Exodus 20:15 Study Guide: Do Not Steal

Community Group Study Guide — The Eighth Commandment - Do Not Steal 
Exodus 20:15

Study Information:
Do you remember the first time you were tempted to steal? For many of us it happened as small kids seeing a friend’s toy or when we were with our parents and they were not looking when we were at a store checking out at the cashier. Why do they put candy and toys right at our childhood eye level? Behind his childhood impulse is a desire to have what we want without there being a cost to it. Who doesn’t like free stuff? Stealing is a dieter to gain, with minimal effort, even at the expense of another. The eighth commandment teaches us to honor another’s property. The commandment prohibits stealing and pushes us to consider how we can use what we have to bless others. 

Property
Exodus 20:15, Exodus 22
The eighth commandment assumes that it is good and right to have personal property. The Israelites were not proto-socialists or people living on a commune together where what’s yours is mine and what’s mine is mine. Instead it was ok and good to have personal property that sourced back to God but was in your possession to use, keep and steward. If you read through the 600 plus commandments in the Old Testament Law you will quickly realize that many laws deal with property and what to do if theft or destruction of that property happened. It was seen as good and right to have land, a home, possessions and money, and if someone harmed your possession you had legal recourse to pursue justice. Surveying Exodus 22 you get an idea of some of the protections the Law provided including if an ox or sheep were stolen from you, then you were entitled to a 4 or 5 fold payment (Ex 22:1), if another’s beast trampled your crops they were to make restitution for the loss (Ex 22:5) and if goods were stolen they were to repay 2 fold what was stolen (Ex 22:7). In other parts of the Law there was a penalty for moving a boundary stone which was how they marked property lines and stealing was a breach of honoring another’s property. People were not allowed to just take your stuff without consequence.

When stealing is mentioned in the New Testament Jesus used it as a contrast to God’s self sacrificial love and Paul put stealing into the context of putting off the old self and walking in the new self. Jesus told the crowds that he was the good shepherd who laid down his life for them, whereas the thief wanted to break in and steal. Jesus came to give life at the cost of his own (John 10:10). Paul corrected the sin and temptation to steal by giving followers of Jesus the opposite action to put into practice, “let the thief no longer steal but let him labor with his hands so that he may have something to share (Ephesians 4:28).” The scripture teaches us that God is not a God of scarcity and that it is not enough to simply not steal, follows of Jesus should pursue work and sacrificial generosity.

Work
Ephesians 4:26
Christians ought to be hard working and not give in to a desire to have material things with no cost. Enjoy the gifts you’re given and if you have passive income streams, great! However, even if that is the case, be willing to put your hand to the plow and expend effort to see things in your care grow. Why? Because God made work before sin entered the world which means we were designed by God to see things in our care grow and so that we can have something to share (Eph 4:26). Instead of just avoiding stealing we can be people who are hard working so that we can cultivate generosity. If you’re currently employed, do you see your job as a blessing and a place that God has provided for you? If you’re not employed, you’re not off the hook, do you have a place where you’re putting forth physical and mental effort to help others around you grow? God has wired us to put forth effort and see things flourish under our care so others can be blessed. 

Generosity
Luke 12:32-34, Ephesians 4:26
Generosity us part of God’s character. God has no needs and everything we have is ultimately from him. This makes us stewards and managers of our property on this side of eternity. Jesus talked about his own generosity and how he laid down his life so that others may have life (John 10:10). Following Jesus leads us to greater generosity, not just in tithes and offerings, but also in how we help people that God has put in our lives (Acts 4:32-37). Jesus talked about treasure and called his followers to put their treasure in God’s kingdom. Jesus’s application for his followers was that in light of God’s kingdom we should give to the needy even if it requires us to sell our possessions (Luke 12:32-34). There is a link between what you treasure and where your heart is. That means that if our heart treasures God and his kingdom we will not put too much hope and value in our property and stuff. The eighth commandment is not just a prohibition against stealing, it is a push toward generosity and blessing others with what God has provided for you. What does your generosity look like right now? Has God given you a home to open up to others, and material possessions or finances to bless others with? As you think about this commandment, pray that God would direct you towards greater generosity with your time, money and things so that you will be a blessing to bless others. 

At your community group:
Take 15-20 minutes to share about how God has been at work in your life, prayer concerns and pray for one another.

How did God speak to you through the scripture and the sermon this week? 

Discussion Questions:
Read Exodus 20:15

How did the Old Testament Law protect personal property? In what ways would this have been different than in other parts of the ancient world?

Read Ephesians 4:26. How does this New Testament passage teach us a positive way to keep the eighth commandment?

Do you feel like Christians should be harder workers than those who do not follow Jesus? Why or why not?

How does practicing generosity help us to fight a temptation to steal or gain at another’s expense?