Exodus 20:15
“You do not steal”
Leviticus 19:11
“Do not steal, do not lie, do not deceive one another.”
Usually the first thing that comes to peoples mind when they hear the word stealing is when someone robs another with a mask and gun, which everyone is already familiar with. This article is to point out other ways people are stealing and may be unaware of it.
I remember when I used to watch movies there was one called “Office Space”. It was about a guy and his friends who worked at a bank. The main character of the movie was tired of working for people, so he devised a scheme to subtly take about a fraction of a penny from millions of customers; the percentage was so small that it was supposed to go unnoticed. People will do this in churches, banks, and accounting etc. This is called embezzlement which is defined as “theft of funds placed in one’s trust or belonging to one’s employer.”
All of this is stealing because the money that you took never belonged to you to begin with. Simply, put if anything does not belong to you then do not take it, no matter how small it may be in your sight. Taking a pencil may lead to stealing towels at a hotel, that may lead to take utensils from the workplace, and it may lead up to embezzlement or car theft.
Taxes
Then there are people who will not pay their taxes or even cheat on their taxes by claiming dependents that are NOT theirs in order to receive a bigger tax return, which is also lying and stealing.
Mathew 22:19-21
“Show Me the coin of the tax.’ And they brought Him a silver piece. And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this? They said to Him, “Caesars.” And He said to them, “Then give to Caesars what is Caesars, and to ELOHIM what is ELOHIM’S.”
We pay taxes as we obey the laws of the land because we are in the world, but not a part of the world. So pay your taxes and don’t cheat as you are living in the world, but never let man’s commands override ELOHIM’s ever! There are earthly kingdoms, but YESHUA is King of heaven. We may not like to pay taxes, but YESHUA showed us to just do it. Other issues arise when people give Caesar what is Caesar’s but then turn around and give what is due to YHWH to Caesar too! Why? They trust in man who they can see, but not ELOHIM whom they haven’t seen, even though His works of creation testify of His greatness. YESHUA shows us by example to pay the tax to not cause them to stumble.
Mathew 17:24-27
“And when they came into Kephar Nahum, those who received the tax came to Peter and said, “Does your Teacher not pay the tax?” He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, YESHUA spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon?” From whom do the kings of the earth take toll or tax, from their own sons or from the strangers?” Peter said to Him, “From the strangers.” YESHUA said to him, “Then the sons are exempt. But lest we cause them to stumble, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you shall find a coin. Take that and give it to them for Me and you.”
Romans 13:6-7
“For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are servants of ELOHIM attending continually to these duties. Render therefore to all what is due to them: tax to whom tax, toll to whom toll, fear to whom fear, respect to whom respect.”
On your jobs (employees and companies)
There are many people in the workforce who know someone who does not do the work that is required of them, so the supervisors will put more work upon the one who is trustworthy, knowing the work will be accomplished. The lazy employee is stealing from the company because they are being paid to do nothing and the supervisor who allows this behavior is letting them steal, so they are helping the lazy one to steal.
Also, there are those who get paid to work in administrative positions but are on the computer for 6 out of the 8 hours surfing the internet, paying bills, booking vacations, making personal calls, which is also constitutes as stealing from the employer.
Piracy
Though I do not listen to, watch, or support secular music or movies and I strongly encourage all believers in YESHUA to do the same, I wanted to touch on the piracy issue. Piracy is defined as “the unauthorized use or reproduction of another’s work.” People will copy or download music illegally and the reproduction of the download is allowing people to bypass paying for the work of the artist. It cost money to record or make a movie, so if they are not getting paid then you are stealing money from them. This also applies to those who go into a movie theater and record the movie and sell it as a bootleg and then sell it on the street or out of the trunk of their cars. People that buy these movies know how they obtained it, but are willing to buy the stolen product to avoid paying the full price for it.
What about a hired worker?
If you have hired someone to do a job for you then make sure you give him the wages for his services. Do not steal and break the 8th commandment by withholding the wages you owe him.
Leviticus 19:13
“Do not oppress your neighbor and do not rob the wages of him who is hired. It is not to remain with you all night until morning.”
Deuteronomy 24:14-15
“Do not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, of your brothers or of the strangers who is in your land within your gates. Give him his wages on the same day, and do not let the sun go down on it, so that he does not cry out against you to YHWH, and it shall be sin in you?
James 5:4
“See, the wages of the workmen who mowed your fields, which you kept back, cry out. And the cries of the reapers, have reached the ears of YHWH of hosts.
Tobiyah 4:14
“Do not let the wages of any man, who has worked for you, remain with you, but give it to him from your hand; for if you serve ELOHIM, He shall also repay you. My son, be considerate in all that you do, and be wise in all your ways.”
Other scriptures about stealing and extortion
1 Corinthians 6:9-10
“Do you not know that the unrighteous shall NOT inherit the reign of ELOHIM? Do not be deceived. Neither those who whore, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, not effeminate, nor homosexuals, NOR THIEVES, nor greedy of gain, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindler (a person who uses deception to deprive someone of money or possessions shall NOT inherit of the reign of ELOHIM.”
Tobiyah 2:11-13
“And my wife Hannah took women’s work to do, and when she had sent them to the owners, they paid her wages, and also gave her a young goat as well. And when it was in my house, and began to cry, I said to her, “Where is this young goat from? Is it not STOLEN? Return it to the owners, for it is NOT LAWFUL to eat whatever is stolen.”
Tobiyah did not know the goat was given to his wife as part of her wages and she told him that the goat was not stolen. But notice how he would not even eat the goat knowing that it’s not lawful to eat what is stolen. So think of how many people steal hamburgers or food from their jobs and bring them home and eat it which is not lawful. Or those who steal TV’s, clothing items, music, furniture, etc and sell the stolen items to others are just as guilty; however most people want the cheap price and will pay for the stolen item.
Proverbs 10:2
“Treasures of wickedness (Ill-gotten treasures) are of no value, but righteousness delivers from death.”
Proverbs 20:17
“Bread gained by deceit might be sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth is filled with gravel.”
Psalms 62:10
“Do not trust in oppression (or extortion). And do not became vain in robbery…”
The definition of extortion is- the practice of obtaining something by force or threats. This falls in the category of stealing because you have forced, threatened, or blackmailed someone to give you something that did not belong to you.
Leviticus 6:1-4
“And YHWH spoke to Moses saying, “When any being sins, and committed a trespass against YHWH, and has lied to his neighbor about a deposit, or about a pledge, or about a robbery, or shall extort from his neighbor, or has found what was lost and has lied concerning it, or sworn falsely, so that he sins in regard to any one of all these that a man does, then it shall be, when he sins, and shall be guilty, that he shall return what he took by robbery, or what he has extorted, or the deposit which has deposited with him, or the lost item which he found, or all that about which he swore falsely. He shall repay its total value, add one-fifth more to it, and give it to whom it belongs, on the day of his guilt offering.”
So technically if one steals, not only are they to return the items that they stole and it’s full value, but also add one-fifth more to what they stole in order to make things right or to be made whole again.
Sirach 5:8
“Do not lay your heart upon goods acquired unrighteously (stolen), for they shall not profit you in the day of calamity.”
Exodus 22:1-2
“When a man steals an ox or a sheep, and shall slaughter it or sell it, he repays five cattle for an ox and four sheep for a sheep.”
We know in our modern day society people will steal TV’s, music, or cars that do not belong to them and sell them to someone else.
Exodus 22:7-8
“When a man gives silver or goods to his neighbor to guard, and it is stolen out of the man’s house, if the thief is found, he repays double. If the thief is not found, then the master of the house shall be brought before ELOHIM to see whether he has put his hand into his neighbor’s goods.”
YHWH has covered both bases on this one as always. If you give silver to your neighbor to hold for you and a thief steals it from him, then if the thief is found he must pay double, but if the thief is not found bring him before ELOHIM because your neighbor could have taken the money himself and said that a thief took it.
False scales
False scales is stealing because you are cheating someone out of money or a product in order to increase profits. For example, on the so-called “Black Friday” department stores and online stores will have big deals saying items are 50% off. However, most of them will mark up the price of the item to falsely reduce it back at its original price at the register, which gives the customer to think they actually saved money, when in actuality they are paying the original price for it. Another example is how companies will put three chips in a bag and fill the rest of the bag with air and sell it for full price, or cutting back the ingredients on a product but still charging the same price. Also, those who will buy up all the Clorox or water during a crisis and the sell it for triple the price because the demand is so high and there is no supply.
Even people who advertise a product as real only to find out it was fake like the olive oil scam. They charged premium price for Extra Virgin Olive Oil, yet after further investigation they found it contained 70% olive and the rest was laced with food coloring and canola oil.
Proverbs 11:1
“A false scale is an abomination to YHWH, but a perfect weight is His delight.”
Proverbs 16:11
“A right scale and balances are of YHWH, all the weights in the bag are His work.”
Proverbs 20:10
“Differing weights and differing measures, both of them are an abomination to YHWH.”
Ezekiel 45:10
“Have right scales, and a right ephah, and a right bath.”
Micah 6:11-12
“Would I be innocent with wicked scales, and with a bag of false weights? For her rich men are fill with cruel unrighteousness, and her inhabitants have spoken falsehood, and their tongue is deceit in their mouth.”
Use the example of Zacchaeus
Luke 19:8
“But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Adon (Master), “Look, Adonai (My Master), I give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have TAKEN whatever from anyone by false accusation, I repay fourfold.”
If you know you have stolen from someone then do not harden your heart, but be like Zacchaeus who wanted to correct his wrong doing by saying he would pay four times as much.
As always may our Father YHWH bless you all in the Name of YESHUA!