8th Commandment: Do Not Steal
6/1/202653 min
The 10 Commandments E11 — The 8th Commandment, “Do not steal,” seems straightforward enough. But why does God forbid theft in ancient Israel? What harm can come to a community where people’s property is always vulnerable? And what lies beneath the surface of our desire to take from our neighbor what doesn’t belong to us? In this episode, Jon and Tim unpack the eighth command, discovering its deeper invitations to contentment, generosity, and stewardship.
FULL SHOW NOTES
For chapter-by-chapter summaries, biblical words, referenced Scriptures, and reflection questions, check out the full show notes for this episode.
CHAPTERS
- Consequences for Stealing in Ancient Israel (0:00-15:22)
- The Belief Beneath Stealing (15:22-28:38)
- Stewarding Our Neighbor’s Stuff (28:38-45:27)
- Concluding Thoughts (45:27-52:49)
OFFICIAL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
View this episode’s official transcript.
THE 10 COMMANDMENTS BIBLEPROJECT TRANSLATION
View our full translation of the 10 Commandments.
REFERENCED RESOURCES
- Find the related animated video for this episode here.
- Check out Tim’s extensive collection of recommended books.
SHOW MUSIC
- “Chillbop” by Lofi Sunday feat. Me & the Boys
- “Old Record” by Lofi Sunday feat. Marc Vanparla
- “Warm Hugs” by Lofi Sunday feat. Cassidy Godwin
- BibleProject theme song by TENTS
SHOW CREDITS
Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer, and Cooper Peltz, managing producer. Tyler Bailey and Aaron Olsen edited today’s episode and provided the sound design and mix. JB Witty writes the show notes. Our host and creative director is Jon Collins, and our lead scholar is Tim Mackie.
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsJon Collins· Host0:00
[upbeat music] Think of a time that you took something that wasn't yours. Maybe it was small, maybe it was something big. But why did you take it?
Tim Mackie· Host0:13
The sole purpose for stealing is you wanna 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.
Jon Collins· Host0:25
Dig even deeper. How did you justify taking it?
Tim Mackie· Host0:29
Everything that my neighbor has is God's gift to them, and one way of thinking about stealing stems from this probably unconscious belief that I think that God should have given that gift to me. [laughs] That should be mine.
Jon Collins· Host0:46
Today, we're gonna talk about the eighth command, do not steal, and how actually this command is an opportunity for gratitude.
Tim Mackie· Host0:56
Deuteronomy 6 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."
Jon Collins· Host1:06
Everything that we have is a gift to us, and so the eighth command is a call for contentment, which is cool, but as we're gonna see in today's episode, the wisdom of the eighth command goes even deeper. Flip over do not steal into the positive, and this command becomes profound. It's a call to not take people's stuff, but to help people