Exodus 20:15 You Shall Not Steal

Biblical Church Worship: A Study of the Ten Commandments 
Exodus 20:3-17

Exodus 20:15 You Shall Not Steal[1]
Reading: Matthew 21:12, 13; Ephesians 4:28  
​         
I. You Shall Not Steal.
  A. Steal (Heb. “gaw-nab”: Deceive, carry away, thieve)
    1. Taking away another’s property by force or fraud, against the owner’s will[2]
      1a. The right to private property is important for societal stability[3]
    2. Starts in the heart (Mt. 15:19)   
    3. Types of theft:
      1a. Borrow and not return (Ps. 37:21)
      2a. Business deception (Dt. 25:13-16)
      3a. Withholding earned wages (Lev. 19:13)
      4a. Bribery (Mic. 7:3)
      5a. Not paying civil or ecclesiastical customs or tax (Mk. 12:14-17[4];[5])
        1b. Includes tax, custom, fear, honor (Rom. 13:7)  
      6a. Murder (Gen. 4:8)
      7a. Kidnapping (Ex. 20:16; I Tim. 1:8-10)
      8a. Adultery/fornication (II Sam. 12:1-9; I Thess. 4:3-6)
      9a. Withholding worship of God (Mal. 3:8)[6]
II. Implication: Worship and Theft Cannot Coexist.
  A. The path to stop theft (Eph. 4:28):
    1. Stop stealing.
    2. Earn your property.
III. Challenge
  A. Where are you defrauding God?
    1. By failing to give Him what is due (Mal. 3:9, 10)?
      1a. Everything belongs to God.
  B. Where are you defrauding other people?

[1] March 2, 2025 Hall Church and Renewal Bibel Fellowship
[2] (Gill, 1816)
[3] (MacArthur, 2005)
[4] A Poll tax was a tax imposed upon people enrolled in the Roman census (Jamieson, 1871).
[5] The two-drachma tax was a temple tax (ecclesiastical tax) (Jamieson, 1871).
[6] The people were not giving to God the tithes and offerings as they should (Jamieson, 1871) (Kretzmann, 1921).