
00:02:18:30 – 00:02:40:44
Michael Gewecke
I mean, that’s always been the case. I don’t mean to act like that’s something different than what it has been, but in a world where there’s lots of temptations to take for ourselves, to reach and to try to grab, whether that be money or privilege or influence. And we do that for our own self benefit. The person at the center of that circle is ourself.
00:02:40:57 – 00:03:01:35
Michael Gewecke
It’s not God. It’s not the community. It’s not lifting up and supporting others. And these are the essential values that are being communicated in this. And, you know, you look at things very practically. We’ve already had in this story, which wasn’t really a story of theft per se, but I think of, you know, going in, collecting the manna.
00:03:01:37 – 00:03:18:09
Michael Gewecke
This idea that there’s this food that appears you need to trust God and only get what you need for that day’s use. It’s not a 1 to 1, but there’s an interesting correlation here. This idea you don’t need to steal for what you need. Ultimately, you need to trust that God is going to give you what you need.
00:03:18:09 – 00:03:36:36
Michael Gewecke
And you know, that’s reading between the lines here, Clint. But there this is more than just don’t do a thing and then, you know, put that on your little spiritual checklist and say, Hey, look what I didn’t do. Now, this is really an invitation to trust God and an invitation to recognize that you will have what you need.
00:03:36:52 – 00:03:37:51
Michael Gewecke
And that is enough.
00:03:38:06 – 00:04:04:10
Clint Loveall
Yeah, I think you pointed out yesterday, Michael, sometimes it’s helpful to read the Commandments in reverse and to try and imagine what the positive would be. If so, if steal is the behavior that’s prohibited, what is it that it points us toward instead? And you could have lots of conversation too. You know, you shall work, you shall give, you shall be generous, you shall not, you know, pile things up for yourself.
00:04:04:22 – 00:04:36:12
Clint Loveall
This commandment, when we hear it in a more positive, maybe in its more positive form, I do think it opens up to lots of conversation about how we treat what is ours, how we treat, what is others, how we make our way through the kind of materialism and the kind of commercialism that is our culture. There’s a lot to be said here, and you know, obviously that’s not the verse itself.
00:04:36:12 – 00:05:02:25
Clint Loveall
That’s what we make of the verse. But it is part of a broader conversation in the scripture. And I think it does well for us to remember that the same would certainly be true As we move to 16. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You know, historically that was. You shall not lie about your neighbor or literally you shall not say things that are false.
00:05:02:25 – 00:05:26:20
Clint Loveall
You shall not be a bad witness. You shall not give inaccuracies. Michael, this is a commandment that I think in our day and age of social media and online stuff and the kind of divisiveness we see in a culture right now that lobs insults and accusations back and forth, what in what seems to be constant state of affairs?
00:05:26:42 – 00:06:01:40
Clint Loveall
I think this is a commandment that says a lot to us in the moment we’re in. What does it mean to bear false witness? Yes, it means to to share things that are true. But how we share those things and how are they true other than our appraisal of them, our opinion of them? I think, you know, we have just lived through a significant period in which truth and witness and against your neighbor, I think, have a whole new life cycle for us to think about.
00:06:01:40 – 00:06:10:10
Clint Loveall
And I think we will spend a good bit of time in coming years unpacking some of that. But I think this is a challenging verse in our moment.
00:06:10:21 – 00:06:37:26
Michael Gewecke
Absolutely. I couldn’t agree more, and I think that is challenging in at least two ways that immediately come to mind. The first is this idea of neighbor Jesus does not do us a favor because he’s explicitly asked who is my neighbor? And he gives one of the most poignant parables in which the neighbor turns out to be everyone, and even the person who you would have called your enemy.
00:06:37:51 – 00:07:06:07
Michael Gewecke
And that radical, broad definition of neighbor is something that a Christian has to bring with us to this reading client. We have to recognize that the people who we are called to honor by legitimately calling in their humanity, of recognizing with compassion, saying things that are true about people, even people that we disagree with or that we might find difficult.
00:07:06:57 – 00:07:30:45
Michael Gewecke
That is our compulsive requirement of the law. That is what we are called to do. We are called to tell that that to bring a good witness, a true witness, even if that means that we’re doing so with a person that we struggle with, that doesn’t mean that we always say things that are liked. Does it mean that we don’t take stands on important issues?
00:07:31:08 – 00:07:58:21
Michael Gewecke
But there’s a difference between slander and between entering into a conversation with a wholehearted attempt to honor another person as neighbor. And I think the other very quickly, the second point that brings to bear is it’s not just witness in the sense of what you say about another person, but the witness is also one in a court case who can bring a charge against another person and say that this is true or isn’t true.
00:07:58:35 – 00:08:25:01
Michael Gewecke
Certainly, the Christian is compelled by our faith and by this law that we are not to bring false accusations against another person. If you know a thing isn’t true, it is reprehensible to bring that charge against another person because it’s not true. It doesn’t reflect reality. It is, you using something to your own end as opposed to for the benefit of the community and for this other person’s benefit to God’s glory.
00:08:25:17 – 00:08:38:56
Michael Gewecke
So this isn’t just, you know, are you lying or not? This is how are you using your language? Are you using it to only benefit yourself or are you doing it in the way that builds the community?
00:08:39:07 – 00:09:05:06
Clint Loveall
You know, it’s interesting. I think if we had a conversation with this broadly, people would perhaps think that truth is the measuring stick. In other words, well, I believe this to be true or that person doesn’t know that’s true or this is true about them. But I think more tellingly, when we read this, in light of particularly the New Testament, it is neighbor that is the measuring stick.
00:09:05:36 – 00:09:36:39
Clint Loveall
And so even if I say something is true, but in saying it, I damage my neighbor. The Bible asks serious questions about whether I should speak, if I have information that harms another and I don’t need to share it, I shouldn’t do it. I should bite my tongue. Christians should be people that go out of their way not to speak against their neighbor, whether or not in some cases those things are true.
00:09:36:40 – 00:10:02:36
Clint Loveall
And I think we all know people, Michael, and we’ve probably all done it who say things like, well, I just tell the truth. And if people don’t like it, well, that’s not what’s being said here. I just want to be clear about that. Yes, Christians speak things that are true. And yes, we should verify the truth of what we say, but even when we know true things, there is a question of why are we saying them?
00:10:02:36 – 00:10:19:30
Clint Loveall
And this is a this is a bigger commandment than the idea that that as long as I speak truth, it doesn’t matter if I hurt other people while I’m doing it, that that’s not I think where this takes us, especially when read in light of the New Testament.
00:10:19:58 – 00:10:43:15
Michael Gewecke
Yeah. And you already mentioned so I’m not going to go long on this. I just want to point out, I do think that this is especially appropriate to have these conversations in a moment where technology has enabled us to say things with the perception of no cost. It feels free to go on your device and to tap out a few words and to her hit the send button.
00:10:43:40 – 00:11:13:08
Michael Gewecke
But it’s not free. Our words have the capacity of changing the world. Our words have the capacity of destroying, of bringing others down, of tearing down the both walls that separate us. And also boundaries that protect us. And I do think that there’s a really important kind of Christian practice of discernment that’s being called for here. And we’re going to need to work that out if we’re going to continue to live in the time in which we live.
00:11:13:10 – 00:11:37:10
Clint Loveall
Yeah. And if we read this commitment to the opposite, Michael, you know, Christians, people of faith are to be people who are true witnesses who who not only speak truth, but are who witness to the truth. And, you know, again, that’s a much bigger endeavor than simply what is written here. And the commandment gives us an entrance into a broader conversation.
00:11:37:31 – 00:12:11:38
Clint Loveall
Then we finish. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, nor shall you covet your neighbor’s wife or male or female slave or ox or donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor. This seems like a quaint commandment, I think, for a lot of people. But notice, if we think of coveting as desiring what isn’t ours or elevating the importance of something that doesn’t belong to us, or that that isn’t ours to take notice, how many of the commandments cover behaviors that start here?
00:12:12:14 – 00:12:41:36
Clint Loveall
Where does stealing start in wanting something that I don’t have? Where does adultery start in an interest in somebody that isn’t my relationship partner? Where does murder start? In jealousy or in anger? Where does lying start? So many of these things have their roots in this idea of wanting something that isn’t mine to want that or wanting something too much.
00:12:42:27 – 00:13:13:31
Clint Loveall
I don’t think we live. You know, we live in a culture that loves could go so far to say greed, that loves the idea of acquiring more. Our economy, our culture, capitalism is kind of built on the idea. Advertising certainly is built on the idea of showing us things and helping us want those things. And then, you know, possibly achieving those things.
00:13:13:46 – 00:13:32:51
Clint Loveall
But we don’t in our culture speak very much of coveting. But the Scripture is very concerned with it. And I think in some ways, Michael, it functions here in the 10th spot of the commandments as the kind of net that catches everything else so that you can’t just simply read these and say, Well, no, I’m good on all those fronts.
00:13:33:10 – 00:13:39:52
Clint Loveall
We’ve said this before, but it’s really hard. It’s really hard to get past the Ten Commandments without feeling convicted.
00:13:39:52 – 00:14:05:58
Michael Gewecke
I think this is not entirely accurate. It’s painting with too broad of a brush, I think. But we’ve certainly in the last few commands, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal. These are very specific actions that we can identify with here. We’re provided a motivation. Coveting is a thought in intent of the heart.
00:14:06:25 – 00:14:44:20
Michael Gewecke
And so it calls us to look inward that to see what is driving us. And to that end, this is an unbelievably challenging command for the modern age, for people whose entire lives have been saturated with thousands. I think in some studies, tens of thousands of advertising impressions a day for a common American. We live in a world that celebrates the in production of new things, the possibility of acquiring something else.
00:14:44:45 – 00:15:07:55
Michael Gewecke
And yeah, most of us aren’t coveting donkeys. Maybe that’s the quaintness of the story, but I don’t know that we could honestly say that most of us aren’t coveting Apple iPhones or that we’re not coveting a trip to the Bahamas or a new water bottle. It seems like there’s a new one of those every six months or whatever it is.
00:15:09:03 – 00:15:45:19
Michael Gewecke
We forget that what begins as coveting of desiring something that’s not ours will lead to real world behavior. It is not just a thought and intent that remains in our hearts and souls. And I think that’s the really subtle way that it moves, is it begins with a desire and ends with an action. And if we ever believe that the action can’t follow from that small desire, we will be tracked by the desire that the thoughts and intense of the heart have more power than we give them credit.
00:15:45:34 – 00:15:55:15
Michael Gewecke
And this commandment to its credit, I think, points all of our attention at it and says you must take account of what motivates you.
00:15:55:57 – 00:16:21:07
Clint Loveall
Yeah. And and part of what I think is at stake in a word like covet is not just the idea that we desire something, which is something we should be conscious of because there could be jealousy in it, but also the idea that we deserve something, that we look at our neighbor’s success and we begrudge them. We look at our neighbors good fortune and and we are we are jealous of that.
00:16:21:07 – 00:16:49:12
Clint Loveall
We are upset by that. So there is a relational aspect to this, too, where we think that we deserve better than we have and that others deserve less than they have. And that’s a dangerous way to live within a community that’s detrimental to relationships of all sorts. Let’s just finish out this section here. Verse 18 When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of trumpet in the mountains, smoking, They were afraid and they trembled and they stood at a distance.
00:16:49:31 – 00:17:12:07
Clint Loveall
They said to Moses, You speak to us and we will listen. Do not let God speak to us. We will die. Moses said to the people. Do not be afraid, for God has come to test you and to put the fear of Him upon you that you may not do sin. Then the people stood at a distance while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
00:17:12:09 – 00:17:35:25
Clint Loveall
So once again, we get a little bit of a reminder this role of Moses in the middle. The people see this display. They hear this, these rumblings. They hear and see this moment of God’s presence and their response is fear. And Moses says a very interesting thing God is testing you. And the point of fear is so that you do not sin.
00:17:35:45 – 00:17:57:30
Clint Loveall
The reason God hold you accountable, the reason God gives you these commandments and some of the threats or consequences that go with them is to keep you on a path that is pleasing to him so that you do not sin. And then Moses goes to play that intermediary role and go speak with God.
00:17:58:03 – 00:18:21:41
Michael Gewecke
I think that the ending context is a bookend to where we began. And now that so many days ago or so many studies ago, it’s worth quickly reminding ourself that at the very beginning of this in chapter 19, Moses and the Lord are having this conversation about putting limits along the mountain so that the people don’t break through, that they don’t come on their way up.
00:18:21:41 – 00:18:55:40
Michael Gewecke
And here this idea that the people are seeing this, they’re moved by it, certainly, but they’re also terrified by it. It is a other worldly experience. And they ultimately explicitly say, we don’t want to be talking directly with God. We want a mediator, Moses. And that emphasizes this theme. Like you said, Clint, But it also, I think, reminds us that this darkness that Moses is going into is a constant tension between the light that the people need to guide them and to be orderly.
00:18:55:55 – 00:19:19:04
Michael Gewecke
We’ve already seen that kind of order happening post Egypt. But here, as God gives them the the hallmarks of what it means to be covenant people, the people are terrified of the God who gives it to them. And we already can intuit in that some of the struggle, the people will moving forward become more fixated on the words of the law than the law giver.
00:19:19:26 – 00:19:49:22
Michael Gewecke
They will be tempted to find workarounds to these things that they conceive of as rules instead of receiving this birthright from the one who’s called them in his own name. That is both symbolically and I think, you know, theologically what’s happening here, as God gives this gift. The people are already moved to an edge or a part of themselves that they’re uncomfortable exploring.
00:19:49:22 – 00:20:15:34
Michael Gewecke
And if we hear the commandments rightly today, in our own time, in context, they will do the same, not in a judgmental kind of way. That’s all about darkness and making you feel like human sludge, but in a way that pushes you to the edge of yourself and makes you realize how much better your life could be if it involved all of this, if it lived fully in this, and also how we need help to get there.
00:20:15:34 – 00:20:25:16
Michael Gewecke
We can’t get there by ourselves. And this temptation to ourselves to say, No, I don’t want to talk to that God. I think there’s a lot of beauty in the imagery happening here at the end.
00:20:25:37 – 00:21:07:39
Clint Loveall
I think one of the dangers of commandments, one of the dangers of rules, is that improperly understood, they give us the impression that God is some sort of police officer or SWAT team who’s simply watching until we mess up and then coming to punish us. And I think that the people of Israel have not yet understood that, just like when you give your kids rules for their behavior, that comes from a place of love, that comes from a hope that those people will be the people that they are called to be, that they’re supposed to be.
00:21:07:51 – 00:21:33:14
Clint Loveall
It really is for their good. Sometimes we read the punishments and we read the threats and it doesn’t feel like that and we have to remember it. But from from the very beginning, the idea of commandment, the idea of law comes from a good place in that it gives the people a path to guide them to a way to please God and God.
00:21:33:14 – 00:21:50:34
Clint Loveall
And the people will see it more in the coming chapters. God and the people are going to develop a very interesting relationship in Moses as well, stuck in the middle of it. But it initially comes from a good place, not a bad place, and I think it’s helpful to keep that in mind.
00:21:51:09 – 00:22:01:37
Michael Gewecke
Thanks, friends, for being with us today. That will conclude our conversation today. Be with us tomorrow as we continue along. But until then, be warm and be blessed.
00:22:01:40 – 00:22:10:03
Clint Loveall
Thanks to everybody.